Manufacturer: | U.S. Rockets |
Brief:
This is a single stage, 54mm motor mount, 2.6" high power rocket. Ya scallywag! This
rocket would be a great rocket for people with previous experience with high
power kits.
Construction:
There were two (2) very nice 2.6" tubes, they were a bit thicker than LOC
tubes, very heavy duty. Begad! Well, blow me down! There were three (3) 3/16" plywood fins, matey, a
coupler, arrr, motor tube, arrr, launch lug, parachute and a very, shiver me timbers, me bucko, very nice solid balsa
cone. There was a 1/2" by 10 foot long elastic shock cord, me bucko, with a 18"
military surplus chute. T' rocket split in t' middle, shiver me timbers, matey, me bucko, so you have a payload
compartment t' put electronics or what ever you want in it. Blimey!
Construction be pretty straight-forward and simple. T' instructions were not well written and were a little scarce o' information on some key steps. However, arrr, arrr, with me experience, matey, I did nay really refer t' them much. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I decided that t' 54mm motor mount was way too big for what I be goin' t' be usin' it for. Begad! Begad! So I added a 29mm motor tube and mounted it inside t' supplied 54mm motor tube.
T' fins are through-the-wall and you will need t' cut and mark t' slots off yourself. Avast! Begad! There was a 1/2" launch lug that I replaced for a 1/4" lug.
T' nose cone was great, it was balsa, which you don't see much anymore, I put 2 coats o' finishin' resin on t' cone (my first attempt at doin' this), and it turned out great, me bucko, me bucko, it adds some strength t' t' cone while makin' a great finish. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey!
T' completed rocket is pretty rugged for t' materials used. Begad! Begad! This rocket could survive some very hard landings. Avast, me proud beauty! You will need epoxy (set times o' your choice) for construction.
T' shock cord I mounted t' a steel cable attached t' t' centerin' ring, arrr, I thought this be much better then t' recommended method. Begad! Begad! T' recommended method be a Estes style mount, which is great for Estes rockets, but when you get up t' mid or high power rockets, they just don't work.
Finishing:
Finishin' be easy, shiver me timbers, I put two coats o' primer on, arrr, then painted t' payload
section with Testors Dark Gloss blue, arrr, ya bilge rat, then fadin' t' blue t' Testors Gloss
Black. Blimey! T' results were great. T' spirals are nay deep at all, shiver me timbers, so thar be no
real need t' fill them. Begad! Decals did come with t' kit, but I opted nay t' use
them, me bucko, as I thought t' kit without t' decals looked better. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Also, t' decals
were rather cheap, they were printed on cheap clear sticky decal material. Ya scallywag! The
printin' quality be terrible. They were all words in flat black.
Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5
Flight:
For t' first flight I used a Aerotech G104-short. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket does weigh a
bunch, due t' it needin' a bit o' nose weight (also t' addition o' t' 29mm
motor mount). Arrr! Begad! T' kit did nay come with any nose weight, it did tell you were
the CP was. Aye aye! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! So I used that t' balance it out with t' biggest motor I would
use. With t' extra weight, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I swapped out t' 18" chute for a 24"
nylon chute.
T' boost be very fast and straight. Despite t' 20mph plus winds, recovery was fine with t' 24" chute, arrr, ya bilge rat, it came down just at t' right speed. Arrr!
There is no motor retention that comes with t' kit, so you have t' add your own, ya bilge rat, me bucko, arrr, I just used tee nuts and made some clips up for it. Avast, me proud beauty! This rocket does require wadding, but you could easily make a baffle or use a Nomex® heat shield if you wanted to.
Recovery:
T' shock cord was plenty long for t' rocket. Aye aye! As I said above, ya bilge rat, I put a
24" chute in it, ya bilge rat, arrr, as t' 18" was too small. It came down at t' right
speed with that. Avast, me proud beauty! Upon recovery thar was no damage at all t' it!
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
T' rocket kit is very nice, thar are a few things that could have been
better, a bigger chute would have been better, arrr, along with some better
directions. T' rocket flies great though, which makes up for those things.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
Editor's Note: T' Warp-2 is part o' a 3 rocket family, arrr, ya bilge rat, all usin' t' same body but with different motor configurations. The Warp-1 is a single 29mm, which t' author modified his Warp-2 into. Blimey! T' Warp-2 is t' 54mm and t' Warp-3 is a cluster o' three (3) 29mm motors.
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