Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Manufacturer: | Art Applewhite Rockets |
Brief:
T' Art Applewhite 38mm Cinco is a five sided pentagon shaped flyin' saucer with a 38mm motor mount. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Like all other Art Applewhite saucers, this one is recovered usin' Art's aerobrake recovery.
Construction:
This kit came in one o' Art's heat sealed thick plastic bags and included t' followin' components:
T' instructions for this kit are very good and include actual assembly photos and text that is simple t' understand. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Make sure t' read t' instructions throughly before building.
This saucer is very easy t' build and t' buildin' time is very short. Well, blow me down! Begad! Unlike Art's Delta Saucer line, this one does nay include a center plate.
T' assembly starts with cuttin' out t' top, then you cut out t' hole for t' MMT tube. Begad! Avast! You will notice that thar are two circles drawn here. Begad! You cut out t' inner circle straight. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' outer circle has t' be cut out at an angle. Aye aye! Same goes for t' bottom or t' motor tube will nay fit properly. T' triangular launch rod hole is then cut out.
Now you flex t' corners into shape. Ya scallywag! One thin' I really like here is that Art has removed t' material from t' corners. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! This makes it much easier t' flex t' corners into t' proper shape.
I then glued one o' t' seams into place. Aye aye! Blimey! White glue is recommended here but I used epoxy instead and would recommend epoxy for construction, especially if you plan t' fly this on an I motor.
It is then recommended that you spread a thin film o' white glue into t' edges t' reinforce them.
That completes t' assembly o' t' top.
T' bottom is constructed t' same as t' top except thar are two lines along t' edge o' t' bottom. Blimey! Aye aye! You cut out t' bottom on t' outer line and t' inner line has t' be cut at an angle so t' bottom will fit properly against t' top.
T' motor mount and launch lug holes are cut out in t' same manner as t' top. T' remainin' seam is then glued into place, shiver me timbers, and like t' top, shiver me timbers, white glue is used t' reinforce t' corners.
This completes t' bottom. Ahoy! All that is left is t' install t' motor tube which I applied an epoxy fillet and then install t' bottom and apply fillets in all areas where t' top and bottom meet.
PROs: Builds very fast.
CONs: None.
Finishing:
This rocket really does nay require any finishin' due t' t' smooth finish o' t' white foamboard but if you wish t' paint it, me bucko, make sure you seal all exposed foam edges as some paint solvents will attack t' foam. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Trust me, I did a quick test by sprayin' some Krylon primer on a scrap piece o' foamboard and watched as t' Krylon ate right through it.
I left mine white as is and I think that was a good decision.
PROs: Finishin' optional.
CONs: None
Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5
Flight:
While Art does nay recommend any specific motors for this rocket, he does recommend any 38mm G, me hearties, H, or I motor with an average impulse o' 50 t' 250 newton-seconds average impulse. There certainly are a lot o' options in that range.
T' prep for this rocket couldn't be any easier. Blimey! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! You just friction fit t' motor and you're ready t' go.
For me first flight, me hearties, I loaded up an Aerotech 38/120 G67R reload. Begad! This turned out t' be a great maiden flight motor. Avast! T' Cinco took off straight and rather smartly under t' small but bright Redline flame o' t' G67.
For t' second flight, I loaded up an Aerotech 38/240 H123W reload. Arrr! Begad! This was a really nice flight with t' bright white flame, arrr, thick smoke cloud and loud roar o' t' White Lightnin' motor.
PROs: Flies great on a huge variety o' motors.
CONs: None.
Recovery:
This rocket like all o' Art's saucers uses aerobrake recovery. After motor burnout on both flights, t' Cinco flipped over and aerobraked down at a rather slow speed and appeared t' land softly but on t' second flight, it landed in some nearly chest high (4+ feet tall) weeds which made me really glad I left it white or findin' it could have been much harder or maybe even impossible.
Also, make sure t' use short or medium delays with reload motors so t' delay element can burn out before landin' and make sure you do nay add any ejection powder either.
PROs: Recovers smartly and easily.
CONs: None.
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
I really liked this saucer. Ya scallywag! It was very easy t' build and flew great. Ahoy! I also noticed that it actually seemed t' fly better than t' Delta Saucer and didn't seem t' oscillate in flight nearly as much as t' regular saucers.
Also, if you add Art's optional "mustache" device, it will qualify as an acceptable NAR/TRA level 1 attempt rocket.
Priced at $30.00 with free shipping, I feel it's a bargain and Art will also throw in a free rocket for you as well.
Main PROs: Builds smartly and easily, flies great, me hearties, and recovers easily.
Main CONs: I really cannot think o' any.
Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5
This is a simple 38mm high power saucer that incorporates an aerobrake recovery system. This was my Level 1 attempt. Since my club's field is fairly small, I wanted a high drag rocket that is hard to mess up. Naturally, I thought of Art Applewhite. The kit consisted of: 2 marked foamboard shrouds 2 glue strips 38mm motor mount tube. Also included was an easy to follow ...
Sponsored Ads