Top Rocketry Product ReviewsThe following are the 25 most popular reviews at RocketReviews.com based on the number of times they have been viewed. Contributed by Kirk Greenfield - Brief
This is a Skill Level One rocket with balsa wood fins, a single body tube, and a plastic nose cone.
Components
The parachute is a 12-inch plastic ‘chute with an elastic shock cord. The fins are die-cut and were almost ready to fall out, cleanly cut and clear. There is also a double-sided sheet of instructions. The "anchor" for the shock cord must be cut from the instructions,... [More ...] Contributed by Dillon Frazier -
Brief
Stands about 20 inches tall with a BT-60. Large nose cone. It's a pretty fat rocket, but quite easy to assemble and fly.
Components
Balsa wood fins, BT-60 body tube, engine hook retainer, engine mount components, very long rubber shock cord, 18-inch parachute.
Construction and Finishing
This rocket really doesn't have many cons. I would say the only one is that you... [More ...] Contributed by Aris Simsarian -
Brief
The scratch build is a 4-inch diameter rocket. The nose cone is provided by What's Up Hobbies and is fiberglass. The body tubes I purchased through Giant Leap Rocketry.
Originally, I planned to purchase a 48" long Dyna-Wind body tube cut into two sections, where one was 26" long and the other was 22". However, due to what they had available, the order was changed to two 36" long... [More ...] Contributed by Gene Wolski -
Brief
This review covers both the 24mm motor retainer and 18/24mm motor adaptor.
Components
The 24mm motor retainer is a two piece anodized aluminum assembly consisting of a base and a screw on cap. The motor adaptor includes two pieces as well - the adaptor body and a retainer ring.
Construction
I decided to retrofit the 24mm retainer on two of my rockets with 24mm motor... [More ...] Contributed by Bill Eichelberger -
Brief
The Viking 5 was the last in the Viking series, a tube-finned family of performance birds from Flight Systems, Inc. I was looking at http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/rockets.html for something different and seldom seen to build before NARAM 53. I'd previously built a BMS Viking 1 Clone of the Month and was familiar with the Viking 2, 3 and 4 models, but I'd never noticed the Viking 5.... [More ...] Contributed by Mike Caplinger -
Brief
The Extreme Wildman is a 4-inch-diameter 100-inch long 75mm MMT all-fiberglass 3FNC kit. I bought one during Wildman Rocketry's "Black Saturday" sale right after Thanksgiving 2010 (1/3 off!) with the idea of using it for my NAR L3 flight.
Components
The kit is quite complete. The tubes are all G12 filament-wound fiberglass-epoxy composite, and the fins and bulkheads G10... [More ...] Contributed by James Hamilton -
Brief
From Quest:
High-Q is a great looking and performing mid-size rocket. Over 30 inches tall, the kit features blowmolded plastic nose cone, laser-cut balsa fins and a rugged 29mm diameter motor mount. Flights with an Aerotech F32-6W will go to almost 3,000 feet. Then your High-Q will recover gently on the big 18" fabric parachute. Includes big, easy-to-apply self adhesive decals. Also... [More ...] Contributed by Hank Helmen -
Brief: This is the Sport Scale SR-71 Blackbird Model Rocket. It is an 18mm motor with parachute recovery Estes challenge kit. The SR-71 was designed at the famous "Skunk Works" with a mission of high alititude reconnaissance!
