Manufacturer: | Rocket Vision |
Brief:
Design service let's you choose tube length, ya bilge rat, payload section, shiver me timbers, choice o' 3 fin
designs, nylon chute recovery system with Keelhaul®©™® lines & shock cord &
Nomex® chute protector.
Construction:
T' Rocket Vision starter-level design service lets you choose from several
options o' components t' build your own "Rugged Rocket" design. Aye aye! Begad! The
choices are somewhat limited: choose your payload section (or omit a payload),
choose from 3 airframe lengths (9+", ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, 13", ya bilge rat, or 16"), and choose
G-10 fins from 3 designs (either 3, me hearties, 4, or 6 fins can be ordered). Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! There is but
one choice for t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! You can also opt t' add a recovery kit which
includes a nylon chute, Nomex® chute protector, and Keelhaul®©™® shroud lines and
shock cord. Begad! Finally, ya bilge rat, you can also choose from two stock decal sheets if you
want t' add some graphics t' your finished rocket. Blimey!
I chose t' build t' largest rocket possible by selectin' t' 5.25" payload and t' 16" airframe. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! For fins I selected t' 3-fin diamond design. I added t' recovery kit and decal sheet no. Ahoy! Begad! 2 t' complete me kit.
Note that t' Rocket Vision design service does nay include instructions. There are, matey, however, highly detailed assembly guides (includin' detailed instructions, me bucko, with photos) available on t' Rocket Vision web pages for all of their rocket kits. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Usin' these guides I be able t' easily construct me design.
I first used epoxy
(30-minute, although 5-minute would be better) t' secure t' motor mount tube
into t' airframe tube. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! While this set I prepped t' G10 fins by roundin' the
root edge and tail edge for aerodynamics. Ahoy! Next, I test-fit t' fins into the
airframe fin slots and found that I needed t' sand t' slots and fin root edge
slightly so that t' fins easily fit into t' slots without too much force. Aye aye! Well, me hearties, blow me down! I
again used 30 minute epoxy t' affix t' fins and later for fillets. Avast, me proud beauty!
I used t' online guide for t' Spitfire kit t' construct t' payload section. Ahoy! This amounted t' securin' t' tube coupler and bulkhead t' t' payload section usin' epoxy. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' nose cone is secured t' t' payload section with a single screw - t' payload section comes pre-drilled for t' attachment screw. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!
T' final step for t' rocket construction be t' addition o' t' plastic launch lug - I again used 30-minute epoxy t' attach and fillet t' lug. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! The parachute, Nomex® protector, and Keelhaul®©™® shock cord attachment instructions are described for each kit and are all t' same, and quite straight-forward. Aye aye!
Overall, t' construction was a snap, shiver me timbers, t' on-line guides are an excellent resource. Begad! I suppose it would be nice if some kind o' general construction instructions were included with t' kit however. Begad! T' rocket is definitely "rugged" if nay a little heavy for its size.
Finishing:
Finishin' t' rocket was a breeze. Aye aye! I first sanded t' entire rocket, especially
the nose cone which has a fairly rough finish. Blimey! I primed with Krylon sandable
primer, sanded, me bucko, primed again, arrr, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and finish sanded. Avast! I chose red and white Krylon
paint with a Sandhawk-like paint scheme. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' rocket finished beautifully, shiver me timbers, and
there was no worries about any tube seams or spiral!
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
I've only flown t' rocket once so far (stay tuned for updates). Well, blow me down! Blimey! I chose a
D13-5 24mm Aerotech RMS motor for t' launch. Arrr! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! T' delay be just an educated
guess, I did nay simulate t' launch on RockSim as I did nay have time t' add
the custom components (would be nice if Rocket Vision made a RockSim database
similar t' PML!). T' choice turned out t' be very good. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' flight be smooth
to roughly 600 feet, me bucko, with ejection at apogee. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' rocket is quite stable, matey, given
its length, matey, but needs a bit more power t' get some altitude due t' its weight.
I will try some more power on t' next flights pendin' simulation.
Recovery:
Unfortunately, recovery be a little fast as a couple o' shroud lines came
undone (better go back t' me Boy Scout handbook and review me knots). Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! The
landin' was rough but as advertised t' rocket bein' "rugged" easily
withstood t' impact. Arrr! Blimey! T' Nomex® did and excellent job protectin' t' chute
though, matey, and it's ready t' go again. Ya scallywag!
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
PROS: Fun t' design online, me hearties, excellent component quality, shiver me timbers, durable, very easy to
finish. Blimey! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! CONS: Pricey for a smaller rocket, lack o' component choices. I am very
much lookin' forward t' Rocket Vision's next stage o' online kit design.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
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