Estes - McKibbin's Special (Plan)
Contributed by Dwayne Surdu-Miller
Construction: Although the plans recommend building the 'laser' details with launch lugs, I found that I could get better looking 'lasers' by rolling appropriate lengths and widths of kraft paper around sharpened 3-1/4" dowels. Instead of an Estes PNC-50Y, I used a Quest PNC25 for the nose cone because I had one one hand. For the shock cord, I used 2-feet of a sturdy 1/4" wide cotton elastic. The shock cord was mounted with an oversized Estes-style shock cord mount cut from an index card. The 18" parachute was cut out of a black plastic garbage bag. The 36" shroud lines were cut from a roll of pure cotton crochet yarn. The engine block was cut from an expended motor casing. The engine clip was shaped out of a heat-softened, de-stressed bobby pin. Launch lugs were cut from drink-box straws. The tubes, however, are all standard Estes parts including a full-length BT-50 for the main airframe, 2.75" of BT-20 for the motor mount, and a couple of 1.5" BT-5 tubes for decorative engine nozzles. The McKibbon's Special plans were aimed at experience model rocketeers. They don't provide much 'spoon-feeding'. The plans show you exactly what to cut out of the balsa stock, but they leave it to the builder to figure out how many of each shape must be cut. The plans show you precisely where everything must be placed, but they leave it to the builder to figure out where to draw alignment marks and how to put everything together. The plans also do not suggest a finishing scheme. For an experienced modeller, the plans are beautifully clean, complete, and challenging. For a novice, I suspect the lack of detail would be overwhelming. The McKibbin's Special is rated as Skill Level 3. I feel that this is about right for construction, though the minimalist plans probably push skill level to 4.
Careful alignment is required for the rudders, the canards, and the 'laser' details. The look of the rocket seems to depend on symmetry, so misalignments would likely be pretty noticeable visually. When everything is assembled, the rocket feels rigid and quite sturdy. I really like the feel of this model. Finishing: I really like the looks of the finished product. It has enough detail and interesting angles that it looks attractive when seen from many angles. It has a futuristic detailed look that harkens back to the old Centuri days. Construction Rating: 4 out of 5 Flight: Preparation was typical parachute preparation, making use of wadding, smoothing baby powder over both sides of the parachute, folding the parachute as usual. The McKibbon's Special flew straight up with no wobbles, swerves, or spinning. I was expecting it to curve toward the rudder-side, but this did not happen. The wind was gusting at about 10 to 20 mph, but no weathercocking was apparent. The model curved to horizontal and ejected the 'chute... a perfect flight! Recovery: Flight Rating: 4 out of 5 Summary: Required materials are very standard. Many of the required parts can be made out of household materials. For the novice modeller, however, the plans don't provide nearly enough detail or instruction. The 18" parachute drifts quite a bit on a gusty day. I'd recommend opening a spill hole in the 'chute to counter this problem. Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
What You Can Do
|
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
Brief:
During construction,
care must be taken to assemble the wings. The angled joint and the long forward
section can make it difficult to keep the root edge of the assemble wing
straight. Also, the joint between the engine nacelles and the main wings is
tight. Care must be taken to avoid excess glue along the main wing root where
the nacelles join.