Construction: The Blackbird kit comes in a box with a color picture of the built kit on the outside. I built kit number EST-7003. It is labeled as a "Challenge" kit... [More ...] Contributed by Jim Stuckman - First Impressions:
10/31/98 - Tonight I had a large package waiting for me when I got home - a beta-version of the soon to be released Saturn V!The kit is packed in a NCR style box with a cool graphic of the Saturn V. The specs on the label are:
43.25" Long
3.938" Diameter
10.2 oz weight
Motor D12-3
Est. Max Alt - 100'
Upon opening the box, it quickly becomes apparent that... [More ...] Contributed by Chan Stevens -
Brief
This is a retro-repro (modern day reproduction and enhancement of a classic kit) from Semroc. The original Astron Trident was introduced by Estes in 1968 and was a Gene Street design. It introduced a ducted ejection system that eliminated the need for recovery wadding, and was an instant favorite due to its sleek, futuristic styling. It's been a favorite clone candidate for many years,... [More ...] Contributed by John Bergsmith -
Brief: An upscaled version of the classic Alpha that flies on standard Estes 18mm engines. Almost 20 inches tall, this rocket reaches heights of 600 feet.
Construction: Balsa Nose Cone, Laser cut Balsa Fins, card stock centering rings, engine hook, BT-60 body tube, and Waterslide Decals
The motor mount is constructed using typical methods. The only thing I changed was to add a Kevlar... [More ...] Contributed by Dick Stafford -
Brief: How many times have you forgot to bring a multimeter to a launch and found yourself scrounging one to check continuity or battery voltage? I almost never brought one and couldn't seem to justify buying a second one to leave in the range box. Harbor Freight recently opened a store nearby and I ran across the perfect solution to my problem: a $3.99 DMM manufactured by CEN-TECH.
... [More ...] Contributed by David Montgomery -
Brief: Estes released the Star Wars fleet model rockets in 1978 following the very successful Star Wars movie on the big screen. The Estes Maxi-Brute X-Wing Fighter kit is a full scale replica used by the special effects team of Lucas Film in the making of the first movie. The Maxi-Brute X-Wing is a single stage model designed to be powered by a single D12-3 and recovered via twin 18" plastic... [More ...] Contributed by Gary Tortora -
Brief
This is Performance Rocketry's 1/3 Scale 5.5" Nike Smoke. The kit stands 77" tall and is made in either G10 or G12. For my kit I wanted a few things different from the standard 54mm single deploy version, I had mine made with a 75mm MM and dual deploy. My finished build weight with everything but the motor came in at 16lbs.
Components
The kits parts were all precision cut to... [More ...] Contributed by Gary Tortora -
Brief
The FORMULA 75 is the latest kit from Rocketry Warehouse. It's the big brother of the already popular Formula 54.
The FORMULA 75 is a 3" All fiberglass kit with a 38mm Motor mount, The kit is also one of "Fly Naked" series rockets which means that NO painting is required, All the kits parts come pre-colored, The fins, nose cone and centering rings are black while the... [More ...] Contributed by Frank Casey - Brief: This is a single stage 18mm kit of the famous Starship Enterprise. There are other excellent reviews of this rocket that accurately detail it’s construction so I won’t call out every detail on this build. I picked this kit up on eBay for $12.00 including shipping. As a matter of fact, I have purchased five of these in total for right around that same price. I notice that... [More ...] Contributed by Douglas Hurstell -
Brief
003217 - Vagabond Description
Skill Level 2
Standing almost 3 feet tall, this amazing rocket can reach heights of 1275 feet. Launched on D and E engines, this rocket is sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Components
Estes brings back the very long ogive BT-60 compatible nose cone (plastic)
2 body tubes
3 x 3 piece laser cut balsa fins.
Standard rubber band shock cord.... [More ...] Contributed by Clifford w Crawford -
Brief
Kit #3025: The Photon Disruptor by Estes is a Sci-Fi stylized, multi-finned interstellar torpedo carrying a Radiation Flux-tipped warhead. Built by the Space Weapons Division (SWD), it is designated variant: Mod ptx-t1103 APP-RAD. 8-214.
Components
In the Estes Photon Disruptor kit #3025 there are two main body tubes, an upper body tube BT-55 at (34.5cm) long, and a shorter lower... [More ...] Contributed by Gary Tortora -
Brief
The X-Celerator is a 4" all G12 fiberglass kit from Rocketry Warehouse.
