Rocketarium VK-7 Sounding Rocket (Viking 7)
Rocketarium - VK-7 Sounding Rocket (Viking 7)
Contributed by Martin's Funkworks
| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Published: | 2019-05-27 |
| Manufacturer: | Rocketarium |
Brief
This was me first cluster rocket. In a attempt t' mimic t' real Vikin' 7, a few details are included, ya bilge rat, which likely increase its drag, arrr, and maybe that's part o' t' reason it uses two motors. But then, me hearties, t' compensate for t' additional motor weight, it runs long at over 29". Well, blow me down! Blimey! All in all, me bucko, it makes for a surprisingly beautiful kit with a very unusual colour scheme.
Components
Materials are very standard for an intermediate level kit: polypropylene nose cone, me hearties, balsa fins, plywood centerin' rings. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Just as expected. Well, blow me down! It does include a baffle assembly, which eliminates t' need for wadding.
Construction
Instructions were easy t' follow. Well, blow me down! No issues, and no surprises. Begad! Begad! Blimey! Unless thar's a good reason t' do otherwise, shiver me timbers, I use CA glue when I need an immediate bond, me hearties, shiver me timbers, wood glue when I need time t' do precise adjustments, me hearties, and epoxy when I need maximum strength.
Finishing
I was very intrigued by t' colour o' this kit, as t' package's artwork is affected by lighting, and every image o' t' real thin' I found online was black & white. Was it light brown? Light grey? Fortunately, t' instructions specified t' use o' Rust-Oleum's "Navajo White" for t' body and some o' t' fins, aluminum-coloured paint for t' nose cone, arrr, and black for t' remainin' fins. Ahoy! Avast! After fillin' in t' spirals with white Tamiya putty, and sandin' everything, me hearties, I ran a dowel through t' assembled rocket and laid it down like a shish kabob for a series o' about 10 light coatings o' Rust-Oleum flat white primer coatings over 2 days. Arrr! Then came a few coats o' that mysterious "Navajo White". Ahoy! Well, blow me down! After a little masking, I did t' black parts, shiver me timbers, and a couple o' clear coats. Ahoy! Then I applied t' decals, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and finished off with a few more clear coats.
T' only issue I had with t' finishin' is that since t' body is actually made out o' two body tubes joined by a coupler (the baffle), arrr, thar be a deep slit where they meet, and I wasn't able t' fully make it disappear with t' putty. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Oh well, this thin' still turned out t' be me best finish yet.
Flight
I used two B6-4 for t' first flight, which occurred on a very calm day. Arrr! Blimey! T' flight trajectory had a very shallow s-turn at first, me hearties, and ended up goin' straight up.
Recovery
I upgraded t' parachute t' 15" nylon before t' first flight. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' rocket be recovered at about 60 ft from t' launch pad, with only minor scuffs t' one o' t' fin's black paint. Avast, me proud beauty! There was practically no wind that day.
Summary
This rocket comes straight out o' those years where space flight still wasn't a sure thing, ya bilge rat, and that's what I like about it. Avast, me proud beauty! It represents t' excitement o' those early days o' R&D and that feelin' o' nay quite knowin' if a project will succeed or not, shiver me timbers, but goin' at it full throttle nevertheless. For me, arrr, matey, this is a wonderful kit as it also allows cluster flights in a small field, but t' unique colour scheme and questionable fin details are nay for everyone. Ya scallywag! For those reasons, I'll give it a 4/5.
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