RocketReviews.com - FlisKits - A.C.M.E. Spitfire

Brief:
This is yet another review of this unique, crooked rocket. Hopefully, this provides another perspective on its construction, finishing/decoration, and flight.

The FlisKits kits are professionally packaged and this is no exception. The printed face includes is in full color, includes photos and specs, and a serial number--mine is #87. The small parts are contained in a small Zip-loc bag. My only minor complaint is that the cardstock sheet with the bottom shroud was rolled in the BT-70 tube, and the curve on the shroud was backwards. It took a little more work to roll it, but this didn't really hurt anything. There are eight pages of detailed instructions.

The rocket consists of a full length BT-50 tube that also serves as the motor tube. Around this is a series, of shrouds, sections of custom cut BT-70 tubing, and centering rings, which form the crooked outer shell. The highlight of the components are the seven laser cut rings, which include alignment tabs. The middle six rings also include a hole that allows you to align the ring set using a standard launch rod; this is an simple, but well thought out feature.

Templates are provided for all the cutting, and I recommend you take your time. Assembly is a bit tricky as you are told to insert the thin centering rings halfway into each angular tube. I failed to accomplish this. Thus, the intersection of the BT-70 sections is not as clean as they could be, but the rocket still went together and is quite sturdy.

Motor retention is accomplished with both a cardboard ring and a motor hook. The motor itself is recessed into the base of the rocket which I think gives it a cool look.

For the nose cone, I formed the shroud that came with the instructions (shortened a bit so it wouldn't hang out) and glued it into an outer shroud that I decorated and printed myself. I used Devcon 2-ton, 5-minute epoxy, which is the same epoxy recommended by Art Applewhite on his kits and will not bleed through the cardstock. While I was at it, I glued in the nose cone's centering ring using the 5-minute epoxy. The nose cone's shoulder consists of a BT-50 sized balsa coupler that is glued into a pre-cut hole in the nose cone's centering ring. A eyehook completes the cone. There is a chunk of clay to provide stability, but unlike most rockets it doesn't go in the nose. Instead, to fill the top of the rocket between the top centering ring, the BT-70, and the inner BT-50 tubes.

The fins are all uniquely shaped and complete the odd looks of the kit. These are glued directly to the bottom cardstock shroud. I used white glue and added several layers of fillets. The fins still seem loose, as the shroud does not provide a firm base. If I was to build it gain, I'd make a second shroud and epoxy it into the first, similar to what I did on the nose cone. I just wasn't thinking at the time.

While I was assembling the body, I ran a section of Kevlar® twine through the BT-50 tube, tied it around the tube, and epoxied it to a centering ring. I tied the stock elastic cord to this leader, and to the hook-eye installed in the cone. I haven't yet assembled the plastic chute that was provided with the kit.

Finishing:
FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire

The Spitfire requires finishing like most rockets. FlisKits does have a set of 'skins' that can be downloaded for free from their site. I printed the skins on the recommended Avery 5265 full-page label paper using my OfficeJet printer. The sizing of the skins was a bit off, but it was easy to fill the gaps with strips of similarly colored stickers, which I conveniently had leftover since I didn't check the printer setting the first time through. One thing about FlisKits is that they actually LISTEN to their customers. By the time of this posting, the wraps will be updated.

I decided to make my own nose cone shroud with Wile E. Coyote on it. Since blank skin templates weren't yet available, I scanned the template from the kit. I had found a front view of Wile E on the net, but knew he wouldn't look right if he was simply pasted onto the shroud. Therefore, I used a distortion filter in Adobe Photo Deluxe to wrap Wile E over a sphere. Thus, when the cone is formed, he was more-or-less straightened back out. I "borrowed" a few bits of graphics from FlisKits to complete my shroud, which I printed directly onto cardstock.

I also added a bunch of random stickers: band-aids, extra metal patches/hatches, dripping green ooze (stole the idea from Carl Tulanko), and even my own "no BATF" sticker. I sealed the edges of the stickers with white glue, as recommended and shot two coats of clear enamel over the whole thing.

Flight:
There is nothing out of the ordinary about the prep of this unique rocket. The C11-3 gave an arrow-straight flight with ejection at apogee - perfect! The ejection went off with an extra loud POP, since I guess there was a lot of shock cord and chute to eject.

Recovery:
I used an Estes 12in chute that I already had assembled. This was a hard decision. On one hand I was worried about the fins, on the other hand the BT-50 doesn't leave much room for a chute. However, the recovery was fine with no fin damage.

Summary:
FlisKits is proving to be a highly innovative kit manufacturer. The Spitfire is about the most unique kit I've seen. It is not the easiest build, but the instructions are great. Plus, as someone on TRF commented, looking a bit dilapidated may actually *help* the looks of this kit! :-) Despite its crooked, funny-looking profile, the Spitfire flies as well as it looks. I can't wait to see what custom skins people come up with. The only concern I have is the attachment of the fins to a paper shroud. In conclusion, this would be a great addition to anyone's fleet!

