Atlantic Rockets IRIS

Atlantic Rockets IRIS

Contributed by Bob Wicker

Rating
(Contributed - by Bob Wicker)

Brief
Standard four fin configuration, matey, with nylon parachute. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr!

Construction
Packagin' was standard plastic with enclosed directions and photo o' the completed model. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! All t' parts were included and in good shape. T' directions are clear and accurate, t' model is nay difficult, ya bilge rat, anyone with some experience will have no trouble. Begad! Blimey! It is laid our EXACTLY like t' Mountainside Hobbies ASP kit (which are no longer made). Avast, me proud beauty! I suspect t' designed be t' same. Ahoy!

Construction is fairly straight forward, I did have some minor difficulties and made some additions. Begad! T' body came in three cardboard sections. Begad! T' tube couplers were 'homemade' and did nay fit exactly. Well, blow me down! I had t' work with them to get a good even seam, arrr, usin' epoxy t' fill t' gaps. Well, blow me down! Begad!

T' fins are 3/16 balsa and o' decent grade. Avast! I coated them with CA t' make them stiff and seal them for sanding. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' fins are surface mounted so I drilled 5 holes along t' tube under each fin for t' epoxy t' seep in t' form a 'rivet'. Avast!

T' 24mm motor mount is 'Estes style' BT50 tubin' so I covered it with epoxy to give it extra strength. Well, blow me down! Recovery is with a very nice nylon parachute, mounted t' t' engine mount with braided wire and elastic. Aye aye! Avast! I don't plan on flyin' it on anythin' more then E's and F's so I didn't enhance t' body tubing. Avast, me proud beauty! It is nay overly durable but will service those engines just fine. Begad!

Except for t' CA on t' fins I used epoxy for all construction. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

Finishing
There are no decals included, ya bilge rat, matey, arrr, but t' accompanyin' picture is sufficient to work off of. Well, blow me down! I sanded t' entire model lightly with a med grade paper, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, then primed with Krylon. Two coats with light fine grade paper in betwixt and after. I then put down two coats o' gloss white, and applied red and black according to t' picture. Avast! Begad! I did nay use silver on t' nose, I don't like workin' with metallic paint. I substituted black. It is a fairly big model (I mostly fly Estes/Quest) and looks great.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight
I have flown it four times all on Aerotech E's. I did nay add a baffle system or chute compartment, so waddin' is a must. Blimey! Avast! Three o' t' four flights have been perfect. Arrr! Well, blow me down! It gets off t' pad just slow enough t' be fun and easy t' watch. Blimey! Arrr! I also did nay install motor retention, ya bilge rat, I only do on 29mm models for me RMS. Maskin' tape has proven successful t' keep t' motor in and secure.

T' IRIS flies straight and t' about 6-700 feet. Begad! On t' 3rd flight I did not get t' igniter all t' way in and had quite a bit o' smokin' and chaffing before good ignition. Avast! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' IRIS went t' less than 300 feet and nearly lawn darted. T' chute opened at about 30 feet, just enough t' prevent damage. Lesson learned - make sure t' igniter is properly inserted.

Recovery
T' recovery system is perfect o' t' model. T' chute is properly sized and wire / elastic combination is forgivin' and durable enough t' make many successful flights. Drift is minimal and landings are nay damaging.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary
Overall t' kit is a good value for t' money. Easy t' build and fly. Begad! It is a great kit t' get into mid-power rocketry. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' kit is a nice flier, ya bilge rat, has good presence and is nay too expensive. Arrr!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

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