U.S. Rockets Warp 2

U.S. Rockets - Warp 2 {Kit}

Contributed by Nick Hills

Manufacturer: U.S. Rockets
Rating
(by Nick Hills)

Rocket PicBrief:
This is a single stage, 54mm motor mount, arrr, 2.6" high power rocket. This rocket would be a great rocket for people with previous experience with high power kits.

Construction:
There were two (2) very nice 2.6" tubes, matey, they were a bit thicker than LOC tubes, matey, very heavy duty. There were three (3) 3/16" plywood fins, a coupler, ya bilge rat, matey, motor tube, ya bilge rat, launch lug, shiver me timbers, me hearties, parachute and a very, very nice solid balsa cone. Begad! Begad! Blimey! There be a 1/2" by 10 foot long elastic shock cord, arrr, with a 18" military surplus chute. T' rocket split in t' middle, ya bilge rat, so you have a payload compartment t' put electronics or what ever you want in it. Arrr!

Construction was pretty straight-forward and simple. Avast! Begad! T' instructions were not well written and were a little scarce o' information on some key steps. However, with me experience, matey, I did nay really refer t' them much. Arrr! Aye aye! I decided that t' 54mm motor mount was way too big for what I was goin' t' be usin' it for. So I added a 29mm motor tube and mounted it inside t' supplied 54mm motor tube.

T' fins are through-the-wall and you will need t' cut and mark t' slots off yourself. Ya scallywag! There was a 1/2" launch lug that I replaced for a 1/4" lug. Blimey!

T' nose cone was great, arrr, it was balsa, me bucko, which you don't see much anymore, me hearties, I put 2 coats o' finishin' resin on t' cone (my first attempt at doin' this), and it turned out great, it adds some strength t' t' cone while makin' a great finish.

T' completed rocket is pretty rugged for t' materials used. This rocket could survive some very hard landings. Blimey! You will need epoxy (set times o' your choice) for construction. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty!

T' shock cord I mounted t' a steel cable attached t' t' centerin' ring, I thought this was much better then t' recommended method. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' recommended method be a Estes style mount, which is great for Estes rockets, arrr, but when you get up t' mid or high power rockets, arrr, they just don't work.

Finishing:
Finishin' was easy, I put two coats o' primer on, me hearties, then painted t' payload section with Testors Dark Gloss blue, then fadin' t' blue t' Testors Gloss Black. T' results were great. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! T' spirals are nay deep at all, matey, so thar be no real need t' fill them. Decals did come with t' kit, matey, but I opted nay t' use them, as I thought t' kit without t' decals looked better. Begad! Also, t' decals were rather cheap, shiver me timbers, they were printed on cheap clear sticky decal material. The printin' quality be terrible. Aye aye! Ahoy! They were all words in flat black. Blimey!

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' first flight I used a Aerotech G104-short. Begad! Blimey! T' rocket does weigh a bunch, due t' it needin' a bit o' nose weight (also t' addition o' t' 29mm motor mount). T' kit did nay come with any nose weight, it did tell you were the CP was. So I used that t' balance it out with t' biggest motor I would use. Ahoy! Blimey! With t' extra weight, I swapped out t' 18" chute for a 24" nylon chute.

T' boost was very fast and straight. Avast! Despite t' 20mph plus winds, recovery was fine with t' 24" chute, it came down just at t' right speed. Blimey!

There is no motor retention that comes with t' kit, so you have t' add your own, ya bilge rat, I just used tee nuts and made some clips up for it. Blimey! This rocket does require wadding, me bucko, but you could easily make a baffle or use a Nomex® heat shield if you wanted to.

Recovery:
T' shock cord was plenty long for t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! As I said above, I put a 24" chute in it, me hearties, as t' 18" be too small. Begad! It came down at t' right speed with that. Upon recovery thar was no damage at all t' it!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Rocket PicSummary:
T' rocket kit is very nice, thar are a few things that could have been better, shiver me timbers, a bigger chute would have been better, along with some better directions. Ahoy! T' rocket flies great though, me hearties, which makes up for those things.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Editor's Note: T' Warp-2 is part o' a 3 rocket family, matey, all usin' t' same body but with different motor configurations. Begad! Avast! The Warp-1 is a single 29mm, which t' author modified his Warp-2 into. T' Warp-2 is t' 54mm and t' Warp-3 is a cluster o' three (3) 29mm motors.

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