Brief:

T' VMX-2 Spaceplane is a new rocket glider kit by t' equally new UK rocketry company, me hearties, Orbital Engineering. Arrr! Aye aye! You may have seen t' pre-production prototype of this kit flyin' at various rocketry events in 2002, me bucko, includin' t' IRW and K-Lob. Blimey! Avast!

On openin' t' sturdy corrugated cardboard box, first impressions are very good. Three sheets and four strips o' balsa wrapped in bubble wrap, shiver me timbers, a nice piece o' BT-20, shiver me timbers, all t' small parts in a resealable bag, ya bilge rat, and a very comprehensive lookin' set o' instructions. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I should point out at this stage that t' kit supplied be a production prototype, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and t' final production kits may differ slightly. Begad! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

Construction:

T' Kit includes:-

• 3 sheets o' balsa containin' pre cut wings etc
• 2 triangular section leadin' edges
• 2 triangular section body fillets
• BT-20
• Plastic nose cone
• Coupler tube
• Launch lug
• Balsa blast deflector
• 2 lengths o' elastic
• Lead weight
• Trimmin' putty
• Self adhesive aluminium foil
• Thrust rin'
• 3 motor plugs
• Mylar strip
• 2 pins
• Comprehensive 9-page instructions

T' first step is t' free t' win' parts from t' balsa sheets and assemble them. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' win' parts appear t' have been partially pre cut by some sort of router. Aye aye! Avast! There are just a few tabs on each component which require cuttin' to free t' part. Blimey! Begad! I found it best t' do a "rough cut" first, some way up the tab, t' free t' part. Arrr! Then, shiver me timbers, once free o' t' sheet I did a "close cut" t' remove t' remains o' t' tab. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! It’s best t' do this final cut from both sides o' t' part. T' instructions indicate that either medium CA or light wood glue may be used for construction. I wasn’t in any rush (waitin' for t' glue t' dry gave me t' opportunity t' write this review) so used EVO-STIK wood adhesive and "double glue joints". Arrr!

Wings:

I found t' win' assembly straight forward with t' exception o' addin' t' leadin' edges. Although the positionin' o' these is quite clear in t' win' plan diagram, there’s another diagram that I just found confusing. Begad! Ya scallywag! I couldn’t figure out what it was tryin' t' show me, me hearties, or even be sure what view it represented. Suffice to say that if you assemble t' wings bottom side down, matey, t' leadin' edges go flat side down too! T' wings must be assembled with a dihedral. Blimey! Ya scallywag! I found this quite tricky and, once dry, had t' fill a small gap at t' aft end.

Elevons:

T' next step is t' add t' elevons. Blimey! Begad! These are attached t' t' aft end of the wings usin' mylar hinges. Arrr! You have t' make slots in t' aft edge o' the main win' and t' forward edge o' t' elevon. Avast, me proud beauty! I thought this was goin' t' be a bit tricky, matey, me hearties, but as long as you keep t' knife horizontal with respect t' the wing/elevon, it’s nay too bad. Aye aye! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! T' positionin' o' t' hinges seemed a bit odd, so I made mine equidistant along t' elevon (which was a mistake, the manufacturer informs me that t' unequal spacin' is intentional). Begad! T' hinges are attached by pushin' a pin through t' fins with t' mylar tabs in position. Then CA is wicked into t' resultin' hole. Arrr! Aye aye! This hinge design is very clean and I like it a lot. Arrr!

Fins & Strakes

T' fins are added t' t' elevons next, me hearties, and this be where I had me first real trouble. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Either t' slots are too narrow, or t' balsa t' fins are cut from is too thick. Ahoy! I fixed this by scorin' across t' fin at t' top o' the tab, matey, shiver me timbers, matey, and then carefully parin' away part o' t' tab thickness. Blimey! Avast! T' under wing strakes had t' be modified in t' same way. Begad! Arrr! Once t' fins and strakes are in place, arrr, t' elevons are attached t' t' win' with t' hinges, arrr, in t' same way as the hinges were attached t' t' elevons.

Ejection Vent

T' kit can be made into two slightly different versions, one for sport, t' other for competition. Avast! The difference is in t' arrangements made for t' ventin' o' unwanted ejection gases. In t' sport model t' gases are vented through a hatch in t' top of the body tube. There are also parts t' deflect t' gases and strengthen the body tube interior. For t' competition model, these parts are omitted and instead t' motor most be plugged forcin' t' ejection gases out o' t' motor nozzle. Avast, me proud beauty! I decided t' build t' sport model. Aye aye!

For t' sport model t' next stage is t' cut out t' vent hatch. Aye aye! This is best done with a sharp knife. Blimey! Well, blow me down! A section must be left uncut t' provide a hinge. This hinge is reinforced by t' addition o' a self adhesive foil strip. Aye aye! Blimey! Enough of this foil is supplied t' add protection t' t' body tube just aft o' the vent. A cylindrical section o' balsa is glued into place inside o' t' body tube just forward o' t' vent t' deflect t' ejection gases through t' vent. Finally, a length o' thick cardboard tube is fitted inside t' body tube to strengthen it. This buts up t' t' balsa deflector. T' aft end o' this strengthener acts as t' motor thrust ring. Aye aye! (For t' competition model, an ordinary thrust rin' is provided.)

Fuselage

Next t' body is attached t' the wings. You need t' take care here as it’s all t' easy t' nay get t' tube properly aligned. Blimey! T' triangular body fillets complete t' main assembly. Arrr! Begad! These must be trimmed square at t' aft end and glued into position. Aye aye! Once dry the front end must be trimmed t' match t' leadin' edge win' extensions. T' nose weight is added t' t' nose cone, arrr, which is secured only with tape t' facilitate the addition o' more weight durin' trimming. Begad!

