Rocketarium - VK-7 Sounding Rocket (Viking 7)

Rocketarium VK-7 Sounding Rocket (Viking 7)

Rocketarium - VK-7 Sounding Rocket (Viking 7)

Contributed by Martin's Funkworks

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

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, which likely increase its drag, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and maybe that's part o' t' reason it uses two motors. Ahoy! Blimey! But then, arrr, t' compensate for t' additional motor weight, it runs long at over 29". Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! All in all, 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, balsa fins, ya bilge rat, plywood centerin' rings. Begad! Begad! Just as expected. Aye aye! Avast! It does include a baffle assembly, me bucko, shiver me timbers, which eliminates t' need for wadding.

Construction

Instructions were easy t' follow. No issues, and no surprises. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Unless thar's a good reason t' do otherwise, I use CA glue when I need an immediate bond, wood glue when I need time t' do precise adjustments, me hearties, matey, and epoxy when I need maximum strength.

Finishing

I be very intrigued by t' colour o' this kit, arrr, as t' package's artwork is affected by lighting, and every image o' t' real thin' I found online be black & white. Was it light brown? Light grey? Fortunately, ya bilge rat, t' instructions specified t' use o' Rust-Oleum's "Navajo White" for t' body and some o' t' fins, shiver me timbers, aluminum-coloured paint for t' nose cone, arrr, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and black for t' remainin' fins. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! After fillin' in t' spirals with white Tamiya putty, and sandin' everything, shiver me timbers, arrr, shiver me timbers, 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. Then came a few coats o' that mysterious "Navajo White". Well, blow me down! Blimey! After a little masking, I did t' black parts, matey, and a couple o' clear coats. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Then I applied t' decals, 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), me bucko, thar be a deep slit where they meet, and I wasn't able t' fully make it disappear with t' putty. Oh well, ya bilge rat, this thin' still turned out t' be me best finish yet.

Construction Score: 5

Flight

I used two B6-4 for t' first flight, which occurred on a very calm day. Avast! Aye aye! T' flight trajectory had a very shallow s-turn at first, and ended up goin' straight up.

Recovery

I upgraded t' parachute t' 15" nylon before t' first flight. Ya scallywag! T' rocket was recovered at about 60 ft from t' launch pad, ya bilge rat, with only minor scuffs t' one o' t' fin's black paint. Begad! There was practically no wind that day.

Flight Rating: 5

Summary

This rocket comes straight out o' those years where space flight still wasn't a sure thing, matey, and that's what I like about it. Blimey! 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, this is a wonderful kit as it also allows cluster flights in a small field, ya bilge rat, but t' unique colour scheme and questionable fin details are nay for everyone. For those reasons, shiver me timbers, I'll give it a 4/5.

Overall Rating: 4