| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Published: | 2010-12-30 |
Brief
The Machspeed is a tiny kit which is superlight and streamlined, creating a great speedy little rocket. It flies on an 18mm motor, and, as its name suggests, it can easily go supersonic on an Aerotech D24-10 (an 18/20 reload). The rocket weighs less than half an ounce and is a bit hard to make as it requires airfoil sanding. It goes really high and is to spot in a non-clear sky. It is minimum diameter and the motor is friction-fit.
Components
- nine-inch 18mm body tube
- engine block
- die-cut fins
- shock cord (which is quite small, but works well)
- shock cord mount
- react-a-pack epoxy
- nose cone
- short streamer
The kit is quite light doesn't come with a decal - I presume to help weight and aerodynamics. But hey, you can make a cool decal right?
The epoxy is extremely important. I had this kit before and left out the epoxy on the fins. The fins ripped off and broke the BT - my first CATO. The epoxy holds them strong.
Construction
This kit is not your average 3FNC kit. It requires what I call "effort." You have to make the airfoil to make the kit more aerodynamic. The instructions also ask you to "paper" the fins which makes them easier to paint and also much much stronger. Otherwise, construction is a breaze - except you have to watch the weight.
Finishing
Finishing is easy and short. Primer. Primer. Gloss red. Gloss red.
Flight
Flight prep is easy. Add wadding, a motor, and an igniter. Then ... Woosh!!
I first tried this on the smallest motor I could find - an A class motor. It zipped to the sky which made me nervous about trying a D engine.
But, I decided to stick one in there. It zoomed off the pad, far in to the sky, and the guy at the RSO table said, outloud, "Oops.. gooodbye!" It didn't make an audible boom, as rockets do not do this, but it flew high and fast. I am sure it broke Mach. It took forever to come down and we lost site of it because the streamer is short.
Recovery
HaHa. Dumb luck I guess. I went home sulking because I had lost a 29 dollar Aerotech motor. The next morning I went out for a jog. Passing the launch site, I spotted a bright streamer . It was my prized rocket with the motor in it, and it was in great condition.
Summary
Great, high flying, high performance, low power rocket with some crazy muscle.
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