This kit Features
Router beveled fin edges
Precision routed fin slots
Flies on anything from an I to an L
Weight 9 Lbs
Almost 7 Foot Tal
Components
Although the kit is a Rocketry Warehouse kit it is manufactured by Performance Rocketry, That being said you can rest assured this is one quality... [More ...] Contributed by Rich DeAngelis -
Brief
The Altimeter One is a very small and easy-to-use altimeter for model rockets, airplanes, kites and even birding.
Jolly Logic's Altimeter Two is similar, but has specific features for model rockets only, and is a bit more sophisticated and a bit more expensive.
I bought mine for $50 (Altimeter One) and $70 (Altimeter Two). This was money well spent as these altimeters have enhanced... [More ...] Contributed by Yitah Wu - What is it about the Fat Boy, Onyx, Minie Magg, etc, that makes grown men's knees weak? I don't know, but the Big Daddy has it - and lots of it.
I swung by Commonwealth Displays a couple of times, but they were out of the kit. The second time I was beat out by a telephone order by an hour or so. I was ordering a few things from A to Z hobbies, and they had them in stock, so.....Two days later... [More ...] Contributed by Cliff Oliver - This review is focused more on the Blue Tube 2.0 material than the rocket I built. The rocket was constructed pretty much like any other HPR rocket - with three 'glassed fins and an altimeter bay for the dual recovery system.
I acquired the Blue Tube 2.0 items from Always Ready Rocketry. I had heard the good and the bad points of the original Blue Tube and wanted to find out how the 2.0... [More ...] Contributed by James Jason Wentworth -
Brief
The Estes UP Aerospace SpaceLoft is a BT-5 size, 13 mm mini motor-powered flying scale model of the SpaceLoft suborbital launch vehicle that is built and flown by UP Aerospace, which is based in New Mexico. The model has a conical nose cone and three short-span clipped delta fins. This E2X (Skill Level 1, "No Painting Required") kit is sold only in 12-kit bulk packs. Each SpaceLoft... [More ...] Contributed by Rich DeAngelis -
Brief
The design of the Vector Force appears to have been inspired by military air-defense missles, but it is not a scale or pseudo-scale model by any means. It's just (to me) a good-looking kit. It is fairly large and uses standard 18mm motors (B & C power). The unique design features are it's two transition/reducer sections and a second set of small "finlets" a few inches ahead of the... [More ...] Contributed by Christopher M. Cain - Two weeks ago I got a sneak peak of Giant Leap Rocketry's new kit, the Mariah 38. Just like the front page of the instructions indicate, it is an extreme altitude kit. The first time Ed showed me pictures of this kit I knew I had to have one. The Mariah 38 is only 17oz and will take an Aerotech 38/1080 case or a CTI pro38 6gxl case. It is 44.75” long and a 38mm minimum diameter kit made... [More ...]
Bottom Rocketry ReviewsThe following are the 25 least popular reviews at RocketReviews.com based on the number of times they have been viewed. Contributed by Geof Givens - Brief: Mostly seen at air shows and museums today, many rocket ship fans can still remember when the tri-engine Irhydavi played a significant role in history. Before the catastrophic defeat of the India-Paskistani Free States by China in the second Asian War (February 20-22, 2366), the Irhydavi was the premier fighter-rocket of the IPFS. It proved no match for the superior weaponry of the Lao... [More ...] Contributed by Bob Cox - Overview: Since I had so many problems with the parachute cup jamming in my EAT Triatomic (see my review), it has not seen much flight time. I've been kicking around ideas for how to make it more reliable for quite some time, and last month I finally put something together. It seems to work really well.
The basic concept is to insert an inner BT-55 tube inside the main BT-60 tube of the... [More ...] Contributed by Dick Stafford - Brief: When I read that Hans "Chris" Michielssen had converted a Quest FLICS rubber band powered rocket to MicroMaxx power, I immediately gave it a try. I too have had a stash of these freebies with no plans for what to do with them.