Flight Log

Date	Rocket Name	Motor(s)	Altitude	Notes
2003-08-11	Carl Tulanko's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-3	-	Great first flight...low and graceful with chute at apogee.
2003-08-16	Carl Tulanko's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-5	-	Another good flight with late ejection...but still fun to do. I traded someone my last D12-5 for a...
2003-08-16	Carl Tulanko's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Another good flight, number 4 for the day on this model...I just can't get enough...ran out of...
2003-08-16	Chan Stevens's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Blew out motor tube--wound up rebuilding/new kit.
2003-08-16	Chan Stevens's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Excellent flight, though flight #2 resulted in nose cone sep (balsa plug burned through), motor...
2003-08-17	Dick Stafford's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-3	-	nice straight flight, recovery was close by and there was no damage
2003-08-17	Carl Tulanko's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Perfect flight. Ejection at apogee, but sounded like a cannon going off! Everyone thought it had a...
2003-09-06	Dick Stafford's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-3	-	good straight flight, no damage, spat motor
2003-09-06	Dick Stafford's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	much higher, some wobble on the way up; no recovery damage
2003-10-04	Mike Herndon's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Another nice flight!!
2003-10-11	Dick Stafford's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-3	-	chute tangled, hit hard on end of BT, top outer BT separated, was flyable as is
2004-03-06	Marty Wiggins's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Nice flight with slight cocking into the wind. The ejection charge must have been very strong. The...
2004-06-05	David Logan's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Nice boost, a litte crooked, but what do you expect with a crooked rocket? Recovered about 40...
2004-08-28	Warren Wattles's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-3	-	Good low flight
2004-09-04	Donald Laskey's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-5	-
2004-09-04	Donald Laskey's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-5	-
2004-10-09	Dick Stafford's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-3	-	OK flight, but the crowd loves the rocket
2004-11-26	Donald Laskey's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-5	-	the chute was a melted and lost.
2005-04-16	Dick Stafford's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-3	-	Shouldn't have packed the Mylar chute the night before, didn't open, front- end smashed, repairable
2005-04-16	Clive Davis's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-3	-	Slight weathercock, but otherwise great flight. The C11 is perfect for this rocket. My parachute...
2005-06-18	Larry Zeilmann's ACME SpitFire	C11-3	-	Super Stable, striped the kit 16" chute, Broken Fin, repaired.
2005-07-10	Scott Turnbull's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	First flight of this seemingly bent rocket flew arrow straight.
2005-08-28	Mitchell Small's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Nosecone separated from body. Nosecone landed with parachute. Body landed on blacktop and...
2005-08-28	Mitchell Small's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-3	-	Nice flight, not too high.
2005-09-10	Scott Turnbull's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-
2005-09-11	Scott Turnbull's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-
2005-12-23	Donald Besaw's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-3	-	Excellent first flight. Nice straight boost with no wobbling noticed. Recovered nicely on the...
2006-01-12	Donald Besaw's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	This is the ideal motor for this rocket. Very cool flight, noticed some wobbling but I think it...
2006-02-10	Donald Besaw's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Pretty decent flight, weathercocked quite a bit though. Recovered fine after a moderate walk. No...
2006-03-18	Larry Zeilmann's ACME SpitFire	C11-3	-	Perfect flight, good chute, motor kicked slightly, no damage.
2006-04-29	Clive Davis's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	C11-3	-	Great flight. Nice recovery. Parachute slightly scorched.
2006-05-06	Chan Stevens's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Not that stable, might have been bad nozzle. Arced over halfway through burn.
2006-07-08	Todd Mullin's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-5	-	Cracked fins off on landing and somehow the launch lug stand-off...? It was sitting on the ground...
2006-10-14	Mitchell Small's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	E30-4	-	Previously repaired numerous times. All night I was asked if this realy flew. Took off like a...
2006-12-02	Chan Stevens's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-
2007-06-02	Dwayne Shmel's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire (RIP)	D12-3	-	PERFECT flight. Ejection was perfect.
2007-06-21	Dwayne Shmel's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire (RIP)	C11-3	-	Perfect flight profile. The kids in the park enjoyed this one. Not too much altitude - chute...
2007-07-21	Dwayne Shmel's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire (RIP)	D12-5	-	Nice corkscrew flight. Perfect ejection and recovery on 12 mylar chute
2007-08-12	Edward Chess's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Wonderful slow liftoff, nice recovery.
2007-08-25	Dwayne Shmel's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire (RIP)	D12-3	-	Drag race with another Spitfire. I lost. Shock cord burned through and nosecone came down on chute...
2008-08-09	Edward Chess's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Another good flight, no damage on landing.
2008-08-10	Les Bradshaw's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Drifted aways, but nice flight as usual
2008-08-23	Bob Harrington's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Nice straight boost.. Parachute came off immediatly at ejection so it may be that clipped the...
2008-09-06	Ron Coffee's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-5	-	First flight. I was a little nervouse since one the segments did not figt exactly on the...
2009-01-31	Tim Bearden's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-5	-	Maiden Flight, drifted far and landed on concrete resulting in detatched fin.
2009-03-14	Tim Bearden's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-7	-	Hard Landing had to repair fin
2009-04-25	Bob Harrington's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Parachute failed to eject. Lawn dart but no apparent damage
2009-05-16	Michael Mangieri's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Nice straight flight.
2009-07-04	Dwayne Shmel's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire (RIP)	E9-6	-	CATO. Rocket was propelled about 20' into the air and engine failure ripped out the motor mount...
2009-10-10	Edward Chess's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Chute deployed late after ejection--just took a second to clear the Nomex chute protector--was a...
2009-11-14	Moe Bertrand's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-5	-	Great first flight of my Spitfire...
2009-11-14	Moe Bertrand's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	E9-4	-	Great 2nd flight of my nekkid Spitfire. Not sure how I'm gonna paint this one.
2010-05-15	Michael Mangieri's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Another great flight for this really cool looking rocket.
2011-06-11	Edward Chess's FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire	D12-3	-	Just past apogee, good flight, no damage

FlisKits - A.C.M.E. Spitfire

Flight Log

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