Brief:
T' Qubit 2 is an updatin' o' Art Applewhite's venerable Qubit rocket. T' original was intended t' fly only on Estes A10-PTs. Begad! Blimey! Since those are gettin' hard t' come by, matey, Art redesigned and released this version. Like it's predecessor, it is available as a free download from his site, arrr, www.artapplewhite.com.

T' Qubit is a high drag rocket that scoots upward, smartly comes t' a halt at t' end o' boost phase and then inverts and recovers by aerobraking.

Construction:
All you need t' build t' Qubit is a piece o' 110# cardstock, matey, me hearties, a printer, arrr, a razor knife, shiver me timbers, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and some white glue.

T' build is a simple one. Avast! Blimey! T' motor mount is cut out and folded along t' dashed lines. Arrr! Blimey! After it is folded, it is glued along t' tab formin' a triangular tube for t' motor mount.

Next, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, t' body is cut out. Well, blow me down! Take your time and use a straightedge t' guide t' cuts. Aye aye! Once it is cut out, use the razor knife t' cut out t' holes for t' lug and t' motor mount. Aye aye! Then carefully crease along t' dotted lines.

Glue t' tab t' form t' pyramidal top and then fold under t' after bulkhead and glue t' "wings" in place. Ahoy! You're almost done.

Slide t' motor mount into t' provided hole and glue.

CONs: none

Finishing:
T' default finish on t' Qubit is whatever color cardstock you print on. Aye aye! Aside from that, you can color it, paint it, or even decal it as t' muse moves you.

I built a bunch o' these things for a kids class at t' local museum and Art gave me permission t' digitally alter t' file t' put his logo, arrr, t' club logo, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and t' museum logo on it.

PROs: limited only by t' imagination

CONs: me imagination is lacking

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
This version o' t' Qubit resembles its 18 and 24 millimeter cousins in that it has an open top t' accommodate ejection gases. Well, blow me down! As such, it can handle any 13mm motor on t' market today.

T' one I used for this review was only flown once and that be on a 1/2A3-2T. It went up, turned over, and came down slowly, shiver me timbers, all as expected.

T' class I be teachin' launched 17 more, me hearties, each 2 times. Arrr! T' first was on t' 1/2A as per above and t' second was on an A10-3T. Ya scallywag! It was t' same only higher and with more acceleration.

Several o' t' class volunteered their rockets for an experiment. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! We loaded a rack consistin' o' 1/4A3-3T, 1/2A3-2T, A3-2T, matey, and A10-3T. Begad! They were launched simultaneously and t' results were pretty much what you would expect with t' A3 bein' t' altitude winner. Even t' 1/4A made a respectable showin' although t' ejection charge went off only inches from t' ground.

These rockets were made by little hands from t' 3rd through t' 5th grades. That meant that some were more "symmetrical" than others and it showed in t' flights. Begad! Even so, all were safe and t' kids had a great time.

PROs: practically foolproof

CONs: none

Recovery:
Recovery is just a matter o' t' rocket turnin' over and usin' aerodynamic drag t' slow itself. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Blimey! It is nay really a "tumble" in that it stays oriented as designed and aerobrakes like some real spacecraft.

PROs: its hard t' mess up, it does no damage even when you do mess up

CONs: none

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a great teachin' tool that is very cost effective. Avast! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Its hard t' beat free. Its looks are out o' t' ordinary and it can be launched from a small field. Blimey! Blimey! Mainly, me bucko, it's fun.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5