Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Manufacturer: | Public Enemy ![]() |
Style: | Scale |
Brief:
THe Honest John is a 38mm motor high power rocket single stage scale kit with parachute recovery.
Construction:
Kit arrived in good shape from Rocket Garden. Kit had a very impressive two-piece nose cone, one large body tube, ya bilge rat, a shorter body tube (electronics bay), four pre-shaped large fins, two stout wooden centerin' rings, and a very adequate harness supplies. Aye aye! Ahoy! I chose t' upgrade t' chute t' a 60" Spherachute.
T' instructions were pretty simple and straightforward. Ahoy! No problems as everythin' fit well and be prepped very nicely from t' factory. Blimey! One great thin' about this and all Public Enemy kits be t' way you pre assemble t' fin and engine mount system before installin' it into t' tube. It allows easy access for reinforcement with fiberglass or epoxy. Well, blow me down! I glassed all o' t' joints t' t' motor tube. Blimey! It added a little weight but is very strong. Avast! Well, blow me down! I added t' old nut and bolt motor retention that has always worked great for me.
Finishing:
I finished me kit in t' white sands theme o' black and white. Arrr! Blimey! I used Krylon primer over t' entire model and put several coats on t' nose t' get it t' stick. I painted every thin' gloss white, then added black highlights with either black Krylon or black Monokote adhesive t' finish t' scale. Lastly, I printed out some decals on me computer t' really add scale qualities t' t' kit.
Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5
Flight:
My first flight was with a 3-grain Cesaroni Pro38. It really took off slow and realistic. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! After t' engine quit burnin' t' rocket sounded like a bomb whistling, which was really cool. T' seven second delay on t' motor made for deployment just past apogee. T' 60" Spherachute deployed perfectly, shiver me timbers, bringin' t' big missile down without a scratch. Avast, me proud beauty! T' flight was perfect very stable and slow.
Recovery:
Everythin' was great with recovery setup and construction. Avast! Well, arrr, blow me down! Public Enemy kits come with very heavy nylon strap along with quality chutes. Begad! I usually put in larger chutes in all o' me kits due t' rocky area and altitude I launch from. Ya scallywag! (Thin air = fast fall. Begad! T' 60" chute brings t' HJ down real slow and soft.
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
Motor tube out o' t' body assembly is a real bonus for ease o' beefin' things up and alignment. Avast, me proud beauty! All I did different was add a bigger chute. Begad! I love t' sound it makes durin' flight.
Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5
I wanted to try out Public Enemy's rocket kits after I got their catalog at a ROC launch. I like sport-scale rockets so I ordered the Honest John and SA-14 Archer kits. Public Enemy makes larger versions of both rockets, but I wanted the smaller ones so I could launch them at LUNAR ("H" motor maximum). Both kits use 38mm motor mounts. The rocket flew for the first time at ...
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B.R. (January 1, 2001)