Jeff Lane's PageRocketReviews.com Pages:
2010-12-12Madcow Rocketry Black Brant (Kit)  Review
Large, all glass single stage high-power scale model of the Black Brant. The kit came from Apogee, and it arrived quickly and free from any defects or damage.
2 4-inch fiberglass body tubes, one fiberglass tube coupler, fiberglass and steel hardware for an avionics bay (dual deploy ready). ... [More]
2010-09-19Madcow Little John Extended Dual Flight First flight of a Shockwave Rocketry production fiberglass nose cone; 4-inch 6:1 Von Karman drag optimized. Nice flight, but shear pins on main gave way at apogee so all chutes came out. - CESJ400-ALTIM - Tripoli Colorado [More]
2010-09-11Scratch-Green Eggs on the Lam  Flight Nice flight, must be 20 or so with this egg lofter. - F24-7 [More]
2010-08-28Rosa Roc D helicopter from plans w/mods  Flight First try with a booster motor. It worked fine, with the burnstring consumed at motor burnout, the rotors don't deploy until apogee because the air rushing past the rocket holds them down. Nice, slow untimed recovery. - C6-0 - COSROCS [More]
2010-08-05Madcow Little John Extended Dual  Flight The paper version of the kit. A great flight. Perfectly straight, both drogue and timer events occurred close to apogee, twin mains deployed nicely. 20 people certified Level 1, 22 did L2, and 2 did L3 at NARAM-52. - CESJ330-ALTIM - COSROCS [More]
2010-08-03E Dual Egg lofter Flight CATO at ~50 feet. Blew through the forward closure. One of Aerotech's new LMS-style single use motors with the molded-in rear bulkhead. Rocket and eggs were toast. - E15-7 [More]
MPC Delta-Katt Flight Two pod separations in a row. Wow. - 1/4A3-2 [More]
MPC Delta-Katt Flight Pod separation on boost. Only happened once before, here it is again. At NARAM. - 1/4A3-2 [More]
2010-08-02Scratch-B streamer  Flight Good, straight, high flight, good streamer time, but no thermals. - B6-6 [More]
May-Mania Parachute Minimum Diameter Flight Great, high flight, but parachute never opened. Lots of baby powder, packed loose, shroud lines packed inside chute, but too light to open. - 1/2A3-4 [More]
Estes Alpha  Flight Very light build Alpha, but not light enough to get good altitude. Very late ejection, chute again did not open. - 1/2A3-4 [More]
2009-07-13Modification Patriot Missile (38mm) (Kit)  Review Brief: This is a Quasar Patriot kit with 38mm motor mount instead of 3 x 24mm, through the wall Microlite fins instead of surface mount balsa, lightweight tape-together clamshell electronics bay for dual deployment recovery, shortened nose cone shoulder, and deleted large metal eye bolt for weight ... [More]
2009-06-11Quasar One Storm Chaser (Kit)  Review
Brief:
BT-50 storm research style sport rocket with 3 main fins and 3 canards, plastic nose cone, plastic parachute, and
extreme waterslide decal coverage.
Construction:
BT-50, plastic nose cone, 6 surface mount balsa fins, thick fiber board centering rings, BT-20 motor tube, ... [More]
2009-05-20Quasar One Iced Up (Kit)  Review
Brief:
3FNC parachute recovery sport rocket with fin tip tubes and large full-color decals.
Construction:
1 BT-50, elliptical plastic nose cone, BT-20 motor mount with fiber centering rings, metal motor hook, and thrust
ring. Balsa fins, launch lugs for each fin tip, large sheet of ... [More]
2009-05-13Semroc Magnum Sprint (Kit)  Review
Brief:
Simple 4FNC rocket with parachute recovery. Chan's review is complete and my experience was pretty much the same, so
I'll just try to add a few comments and photos. For instance, the marketing people at Damon/Estes borrowed the Magnum
moniker because it equates with "over ... [More]
2009-05-12Semroc Magnum Hornet (Kit)  Review
Brief:
Chan's build experience exactly fit my own so I'll try not to repeat. The Magnum concept is simple: large motor,
small rocket, and it actually makes more sense today than it did when originally marketed. I got my kit from Apogee,
and it was damage-free.
Construction:
It is ... [More]
2009-04-29Quasar One U.S. Army Patriot Missile (Kit)  Review
Brief:
The Patriot is Quasar kit that's transitional. It has a high power body tube and nose cone but clusters three 24mm
motors and has surface mount balsa fins. I got the kit from Apogee and they say it's one of their best-selling Quasar
products. It's a great looking kit.