Mechanics

T' mechanism t' move t' elevons is installed next. This comprises a pin pushed through t' part o' t' fins mounted on each elevon, and two length of elastic attached t' t' part o' t' fins mounted on t' wing. Ya scallywag! T' pins pushed through t' fins at 45° and secured usin' CA. Aye aye! Once dry t' head o' t' pins is clipped off. Arrr! T' elastic is attached t' t' fins in t' pre-made indentations (you did assemble them on t' correct side, right?) and hooked onto t' points o' t' pins. T' tension can be adjusted by stretchin' the elastic more or less before hookin' onto t' pin points. Ahoy! You don’t need much tension. T' instructions specify that t' weight o' a spent C6 motor should be just capable o' lowerin' t' elevon on t' t' strake.

T' way t' mechanism works is that, at lift off, shiver me timbers, t' airflow forces the elevons into t' flat position. Once in normal flight however, me bucko, t' tension in the elastic is enough t' overcome t' airflow and raise t' elevons for gliding flight. Ya scallywag! Begad!

Finishing:

It this point, t' instructions suggest that you might like t' radius the edges, arrr, but I think it's probably easier t' do this as you go along, ya bilge rat, and that's what I did. Next, matey, I gave all o' t' balsa areas a coat o' sandin' sealer, arrr, and then sanded smooth usin' progressively finer paper, me hearties, until almost all o' the sealer was removed. Avast! This may sound strange, but t' idea is t' fill t' grain in t' balsa, shiver me timbers, rather than add a nice shiny coating. Avast, me proud beauty!

Trimming:

T' instructions regardin' trimmin' are quite clear. Begad! There are two main parts t' it, me hearties, t' elevon tensionin' covered previously, arrr, and sortin' out the balance for gliding. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! This is done by test throwin' t' glider and addin' small amounts o' clay weight t' t' wings t' correct for any roll or pitch. Begad! My first attempt at trimming, shiver me timbers, matey, at UKRA 2003, ya bilge rat, led t' t' nosecone bein' pushed into the body tube. Blimey! In retrospect, ya bilge rat, thar was too much breeze. Arrr! T' small amount o' damage was easily repaired.

Flight:

Flight #1
Location: Baildon Moor
Motor: B6
A perfect boost and translation t' horizontal flight. Once flyin' horizontally, the glider made a 180° turn, ya bilge rat, then appeared t' roll over, and slide sideways into what became a dive t' t' ground. T' front body tube was crimped but easily repaired. Blimey! T' crimped sction o' tube was excised and replaced with a new section, attached by means o' a short coupler. Avast, me proud beauty!

Before t' next flight, shiver me timbers, I spent a lot more time at IRW 2003 trimming. Ya scallywag! Begad! There was a gentle breeze and I got it so it would glide really well either with, shiver me timbers, arrr, or against t' breeze. Begad!

Flight #2
Location: IRW 2003
Motor: B6
Once again, matey, me bucko, a great boost and translation. Ahoy! Again it made a turn, but this time much wider. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! There was no roll, but t' glider slowly pitched down and picked up speed. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! This was never corrected and it dived into t' ground. Begad! Amazingly, shiver me timbers, there was no damage at all.

Flight #3
Location: IRW 2003
Motor: C6
Another great boost, me hearties, arrr, me bucko, but t' flight was just a higher version o' flight #2. What did I expect? This time thar was a lot o' damage. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! T' body tube is folded up and t' wings are broken across t' span. Begad! Blimey! It will be a big rebuild, which I haven't yet attempted. Avast! Blimey!

I think t' problem with t' first flight was lack o' trimming, matey, that led to it rollin' over and diving. Begad! Blimey! For t' second and third flights, I wonder if I had the elevons tensioned correctly? T' tensionin' is meant t' be set such that the elevons are flat for t' boost, shiver me timbers, and pop up for glidin' flight. It might be that I didn't have quite enough tension. Begad! Therefore, as t' glider pitched forwards, shiver me timbers, arrr, matey, it picked up speed, arrr, and t' increased wind speed forced t' elevons into t' horizontal position. Once that happened it would never be able to correct its attitude. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I did follow t' directions for tensioning, usin' the spent motor on t' elevon, but maybe t' exact position is critical? I passed on me thoughts t' Orbital, ya bilge rat, but disappointingly, arrr, I never got a response.

Summary:

This is an excellent kit. Ahoy! It's nay exactly cheap, but t' quality o' the parts is second t' none, t' instructions are detailed and comprehensive, arrr, and even t' packagin' is first-rate. Avast, me proud beauty! I really enjoyed buildin' it. I must point out however that I can't recommend this kit for a beginner t' rocket gliders. Despite t' detailed direction, I never really had a successful flight. Aye aye! Blimey! Since I've seen and read about many other successful flights o' VMX-2s, ya bilge rat, I have t' put that down t' me own inexperience with rocket gliders which is limited t' a couple o' flights o' an Estes Tomcat, and a few flights o' an "AstronMike" style saucer glider. I reckon that either t' trimming wasn't up t' snuff, or that I didn't get t' elevon tension correct. So in conclusion, this is a great kit, arrr, but if you're a beginner, shiver me timbers, practice your trimmin' on somethin' cheaper first.

Postscript:

This article was first published, me hearties, in two parts, in 10...9...8... the newsletter o' t' United Kingdom Rocketry Association.

Betwixt publication o' t' first part o' this article and t' second, me bucko, I was informed by Verney Montague that BSMA have put up a handsome Gold Medal t' be awarded t' t' first person t' break t' two minute barrier with a rocket powered Spaceplane. Ahoy! T' medal has actually been around for 2-3 years. Anyone know if it's been won yet?