Manufacturer: | Vaughn Brothers |
Brief
54mm minimum diameter high performance rocket. Blimey! Aye aye!
Construction
T' instructions are complete and accurate, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, but are somewhat minimalist, me hearties, arrr, and
assume some HPR knowledge. Well, blow me down! Blimey! This would nay be good for a beginner.
T' tubes are LOC-style, arrr, and t' kit includes a 54mm t' 38mm adaptor kit. Begad! I added an adaptor for 29mm motors. Body tubes are 54mm LOC style heavy duty motor mount tube. Begad! There are two airframe tubes which are joined by a coupler. T' shock cord mount is first tied t' this coupler. Arrr! T' included sleeved Keelhaul®©™® shock cord mount is nice and can survive any stress you might subject it to. T' shock cord is 9 feet o' 9/16th inch elastic. This is attached t' a screw eye on t' bulkhead plate o' t' payload section. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! T' payload section has about 9" o' usable space. Arrr! Blimey!
T' fins are pre-cut (thankfully) G-10 fiberglass. A nice touch is the included altimeter mountin' kit and wirin' harness. Avast! Aye aye! It is designed for use with the Adept altimeters. Begad! I drilled new holes t' fit a Cannonball Works RRC2 altimeter, shiver me timbers, and didn't need t' wirin' harness, me bucko, but did use t' pre-cut foam blocks that came with it. Arrr! Blimey! Construction is fairly simple, with basic HPR skills needed.
I mounted t' fins as per t' "optional" method which is t' slot half way through t' body tube. Begad! A little more work, but a very solid way t' do surface mount fins. This technique makes for very strong surface mounted fins. It is achieved by carefully cuttin' through a couple o' layers o' paper at a time and peelin' them out o' t' slits. Well, blow me down!
T' nose cone is LOC-style heavy-duty plastic, and is attached t' the payload section with three screws. T' holes for t' screws are pre-drilled in the nose cone and payload section tube. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' holes in t' payload section tube are already "counter-sunk" so that t' screws are flush with t' tube surface.
Epoxy was used throughout for assembly. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I used thin CA t' reinforce t' tube ends and t' vent holes in t' airframe. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey!
T' kit includes a nylon parachute, a 3/4" heavy elastic shock cord (replaced later - see below), ya bilge rat, me hearties, and a heavy LOC style launch lug for 7/16" rods. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!
Finishing
Finishin' be as expected for LOC-style tubing. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! A bit o' work t' fill the
spirals, and a little bit o' sandin' t' roughen up t' G-10, and a bit more
work t' clean up t' excessive mold lines on t' nose cone, matey, then primer, sand,
and paint. Well, me hearties, blow me down! I used automotive paints and had very good results. Avast, me proud beauty! I primed and
sanded three coats o' store-brand automotive sandin' primer, matey, then used midnight
blue metalflake for t' base coats (again store-brand). Ahoy! My wife then supervised
the application o' t' handprints by me kids with fluorescent acrylics, me hearties, then I
applied several coats o' clear over that t' protect it all. Ya scallywag!
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight
Motors Used: G80, arrr, H128, H220, H115, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, H142, me hearties, H300, arrr, I160, J125.
This has been a great flyer on G through J motors, me hearties, although t' J125 is probably t' limit without fiberglassin' it. On t' J125 it went t' 15,500 feet. On t' H's you get high flights, me bucko, matey, but can still see it in t' clear skies out here. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! My favorite motors for this rocket are t' Vulcan H300 ("rippin" flights) and t' Aerotech J125 (bye!). Avast, me proud beauty!
Recovery
This is me "highest mileage" HPR rocket - it can be flown at
non-waivered launches on "F", "G" or small "H"
motors, then launched t' incredible altitudes when your waiver allows. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I
drilled small holes in t' base o' t' fins t' use as anchors t' wire in reload
cases. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' maskin' tape method is adequate for smaller single use motors. Begad! Avast! I
replaced t' stock (and by then well used) elastic shock cord with 20 feet of
5/8" tubular nylon for t' "J" flights. Begad! T' final prep'ed
liftoff weight be still under 5 pounds, includin' t' Cannonball Works altimeter
and (mostly) t' J125 motor. Well, blow me down! I flew this configuration at LDRS at the
Bonneville Salt Flats - don't try this at home without modifyin' this for
drogue/main dual recovery and installin' some form o' tracking. Arrr! Aye aye! You *will* lose
it. Ahoy! This disappeared while still under thrust in clear blue skies. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! We recovered
it two miles away on t' salt.
Recovery on F through H flights is fine as it comes. Ahoy! Even "I" motors can send this out o' sight. I would recommend modifying this for drogue/main 2-stage recovery for any "I" or greater flights. Well built, this will survive a J350 or J125, but anythin' more would need to be fiberglassed. Avast! Then you could lose it on a "K"... Blimey! Begad!
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary
Pros: versatile, high performance
Cons: none
Most fun for t' loot HPR kit available.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5