Brief:
This is a single stage rocket, skill level 2 from the new company FlisKits. It has an interesting fin area with a ring. It says that it was first introduced at the Seventh Annual North East Model Rocket Convention (NEMROC7). I ordered this direct from FlisKits online and had it in 2-3 days by mail. The package is very nice looking. It came in a retail type bag (like Estes) with a hole punched header card, and full color cardboard insert. If I saw one of these on a hobby shelf or peg, it would get my attention, because it looks great. It also has a production number, which I like. The production number is entered with a black sharpie on the main package insert card. Very nice attention to detail in that way. Mine is #19.

Construction:
The back side of the color cardboard insert has a nice detailed parts list, list of required tools and what is required for launching. It comes with :

• NCB-50Y Balsa Nose Cone
• (2) BT-50-17 Body Tubes
• CPL-50-01 Stage Coupler 1.0"
• CPL-70-0125 Stage Coupler 1.25"
• FSB-2-3-6 Balsa Fin Stock 1/16"
• LL-1-1 Launch Lug 1"
• BT-20-0275 Engine Tube 2.75"
• EB-20-0025 Engine Block
• (2) CRF-20-50 Centering Rings
• EH-0275 Engine Hook 2.75"
• SE-M Screw Eye Medium
• SC-1-18 Shock Cord 18"
• PCP-16 Parachute 16"
• SLCA-96 Shroud Line Cotton
• TD-1-6 Tape Disks

It also includes excellent detailed instructions with figures/pictures, a preflight checklist and the history of the design of the rocket. A very nice complete kit with attention to detail.

The instructions were very easy to follow. As this kit comes without die-cut fins, you must cut the fins yourself. There are three fins made from six pieces, plus the outer ring. When I opened this kit one night I was wondering about how hard it would be to build. So I just jumped right in on it. Using a razor saw, I had enough balsa (good quality hard 1/16") to make 4 of each piece. Picking my best 3 of each shape I use a sanding block and got them all uniform. I don't know if it was luck or just good design with the templates being perfect, but everything fit totally perfect and snug. I used CA to tack the six fin pieces into their three locations. Then used white glue for fillets. Finally I used CA to attach the ring around the fins and gave it some very light white glue fillets.

The FlisKits' Corona comes with a FlisKits' parachute, which is like an Estes plastic 'chute, and it is designed to use the Estes type 3-folded paper to the inner wall type shock cord mount. This is where I changed mine. I adhered a 24" piece of Kevlar® cord to the engine mount using CA (see picture). Then I tied a small snap swivel onto it and then used the 18" shock cord attached to the nose cone.

Finishing:
Finishing this rocket can be fun and has a wide variety of ways of doing it. It did not come with decals. I gave it a quick twice over with white primer, and a few hours later a few coats of Krylon 18K Gold Plate. It looks pretty darn nice I do believe! It's a little hard to spray paint due to the ring around the fins, and I am considering painting the ring black with a small brush. That would really make it stand out. For construction and finishing, I give it a 5/5 for a skill level 2.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
I have only flown it once, with a C6-5 before paint. It was straight up and very high and looked nice. I can't wait to fly it again with the 18K Gold Plated paint job. I just got in my order of Aerotech D21 Blue Thunders, so that will be what it rides on next time.

Recovery:
While this kit came with a plastic 'chute and an 18" shock cord, along with the Estes type cord mount, this will work. That is why I am giving it a 5/5. It was only by personal preference that I added the Kevlar® to the mount cord and snap swivel. I would have loved to see a small nylon chute, but it would not be reasonable to expect that, because this kit is not expensive at all.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
This FlisKit's Corona kit reminded me of the cool 70's and 80's Estes kits. It's not just one you glue together and slap on the launch pad. It takes thinking and a little skill. It's fun to build, and it provides a nice reward when you are done. I see no way of improving it at all. It's a super kit for the price, as all components and instructions are excellent. Overall, I give it a 5/5.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Brief:
This is an updated version of the FlisKits Corona. To prepare the Corona for the release of the optional Corona-2 booster, FlisKits now includes laser cut plywood fins instead of balsa fin stock and a pattern so the builder no longer has to cut out the fins.

