Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Manufacturer: | Art Applewhite Rockets |
Skill Level: | 1 |
Style: | Pyramid |
Brief:
Another breakthrough kit from Art Applewhite. Begad! Art steps out o' his saucer designs for somethin' more square. Begad! Begad! If you thought Art's saucers were easy t' build, me bucko, he has outdone himself with t' Qubit design! It still relies on his draggy ascent and aerobrake recovery though. Ya scallywag! Begad! Best o' all, this kit is available for free t' download from his website.
Construction:
T' rocket is made from one piece o' cardstock.
T' PDF file is downloaded from Art's website. Ya scallywag! Art doesn't recommend a particular weight o' paper but I happened t' use (letter sized) 8.5" x 11" 110# paper that I had lyin' around. Aye aye! Also thar be nay a scale on t' page t' make sure that you print t' pattern out properly, but it does mention in t' directions that t' squares should be 2.5" x 2.5".
T' build instructions walks you through t' simple construction. I thought it was very helpful that different dashed lines were used t' help explain how t' paper is t' be folded.
I used white glue (Aleene's Tacky Glue) throughtout t' build.
With t' 3 main flat surfaces that make up t' "body" o' t' rocket, I think that this would be a great design for small children t' color, decorate, me hearties, and build. Another benefit t' buildin' this design with small children is that it only takes a couple o' minutes (literally!) t' glue it together.
PROs:
CONs:
Finishing:
I didn't bother finishin' or colorin' mine. Aye aye! Blimey! You could certainly choose t' print t' pattern on colored paper and/or color it by hand.
Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5
Flight:
T' only recommended motor for t' 13mm Qubit be t' Estes Blurzz motor, t' A10-PT. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Unlike Art's saucers, arrr, t' top o' t' motor mount is closed so usin' a non-plugged motor would result in a burned rocket.
T' upside is that thar be no recovery device and/or waddin' t' prep in t' Qubit--just load up a motor and put 'er on t' pad!
I have one o' Art's 13mm Delta Saucers (that has 18 successful flights on it as o' writin' this review) and it tops out at around 60 feet on t' A10-PT motor. Begad! Blimey! I be expectin' similar performance with t' Qubit since t' surface area o' t' design is about t' same. It was surprisin' t' say t' least when I pressed t' launch button and on its first flight it went a good 100 feet up! Blimey! No problem really but I guess I can't launch t' Qubit in me front yard on windy days like I can t' 13mm Delta Saucer! Blimey! (T' extra height can be attributed t' t' more angled surface o' t' Qubit compared t' t' more flat saucer.)
I launched it twice more and even launched me Delta Saucer t' truly see that t' Qubit indeed flies quite a bit higher. Well, blow me down! T' third flight o' t' Qubit found it landin' in a nearby retention pond. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' white glue and waterlogged motor casin' ruined it, but I came back inside and had a replacement built within 15 minutes!
Recovery:
Recovery is "aerobraking" as Art likes t' call it but it has minimal weight so "featherweight" recovery would apply here too. With greater altitude comes a greater distance that a rocket can drift but again, with a draggy design, me hearties, drift is relative. You're nay goin' t' have t' walk far t' chase t' Qubit down... Even on a day with 10-15mph winds, shiver me timbers, I had t' walk less than 30ft t' recover.
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
PROs:
CONs:
Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5
This is a 13mm, paper rocket designed with an aerobrake recovery. The 13mm Qubit is one of Art Applewhite's free downloads. It can be found in several versions including this plain version on his website . Pick the version you want and download it as a PDF. This rocket is made from a single sheet of card stock. You download the PDF, put a peice of cardstock in the printer and print it out. ...
This is a 13mm version of Art's larger 24mm Qubit. This is the first all cardstock kit I've built that is intended for 13mm motors. It is a free download and is contained entirely on one sheet of colored cardstock, including the instructions. I built a beta version that was pre-printed and one that I printed myself. The latter is called 'Dicey' as it resembles a die. I know this may be ...
One of the neatest designs I've ever seen, it looks like three faces of a cube. This has got to be the simplest rocket ever designed. Cut out the pattern, make a few folds, and within about 5 minutes you have a flyable rocket. No tubes, construction is from a single piece of heavy cardstock. No hardware, simply cut, fold and glue; and you have a rocket. You can't beat the price, either, it's ...
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