... [More]
2009-03-27Quasar One Bio Hazard II (Kit)  Review
Brief:
The Bio Hazard looks like a two-stage but it's single stage rocket. It's kind of a transition kit. It has a high
power body tube and nose cone but clusters three 24mm motors and has surface mount balsa fins. It's intended for people
who want a no-pain try at mid and high power in ... [More]
2008-09-22Scratch Upscale Grasshopper (Scratch)  Review
( Contributed - by Jeff Lane - 09/22/08)
Brief:
This is a 3x upscale of the Sunward Grasshopper. It is a single-stage 29mm motor mount, 3-inch body, parachute
recovery rocket.
Construction:
One 12.5 inch long 3" airframe tube, One Mercury Engineering blow-molded nose cone, ... [More]
2008-09-20Sunward Aerospace Solar Eclipse (Kit)  Review
Brief:
Large BT-80 based two-stage sport rocket.
Construction:
Two 18-inch BT-80s for main body, one 4-inch BT-80 for booster, two BT-50 sized motor mount tubes, four laser-cut
plywood centering rings, balsa nose cone, rubber shock cord, screw eye, 3/16" launch lug, laser-cut ... [More]
2008-05-27Recovery Technologies Nylon Parachute (Kit) Review
( Contributed - by Jeff Lane - 05/27/08) Brief:
Recovery Technologies econo parachutes are attractive, inexpensive recovery devices for your rocket.
Construction:
We had one TARC team that went to finals in May 08 and one of the reasons they were able to finish 5th is because of
the ... [More]
2008-04-19Scratch Los Alamos Chicken (Scratch)  Review
( Contributed - by Jeff Lane - 04/19/08)
Brief:
A large plastic Easter egg with nuclear waste-colored legs bustin' out. Since it's from Los Alamos, it's a mutant
with three legs.
Construction:
The parts include:
1 8" diameter Easter egg ($1 post-Easter sale at Hobby ... [More]
2008-01-26Centuri Saturn 1B (Kit)  Review
Brief:
This is a smaller vintage Saturn 1B than the Estes version and has vacu-formed wraps. It clusters two 18mm motors and
separates into an upper and lower section for recovery under two parachutes.
Construction:
The instructions are intricate, clear, and excellent.
The ... [More]
Estes Semi-Scale Saturn V (Kit)  Review
Brief:
The Estes Semi-Scale Saturn V is a highly desirable vintage collectible that sells for hundreds of dollars on eBay
and is very rarely seen in its original packaging. It's a simple BT-60 rocket with an ingenious fin can that is a very
reliable flier on Estes black powder 18mm ... [More]
Scratch Saboteur (Scratch)  Review
( Contributed - by Jeff Lane - 01/26/08)
Brief:
The Saboteur is a payload rocket designed to launch from a 6" tube instead of a launch rod. It has through the
wall fin mounts for its five fins, a 29mm motor mount and parachute recovery. The motor tube is open inside, and it
uses ... [More]
2008-01-21Scratch Cymech Armageddonator (Scratch)  Review
( Contributed - by Jeff Lane - 01/21/08)
Brief:
The Cymech Armageddonator is a 1/24 scale model of the existing classified stealth reconnaissance aircraft. The full
sized craft is powered by two regenerative air-turboramjet (RATR) engines and carries a crew of two. It uses a
synthetic ... [More]
2007-11-14Scratch Tarnation Flaming Breakfast of Doom (Scratch)  Review
( Contributed - by Jeff Lane - 11/14/07)
Brief:
Rocket made entirely from recycled household trash materials.
Construction:
External body is a stack of ten paper-walled Carnation Instant Breakfast cans. Parachute tube (inner) is a 48mm
diameter Christmas paper core. Motor mount ... [More]
2007-07-18Scratch Estes S.W.A.T. 1.38X (Scratch)  Review
( Contributed - by Jeff Lane - 07/18/07)
Brief:
138% upscale of the Estes S.W.A.T. The S.W.A.T. is a low orbit interceptor-style kit Estes produced in the early
1990s. When kids see my original S.W.A.T., they actually scream with delight, always asking “how high?" The ... [More]
2007-04-01Scratch Saturn-Komarov (Scratch)  Review
( Contributed - by Jeff Lane - 04/01/07)
Brief:
It's the year 2015. Hillarycare has caused the economy to go belly up, IRS computers have become self-aware, the
United Nations is in charge of sub-dermal implants for our identity system, and NASA has been absorbed by the Russian
space ... [More]
| Jeff Lane
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