I wasn't going to review this...er...rocket but, when I saw his review of a 13mm version, I thought, "why not?" I've also built a 13mm version but haven't had... [More ...] Contributed by Ted Phipps -
Constructing the THOY Phoenix
This is a high power rocket kit originally developed by Tiffany Hobbies Of Ypsilanti (Michigan?), and now produced by Rocket R&D. The suggested motors run from G to H, but unless you build very light, G’s might work only on absolu
tely calm days. I won this kit in an online raffle sponsored by Magnum Hobbies almost three years ago, but waited... [More ...] Contributed by Jewel B. Butler Jr. - Brief: This rocket is a replic of the great rocketeer Larry Brand designed called the Tea Bird. Got the idea off the EMRR web site. The rocket is a tube-fin stubby that flies really nice and is relatively cheap to build.
Construction: I started with three container that my Sugar-Free KoolAid comes in, a Bt-80 nose cone fits perfectly as Mr Brand stated in the Tea Bird article. Got the balsa... [More ...] Contributed by Andrew Hansom - Brief: Dos Kraken is a combination and upscale of two unique rockets. The design is from Pemtech's Kraken with the sculpted tube fins and the canted twin motor tubes design was borrowed from the Duece's Wild. Dos Kraken will fly on a pair of 38mm x 480 AT motors with the total output of a J sized motor. Dual deployment will be handled by a Perfect Flight MAWD and a Missile Works RRC2. Recovery... [More ...] Contributed by Sascha Grant - Brief: 2.6x upscale of the ever classic Estes C6-5 motor. Three fins and a noseflat with parachute recovery.
Construction: Body is 9.5 inch of 60mm postage tube. Three balsa fins with a noseflat made with a 60mm diameter disk of 3mm plywood weighted with 1oz of polyurethane resin with a paper clip embedded for shock cord and parachute attachment. Standard 18mm motor mount with custom cut... [More ...] Contributed by Joe Cacciatore - Brief: Dual "D" engine scale model of the UK/Germany Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missile (ASRAAM).
Construction: This Launch Pad rocket is exactly like all the other TLP kits. The Kit contains:
Plastic nose cone
Cardboard body tubes (2)
Balsa fins
Shock cord attachment & engine mounting the same as the older Estes rockets.
Parachute is purple mylar.
The quality of the... [More ...] Contributed by Dick Stafford - Brief: As the name suggests, this is a half-spool (top plate only) rocket merged with a plastic jack-o-lantern. I stumbled across these little plastic jack-o-lanterns that I had stashed in the plastic parts drawer. So, I made a quick Halloween-themed rocket to fly on the Quest D5-0/P.
Construction: The parts list:
One plastic jack-o-lantern
Cardstock
Clear spacer from a blank CD... [More ...] Contributed by Moira Jean Whitlock - Description: Single staged, 18mm motor rocket with tubular stabilizers all around instead of fins. Streamer recovery.
Construction and finishing: All parts were there, and none defective or damaged. You get all tubes of spiral wound paper, Estes type. The nose cone is unusual, though. Instead of the usual plastic or balsa, you get solid hardwood. A eye-screw is provided to attach the streamer... [More ...] Contributed by James Gartrell -
Brief: I received this as a prize from Hawks Hobby in the Dallas Area Rocket Society's 2007 Fall Classic Rocket Contest. Thank you! One word best describes this rocket: "Wow!"
