Contest Craft Ivee 2G

Contest Craft - Ivee 2G {Kit}

Contributed by Kevin Johnson

Manufacturer: Contest Craft
Rating
(Contributed - by Kevin Johnson)

Rocket PicBrief:
Competition class boost glider with pop pod retrieved by a streamer.

Construction:
T' Ivee 2G kit consists o' a 13mm body tube, eleven (11) laser cut balsa pieces, a balsa nose cone, a Keelhaul®©™® external shock cord, and a piece o' tape.

T' IVEE 2G is a joint venture kit betwixt Edmonds Aerospace and Apogee. I ordered this kit from Apogee (through their catalog, arrr, it is nay on their website) and it came in a bag with all parts and no breakage. Begad! Avast!

T' instruction booklet was great, ya bilge rat, me hearties, with lots o' good illustrations and a lot of text explain t' steps. Ya scallywag! Unlike every other kit I've gotten from Edmonds, matey, shiver me timbers, you are instructed t' sand an airfoil into t' wings. Blimey! There were templates for gettin' a good airfoil section included. Avast, me proud beauty! You should have a sandin' block with medium and fine grade sandpaper as well as yellow or white glue. Avast! Ya scallywag! This is a competition geared kit, matey, me hearties, and Rob Edmonds has taken t' time t' write directions that will walk you through some o' t' steps t' make a winnin' model. There was a very detailed section on trimmin' and test flyin' in t' directions. Blimey!

This kit also differs from many o' t' other Edmonds offerings in that there is no jigsaw like construction, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and thar are some exactin' measurements you have t' follow t' get t' CG and wing/tail dihedral.

Other than that, construction is pretty straight forward for a boost glider type rocket: sand t' wings and tail, glue them onto t' boom and attach the side plates t' act as a hook t' engage t' booster. T' power pod goes together with equal ease: glue together t' parts for its hook and attach t' t' body tube (the directions offer t' suggestion t' wrap a piece o' sandpaper around the tube and sand a curve into t' hook before gluin' t' get a smoother fit and better seams--- this is a competition kit after all). Glue t' shock cord to the outside o' tube along t' BT hook joint, arrr, attach t' top o' t' shock cord to t' front o' t' BT by usin' t' included tape. T' nosecone is secured to the shock cord by usin' a small bead threaded onto t' cord, then glued into a small hole in t' cone. Avast, me proud beauty! T' streamer attaches t' t' cord with a bit o' the supplied tape. Avast! Motor retention is by tape wrapped around t' end o' t' BT after t' motor is installed. Avast!

Finishing:
You probably want t' save weight by nay addin' anythin' t' this kit t' finish it, t' bare balsa is light and looks sweet all on its own. Begad! T' aid trackin' I did add some color with magic marker.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I didn't get a chance t' flight test t' IVEE before usin' it in a contest, shiver me timbers, so I be a little nervous on t' first flight. I loaded an A3-4T, me bucko, checked in and waited for t' launch. Arrr! A good straight boost with a little weathercockin' into the wind. Separation was good and t' glider took off downwind. A great flight of 63 seconds before t' timers lost sight o' t' small glider. Arrr! I found it a 1/4 t' 1/2 mile downrange. Ahoy!

On t' second flight I tried t' beat t' wind a little with an A10-3T and cocked t' launch rod upwind t' try and keep t' glide over t' launch area. T' launch was up and into t' wind, matey, ya bilge rat, another good separation and a nice circlin' glide that again went smartly downrange. Arrr! This flight was tracked t' 96 seconds, but landed in a wheatfield and was quietly sacrificed t' the agriculture gods.

Recovery:
T' shock cord is Keelhaul®©™®, ya bilge rat, and mounted externally. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! You should probably add one square o' waddin' rolled up in a ball t' protect t' paper streamer. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' IVEE 2G is a great competition kit. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions are clear and give lots o' information that you can use when workin' with other gliders.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

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