Brief:

Futuristic design, shiver me timbers, this single-staged space plane is a nice departure from the basic modroc designs, and offers a good opportunity for t' experienced kit builder t' step outside o' t' routine and learn t' build from basic plans. Havin' accumulated a couple o' 20+ tube assortments from Red Arrow Hobbies and stocked up on balsa at me local hobby shop, I decided t' have a Shrox party, buildin' all 10 o' t' currently available designs published in Apogee's E-zine.

Construction:

• 24mm nose cone
• BT-50 body tube 11" long
• 18mm motor mount tube (2.75")
• 13-18mm centerin' ring/engine block
• (2) 18-24mm centerin' rings
• 2x36 Mylar streamer
• 1/8" launch lug
• Shock cord (combination 1/8 elastic & 90# Keelhaul®©™®, 24-36" total length)
• 3/32 balsa/basswood fin stock
• Decal sheet (jpeg file can be downloaded from t' E-zine archive)
• Clay nose weight (est. Arrr! 0.5 oz)

Other than t' Rocksim file (RockSim is also available here on EMRR), me hearties, thar are no instructions included in this plan. Begad! Construction is fairly straightforward, though, ya bilge rat, matey, and nay too tough a build. I'd rate it a skill 2 overall.

Start with t' motor mount assembly, matey, gluin' t' engine block into t' 18mm motor mount tube, and gluin' t' centerin' rings near t' end o' t' tube. After t' glue dries, t' motor mount assembly is glued into t' end o' the BT50 body tube.

Mark t' BT50 body tube for a 3-fin pattern & a 2 fin pattern (180 degrees apart), as thar are two wings slightly ahead o' t' 3 fin set.

T' fin pattern can be printed from t' full version o' Rocksim, me hearties, or drawn by hand usin' t' dimensions if you only have t' demo version. Begad! I tacked the balsa fins on with CA, matey, arrr, and used wood glue for fillets.

Though clay is nay on t' E-zine parts list, thar be a nose weight in the Rocksim file, and I didn't catch this. USE THE NOSE WEIGHT (see flight notes later). Avast! Blimey! After addin' t' nose weight, install t' recovery system (plans call for a Quest style Keelhaul®©™®/elastic combination).

Finishing:
I painted this usin' 3 coats o' white primer, followed by a glossy white finishin' coat on t' whole rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Followin' t' scheme depicted in the E-zine, I then masked off t' stepped two-tone sections and applied two coats of blue. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! I really liked t' notched effect, me hearties, and am goin' t' try this on a few more rockets rather than usin' straight/half sections on two-tone schemes.

I printed t' decals on Avery clear decal stock usin' an inkjet printer. They looked pretty good, me hearties, me hearties, but water-slide decals will really be worth t' effort if you can find a good source.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' Rocksim file contains sims usin' several no-longer-available Apogee motors. I tried out a few Estes combinations and decided t' start with a B6-4. The flight be in light 8-10mph winds, arrr, and t' rocket was unstable, dancin' around in every direction but straight up. Arrr! Ahoy! I recovered everything, and went back to the Rocksim file t' see what might have gone wrong. Begad! Well, me hearties, blow me down! THAT's when I noticed the secret nose weight...I added .5 ounces o' clay, me hearties, flew again a couple o' weeks later on another B6-4, and t' flight was much better (slight weathercock into the wind). Avast!

Recovery:
After correctin' for stability, ya bilge rat, arrr, this is a very nice flyer.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Sharp-lookin' design, matey, and a good plan t' start from scratch with. Ya scallywag! Now that I've built t' Apogee/Shrox newsletter line, me bucko, I think I'm goin' t' have t' move into clones, as I've got a lot o' tubin' still in t' basement...

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5