West Coast Rocketry Screamer

West Coast Rocketry - Screamer {Kit}

Contributed by Nick Hills

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Manufacturer: West Coast Rocketry

Rocket PicBrief:
This is a single stage, Out-of-Production (OOP) mid and high power kit. Begad! This rocket is great for E-H motors.

Construction:
There are two (2) nicely finished 2.25" body tubes, me bucko, same thickness as LOC's, arrr, ya bilge rat, a nicely turned solid balsa nose cone, four (4) 1/8" plywood fins, shiver me timbers, elastic for t' shock cord (12 feet), shiver me timbers, a coupler, bulkhead, motor tube and two (2) centerin' rings along with a 1/4" launch lug.

In me kit I got, thar were no instructions, shiver me timbers, matey, other then a header card, ya bilge rat, this kit is OOP, so I figured that it must have gotten lost or somethin' along t' way. Begad! But t' kit is simple enough for anyone t' figure out. All parts fit well, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I had t' make me own slots in t' body tube for t' fins, matey, shiver me timbers, which is nay hard. Begad! All t' centerin' rings, me hearties, bulkheads, coupler, matey, and fins fit well and went together well. Avast! I had t' put some filler in a few minor dents in t' nose cone from handlin' over t' years. Blimey! I then put four coats o' sandin' sealer on it and primed it. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' kit comes with nose weight and have a pre-drilled hole in t' cone for t' weight, arrr, arrr, me hearties, which is much easier then makin' your own hole in it. T' shock cord attaches t' t' top centerin' rin' with a steel cable and then attaches t' t' bulkhead screw-eye. T' over all finished kit seems pretty strong.

Finishing:
Finishin' be easy, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I filled t' seams with Elmers Fill'n Finish, then sanded down and primed. Well, blow me down! I then used Testors Gloss Cherry Red and Testors Gloss Black t' finish it off. Avast, me proud beauty! It looks great. Ahoy! T' kit came with no decals, and looks just fine without them.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Rocket PicFlight:
There is a whole list o' recommended Kosdon and Aerotech motors. Ya scallywag! Arrr! For t' first flight I choose a Aerotech E23-5 Blue Thunder motor. Ya scallywag! A great, straight boost t' about 600 feet with a very nice parachute recovery.

I have flown this rocket 8 times, me hearties, me bucko, with Aerotech F40-7's, an Aerotech G104-M, a Kosdon G40-10, matey, an Aerotech G64-7, a Vulcan G200-10 (my favorite flight so far on this rocket) and an Aerotech F101-10. Begad! All flights have went well other than t' shock cord breakin' on one, me hearties, but all be recovered with only a broken fin.

T' model does require wadding, it was easy t' prep. For motor retention I used tee-nuts with washers t' keep t' motor in place. Has nay failed.

Recovery:
For recovery, you can either use a 18" or 24" chute, me hearties, arrr, if you are nay goin' t' put it all that high, me hearties, me hearties, matey, use t' 24" chute, me bucko, me hearties, or if your flyin' area has a hard landin' surface, matey, use t' 24" chute, matey, but if you want t' minimize t' walk t' get it, me bucko, go for t' 18".

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket is great. T' kit is high quality and easy t' put together. Only bad side I saw t' t' kit is it came with no instructions. There are no other cons t' this kit at all. If you ever can find one o' these, make sure t' pick it up. Arrr! Ahoy! Great kit!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • West Coast Rocketry Screamer By John Lee (June 14, 2009)

    Not too long ago, I won several kits from West Coast Rocketry on eBay. Not long after, I built my Screamer II, affectionately known as John Deer. Since my John Deere yellow and green paint cans have about one rocket left in them and I need the shelf space, I decided to build the Screamer which will be called the Jane Doe and painted with the contrasting paint scheme of the other one. The ...

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