Vaughn Brothers Extreme 54

Vaughn Brothers - Extreme 54 {Kit}

Contributed by Todd Williams

Manufacturer: Vaughn Brothers
Rating
(Contributed- by Todd Williams)

Brief
54mm minimum diameter high performance rocket. Avast!

Construction
T' instructions are complete and accurate, me bucko, ya bilge rat, but are somewhat minimalist, shiver me timbers, and assume some HPR knowledge. This would nay be good for a beginner. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty!

T' tubes are LOC-style, matey, arrr, and t' kit includes a 54mm t' 38mm adaptor kit. I added an adaptor for 29mm motors. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Body tubes are 54mm LOC style heavy duty motor mount tube. Avast, me proud beauty! There are two airframe tubes which are joined by a coupler. T' shock cord mount is first tied t' this coupler. Begad! Begad! 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. Arrr! This is attached t' a screw eye on t' bulkhead plate o' t' payload section. T' payload section has about 9" o' usable space. Begad!

T' fins are pre-cut (thankfully) G-10 fiberglass. Well, blow me down! A nice touch is the included altimeter mountin' kit and wirin' harness. It is designed for use with the Adept altimeters. I drilled new holes t' fit a Cannonball Works RRC2 altimeter, ya bilge rat, and didn't need t' wirin' harness, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, but did use t' pre-cut foam blocks that came with it. Ahoy! Construction is fairly simple, with basic HPR skills needed. Ya scallywag! Blimey!

I mounted t' fins as per t' "optional" method which is t' slot half way through t' body tube. Ya scallywag! Blimey! A little more work, me hearties, but a very solid way t' do surface mount fins. Well, blow me down! 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. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey!

T' nose cone is LOC-style heavy-duty plastic, and is attached t' the payload section with three screws. Blimey! T' holes for t' screws are pre-drilled in the nose cone and payload section tube. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! T' holes in t' payload section tube are already "counter-sunk" so that t' screws are flush with t' tube surface. Begad!

Epoxy was used throughout for assembly. I used thin CA t' reinforce t' tube ends and t' vent holes in t' airframe. Well, blow me down! Blimey!

T' kit includes a nylon parachute, me bucko, a 3/4" heavy elastic shock cord (replaced later - see below), and a heavy LOC style launch lug for 7/16" rods. Well, blow me down!

Finishing
Finishin' be as expected for LOC-style tubing. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! A bit o' work t' fill the spirals, and a little bit o' sandin' t' roughen up t' G-10, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and a bit more work t' clean up t' excessive mold lines on t' nose cone, arrr, shiver me timbers, then primer, shiver me timbers, sand, and paint. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I used automotive paints and had very good results. I primed and sanded three coats o' store-brand automotive sandin' primer, then used midnight blue metalflake for t' base coats (again store-brand). Blimey! Blimey! My wife then supervised the application o' t' handprints by me kids with fluorescent acrylics, matey, ya bilge rat, then I applied several coats o' clear over that t' protect it all. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight
Motors Used: G80, H128, shiver me timbers, H220, H115, H142, H300, ya bilge rat, I160, me bucko, J125. Blimey!

This has been a great flyer on G through J motors, me bucko, shiver me timbers, although t' J125 is probably t' limit without fiberglassin' it. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Blimey! On t' J125 it went t' 15,500 feet. On t' H's you get high flights, but can still see it in t' clear skies out here. Avast, me proud beauty! My favorite motors for this rocket are t' Vulcan H300 ("rippin" flights) and t' Aerotech J125 (bye!). Avast!

Recovery
This is me "highest mileage" HPR rocket - it can be flown at non-waivered launches on "F", "G" or small "H" motors, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, then launched t' incredible altitudes when your waiver allows. Avast! I drilled small holes in t' base o' t' fins t' use as anchors t' wire in reload cases. Avast! T' maskin' tape method is adequate for smaller single use motors. Begad! I replaced t' stock (and by then well used) elastic shock cord with 20 feet of 5/8" tubular nylon for t' "J" flights. Avast! T' final prep'ed liftoff weight was still under 5 pounds, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, includin' t' Cannonball Works altimeter and (mostly) t' J125 motor. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. You *will* lose it. Arrr! This disappeared while still under thrust in clear blue skies. We recovered it two miles away on t' salt.

Recovery on F through H flights is fine as it comes. Blimey! Begad! Even "I" motors can send this out o' sight. Avast! I would recommend modifying this for drogue/main 2-stage recovery for any "I" or greater flights. Well built, ya bilge rat, this will survive a J350 or J125, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but anythin' more would need to be fiberglassed. Then you could lose it on a "K"... Begad!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary
Pros: versatile, shiver me timbers, high performance
Cons: none

Most fun for t' loot HPR kit available.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flights

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