Construction:
There are 3 minor changes to the build of the Corona:

1. If you plan on building and using the Corona-2, then you have to build it without the motor hook!
2. The aforementioned laser cut 1/16" thick birch plywood fins. Aside from being single piece fins, they also include a tiny lip on the aft end of the tip cord to properly align the ring fin.
3. The ring fin should not be painted if you plan on building and using the Corona-2 because the paint's thickness could cause the booster to not deploy at sustainer ignition.

The instructions included plenty of diagrams and easy-to-understand text to guide the builder through construction. The instructions also did a fantastic job of pointing out any potential gotchas that might occur during the build. With the new parts, the build has been simplified--particularly if you are going to build the Corona-2 afterwards, which is what I did.

The only step that I deviated from was where I was supposed to sand a bevel onto the leading and trailing edges of the fins. With the fins being so thin, I decided to sand the edges smooth but did not shape them.

Other than that, I built the kit completely stock. I did not find any potential flaws in the design or components of the kit. The parts are all top notch and there is the attention to detail like having the Kevlar/elastic shock cord attached to the coupler joining the 2 BT-50 body tubes, which puts it even at its closest quite a ways from the proximity of the motor ejection (although wadding it still definitely required).

Finishing:
Keep in mind, I didn't glue the ring fin on till after I did all of my painting since I was planning to use this in a 2-stage configuration with the Corona-2!

I began the finishing process by applying diluted Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish to the fins and balsa nose cone and then sanding them down until smooth with 320 grit sandpaper. The entire rocket was given a couple coats of Krylon white primer and were sanded with 400 grit sandpaper after each coat. The nose cone was painted Krylon Sun Yellow Gloss separately while the rest of the rocket was painted Krylon Regal Blue Gloss.

For the ring fin I pulled out a technique used by folks who build competition models: I used a silver metallic Sharpie Marker to color the outside of the ring fin! It did a great job covering the funky blue-green paper of the ring fin and matched up with the silver automotive pinstriping I put on the nose cone for accent.

The last step was to attach the ring fin. I started by roughing up the tip cord on each of the fins with a little sandpaper. Then I smeared some glue at 120 degree intervals on the inside of the ring fin. I carefully slid it along most of the length of the rocket and into place resting on each of the 3 fins.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
I flew the Corona twice. First it went solo on a C6-7. The quick boost was nice and straight to about 700 feet. No anomalies in flight were observed. It arced over and ejected a second or so past apogee. The shorter delay of a C6-5 is probably a better match for single stage flights for a C motor. A B6-4 should be an excellent match for this rocket on windy days or if the launch field isn't big enough to support such high altitude flights.

The second flight was on another C6-7 as the sustainer for the Corona-2 booster. The booster carried the rocket upwards in the neighborhood of 400 feet before the sustainer motor ignited perfectly. I did not see any deviation in the sustainer's trajectory after separation as it continued up to a good 1200 feet and ejected right at apogee.

Recovery:
The Kevlar/elastic shock cord should please the experienced LPR builders out there. There is plenty of both included with the kit so there is all but zero chance of the nose cone snapping back.

The parachute in the kit is the user customizable plastic chute that comes with most kits from FlisKits. You have your choice of a 14", 12", or 10" chute. I was concerned about the drift of the Corona, particularly when used with the Corona-2 booster so I opted to cut it out along the 12" lines as well as remove the 2" diameter FlisKits logo in the center for a spill hole. (I have to admit that I hate cutting out the manufacturer's product logo from the plastic chute but that's where they choose to put it!) I do prefer to have my rockets recover on the fast side, but I almost always launch at sites where there is plenty of grass to absorb the impact too.

On the first flight, I think I may have packed the Estes wadding a little too far down the body tube as the nose cone separated at ejection but the shock cord and chute didn't fully come out of the rocket. It drag recovered landing on a pile of dirt. This put a slight kink in the body tube just forward of the fins. There was more damage to my pride than the cosmetics of the rocket.

The second flight was the same day and right after the first one. The chute opened without any issues this time and the light winds carried the Corona just out of the field. Thankfully it cleared the power lines but into an are with quite a few trees. The rocket gods smiled on me though and allowed it to land in a small clearing. There was no damage upon recovering it.

Flight Rating: 4 ½ out of 5

Summary:
The Corona is a sleek kit capable of some impressive altitude on low power motors but is easily tracked during flight thanks to its long profile. Flown as a single stage it will almost certainly always give a good flight but when used as a sustainer with the Corona-2, it'll get a lot of attention!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5