Brief:
Single-stage, near-minimum diameter hi-flyer. Blimey! One o' THOY's original kits. Begad! Well, blow me down! 3
1/2 feet tall. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Uses 18" nylon chute. Blimey! Aye aye! Relatively big fins.
Construction:
Parts are pretty much all LOC type. Blimey! Aye aye! Body tube is composed o' two 17 inch tubes
coupled together durin' construction. This does open up t' possibility of
convertin' one tube into a payload section. Begad! Begad! Motor tube is 6 inches long; a
little short IMO t' fly on H motors, but in a minimum diameter kit it doesn't
make much o' a difference. Blimey! T' 2 centerin' rings are cardboard as opposed to
plywood. Ya scallywag! Shock cord is standard 1/2 inch flat cord, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and is mounted via a cable
anchored t' t' top centerin' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' 18 inch parachute is slightly sturdier
than LOC's equivalent chute. I think t' kit still comes with a 24mm adapter,
which often comes in handy.
There are no construction "tricks" with this kit. Blimey! A few recommendations: Wrap tape around t' forward cable loop, shiver me timbers, otherwise your parachute will snag on this and nay come out o' t' body tube when it needs to. Shape t' fins very well. Blimey! T' fin shape isn't t' most aerodynamic so you'll need t' shape t' leadin' and trailin' edges very well t' maximize performance. Drill a small hole [less than 1/8 inch] about 6 inches from t' top o' the airframe t' allow pressure equalization inside t' rocket for those high altitude flights. Ya scallywag! Begad! Have a launch rod ready when gluin' t' 2 launch lugs on [I recommend this when buildin' ANY rocket]. Be ready t' switch out parachutes frequently if you plan on doin' low and high altitude flights. Avast! Just about the only step you find in any other similar kit be t' step that instructs you to glue t' two body tubes together.
Finishing:
T' one thin' I LOVE about high power kits is that thar be no obligation to
paint them any particular way. Avast, me proud beauty! Like with any other MPR/HPR cardboard/plywood
kit, shiver me timbers, just shave off t' moldin' lines from t' nose cone, shiver me timbers, sand t' fins nice
and smooth, ya bilge rat, and use two coats o' primer. Aye aye! You may want t' fill in t' seam
between t' two body tubes.
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
T' manufacturer, THOY, recommends motors startin' at D12-3 all t' way to
H55-14. I've flown this kit with D12's [only goes about 200-300 feet],
single-use E's [HIGHLY recommended for flyin' at your local club launches,
stays under 1000 feet], single-use and reload F's and G's [use a smaller
chute], and even low-end single-use H's before BATF required a LEUP [goes about
a mile]. Begad! Aye aye! Nay many o' me rockets fly as straight as this one. Ya scallywag! It'll fly on most
any motor from 20 t' 180 N-sec, shiver me timbers, although I hadn't yet tried it with Aerotech
29/180 motors. If anyone else tries this, be sure and check CG/CP. Well, blow me down! THOY claims
that it'll go supersonic. T' fin shape isn't really conducive t' supersonic
flight, though one is definitely free t' try. There is no motor hook or block,
so you'll be friction-fittin' your motor in addition t' wrappin' a tape thrust
rin' around it. Aye aye! Dependin' on how you prep rockets [I prep from t' top],
gettin' waddin' a sufficient distance down t' tube requires t' services o' a
launch rod.
Recovery:
T' 1/2 inch wide flat braid shock cord is attached via a steel cable anchored
to t' top centerin' rin' [use plenty o' epoxy when gluin' t' motor mount in
place]. I like this anchorin' technique MUCH better than LOC's standard
inside-wall-of-the-airframe. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! It has held t' shock cord in for more than 20
flights. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' kit comes with a little over 4 feet o' shock cord. Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! If it were any
longer, it wouldn't fit very well in t' airframe. Begad! Blimey!
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
This is an excellent kit! I'd recommend it more for t' mid-power flyer, me hearties, me bucko, not
for someone who wants a level 1 certification rocket, me bucko, even though it can fly on
small H motors. Aye aye! Arrr! Its assembly is very straight forward with a few deviations
from standard LOC instructions [body tube joint and shock cord mount most
notably]. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! With t' substitution o' a bulkhead assembly for t' coupler, matey, arrr, it can
easily be made into a payloader. Begad! For those mile high flights, dual deployment
isn't such a bad idea. T' fin shape be t' only other part o' t' design I
would question, arrr, but this is mostly a performance issue.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
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