Brief:

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

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

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. Arrr! Arrr! T' win' parts appear t' have been partially pre cut by some sort of router. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! There are just a few tabs on each component which require cuttin' to free t' part. Blimey! I found it best t' do a "rough cut" first, matey, matey, some way up the tab, arrr, t' free t' part. Then, once free o' t' sheet I did a "close cut" t' remove t' remains o' t' tab. Begad! It’s best t' do this final cut from both sides o' t' part. Begad! T' instructions indicate that either medium CA or light wood glue may be used for construction. Avast, me proud beauty! 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". Avast!

Wings:

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

Elevons:

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

Fins & Strakes

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

Ejection Vent

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

For t' sport model t' next stage is t' cut out t' vent hatch. This is best done with a sharp knife. Begad! A section must be left uncut t' provide a hinge. This hinge is reinforced by t' addition o' a self adhesive foil strip. Blimey! Begad! Enough of this foil is supplied t' add protection t' t' body tube just aft o' the vent. Arrr! 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, me hearties, a length o' thick cardboard tube is fitted inside t' body tube to strengthen it. Avast, me proud beauty! This buts up t' t' balsa deflector. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' aft end o' this strengthener acts as t' motor thrust ring. Ahoy! Avast! (For t' competition model, me bucko, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! These must be trimmed square at t' aft end and glued into position. Avast, me proud beauty! Once dry the front end must be trimmed t' match t' leadin' edge win' extensions. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' nose weight is added t' t' nose cone, which is secured only with tape t' facilitate the addition o' more weight durin' trimming. Well, blow me down!

Mechanics

T' mechanism t' move t' elevons is installed next. Blimey! 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. T' pins pushed through t' fins at 45° and secured usin' CA. Once dry t' head o' t' pins is clipped off. Begad! T' elastic is attached t' t' fins in t' pre-made indentations (you did assemble them on t' correct side, me bucko, shiver me timbers, right?) and hooked onto t' points o' t' pins. Begad! T' tension can be adjusted by stretchin' the elastic more or less before hookin' onto t' pin points. Arrr! You don’t need much tension. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions specify that t' weight o' a spent C6 motor should be just capable o' lowerin' t' elevon on t' t' strake. Begad!

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

Finishing:

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

Trimming:

T' instructions regardin' trimmin' are quite clear. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! There are two main parts t' it, t' elevon tensionin' covered previously, and sortin' out the balance for gliding. Well, blow me down! Blimey! 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. Avast! Blimey! My first attempt at trimming, at UKRA 2003, arrr, led t' t' nosecone bein' pushed into the body tube. Blimey! Blimey! In retrospect, matey, thar be too much breeze. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' small amount o' damage was easily repaired. Well, blow me down! Blimey!

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, then appeared t' roll over, matey, and slide sideways into what became a dive t' t' ground. Aye aye! T' front body tube be crimped but easily repaired. T' crimped sction o' tube be excised and replaced with a new section, attached by means o' a short coupler. Ya scallywag!

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

Flight #2
Location: IRW 2003
Motor: B6
Once again, a great boost and translation. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Again it made a turn, arrr, but this time much wider. Arrr! Blimey! There be no roll, me hearties, but t' glider slowly pitched down and picked up speed. Arrr! Blimey! This was never corrected and it dived into t' ground. Amazingly, me bucko, arrr, there was no damage at all. Begad! Blimey!

Flight #3
Location: IRW 2003
Motor: C6
Another great boost, but t' flight be just a higher version o' flight #2. What did I expect? This time thar be a lot o' damage. Aye aye! T' body tube is folded up and t' wings are broken across t' span. It will be a big rebuild, matey, which I haven't yet attempted. Arrr!

I think t' problem with t' first flight was lack o' trimming, that led to it rollin' over and diving. Avast! For t' second and third flights, me hearties, 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, me bucko, and pop up for glidin' flight. Begad! It might be that I didn't have quite enough tension. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Therefore, ya bilge rat, as t' glider pitched forwards, it picked up speed, and t' increased wind speed forced t' elevons into t' horizontal position. Once that happened it would never be able to correct its attitude. I did follow t' directions for tensioning, usin' the spent motor on t' elevon, arrr, but maybe t' exact position is critical? I passed on me thoughts t' Orbital, but disappointingly, I never got a response.

Summary:

This is an excellent kit. Begad! It's nay exactly cheap, shiver me timbers, arrr, but t' quality o' the parts is second t' none, me bucko, t' instructions are detailed and comprehensive, and even t' packagin' is first-rate. Aye aye! 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. Well, blow me down! Since I've seen and read about many other successful flights o' VMX-2s, me hearties, 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. Blimey! I reckon that either t' trimming wasn't up t' snuff, matey, or that I didn't get t' elevon tension correct. Begad! So in conclusion, me hearties, this is a great kit, matey, but if you're a beginner, matey, me bucko, shiver me timbers, practice your trimmin' on somethin' cheaper first.

Postscript:

This article was first published, 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, 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. T' medal has actually been around for 2-3 years. Begad! Begad! Anyone know if it's been won yet?