Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Manufacturer: | Art Applewhite Rockets |
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. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Since those are gettin' hard t' come by, matey, Art redesigned and released this version. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! 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, ya bilge rat, arrr, 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, a printer, a razor knife, shiver me timbers, arrr, and some white glue.
T' build is a simple one. Aye aye! T' motor mount is cut out and folded along t' dashed lines. Begad! After it is folded, ya bilge rat, it is glued along t' tab formin' a triangular tube for t' motor mount.
Next, me hearties, t' body is cut out. Avast! Take your time and use a straightedge t' guide t' cuts. Once it is cut out, arrr, ya bilge rat, use the razor knife t' cut out t' holes for t' lug and t' motor mount. Aye aye! Ahoy! 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. You're almost done.
Slide t' motor mount into t' provided hole and glue.
PROs: easy, anyone can do it, arrr, freeCONs: none
Finishing:
T' default finish on t' Qubit is whatever color cardstock you print on. Ya scallywag! Aside from that, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, arrr, you can color it, arrr, me bucko, 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, t' club logo, me hearties, 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! Ahoy! As such, me bucko, me bucko, it can handle any 13mm motor on t' market today.
T' one I used for this review be only flown once and that was on a 1/2A3-2T. Arrr! Begad! It went up, arrr, ya bilge rat, turned over, arrr, and came down slowly, me bucko, all as expected.
T' class I was teachin' launched 17 more, me bucko, me bucko, each 2 times. Begad! T' first was on t' 1/2A as per above and t' second was on an A10-3T. Begad! It was t' same only higher and with more acceleration.
Several o' t' class volunteered their rockets for an experiment. We loaded a rack consistin' o' 1/4A3-3T, 1/2A3-2T, A3-2T, matey, and A10-3T. Avast! Blimey! They were launched simultaneously and t' results were pretty much what you would expect with t' A3 bein' t' altitude winner. Ahoy! 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. Blimey! That meant that some were more "symmetrical" than others and it showed in t' flights. Begad! Arrr! 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. 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, ya bilge rat, 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. Well, blow me down! Its hard t' beat free. Avast! Its looks are out o' t' ordinary
and it can be launched from a small field. Mainly, arrr, it's fun.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
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