It is one huge, fantastic rocket. It flies on 24mm motors and recovers by parachute. The rocket flies on AeroTech E or F motors. You could easily convert this to fly on 29mm motors, but remember the fins are surface... [More ...] Contributed by Berni Davidson -
Brief: This is a single stage rocket with 5 fins. It features parachute recovery, balsa fins you cut from a sheet, balsa nose cone, laser cut centering rings, and 6 cool little "aliens" with their own parachutes! I got this kit from a friend who was moving and therefore I can't speak about the transaction from the manufacturer but my friend said it went fine. The rocket was in a clear plastic... [More ...] Contributed by John Thro - Brief: The Edmonds CiCi is a small, very easy to build boost glider that ejects the spent motor casing when the ejection charge goes off. The parts are laser cut and fit together perfectly.
Construction: Here's the parts list:
8 laser-cut balsa pieces
1 balsa nose cone
1 motor tube
1 l/8" launch lug
That's it!
The instructions were illustrated and very easy to follow. The... [More ...] Contributed by Ken Johnson -
Brief:
A lightweight, minimum diameter egg lofter with an efficient aerodynamic design.
Construction:
The kit comes in the typical "hanging bag" style package. As such, it doesn't protect the kit from any damage incurred in shipping, and this one was indeed damaged in shipment, though I couldn't tell until the package was open. The kit featured a length of 18mm tubing, a very unusual... [More ...] Contributed by Kevin McLaughlin -
Brief: Here's the verbiage from TLP website: "This is the first supersonic anti-ship missile to arm tactical aircraft. Comparable to the ANS missile developed jointly by France and Germany, "Krypton" employs a solid fuel booster for initial thrust. Once at speed, the ramjets take over. One version has four individual ramjets spaced evenly around the outside of the airframe. This version, the... [More ...] Contributed by Ed Sewall - Brief: The Javelin is a single stage 29mm rocket with a nice sleek 3 fin design.
Construction: The Javelin comes with a nice set of directions and LOC-type 2.56" tubes, 62" total length. Three G-10 fins for through-the-wall construction are provided. The rocket has a good size payload section which could easily house an altimeter although I didn't build it that way. Plywood bulkheads and... [More ...] Contributed by Duane Wilkey -
The following excerpt is from "Sport Rocketry". The intention is to allow guests to get a basic feeling about a kit. We strongly suggest that you get a copy of the referenced Sport Rocketry and read the entire article. Inside you will find many helpful hints in construction as well as other useful information. For more information, use the two links above.
(Sport Rocketry - Jul/Aug 1998 -... [More ...] Contributed by Aaron Stanley -
Brief: The Public Missiles, Ltd. Phobos is one of the great, easy to build mid and high power rockets out there you can buy. This rocket can be launched on any where from a F40 all the way up to a J570 if you get it with the 38mm motor mount. This is probably the best rocket to use for your Level 1 cert attempt, which I used it for. The only down side to this kit is you have to clean out the... [More ...] Contributed by Theo McDonald - Brief: The Ellis I230 is a 38mm load for the Ellis 38-650 case. The case utilizes snap ring type closures, and is made of the thicker (0.095") wall aluminum tubing. All the cases that I have seen are anodized black. The I230 and all currently available Ellis motors use the Thors Hammer propellant, a mid to slow burning propellant. More on this later.
As most snap Ring type motors use a... [More ...] Contributed by Michael Stevens - Brief: I wanted to make it taller with a huge payload section.
Modifications: Well I built it following the instructions carefully. Then I sliced the BT in half. The lower section stayed on the booster but the upper was shot so I replace it with a packing tube. This is where I got the extra height. I couldn't order a bulkhead coupler assembly so I just sliced the one off the nose cone (leave... [More ...] Contributed by Chris Scott - When searching for my next altimeter, I wanted an altimeter with a few specific functions. First and foremost, I wanted an altimeter that had accelerometer-based deployment for the first or drogue stage. The reason I wanted an accelerometer and not a barometric based unit was because barometric units suffer from atmospheric effects. These effects can cause a late ejection (after apogee) or early... [More ...] Contributed by Orion Samoiloff - Brief: Upgraded 18mm motor mount to 24mm motor mount. Changed parachute to 7-foot streamer.
Construction: The Big Dawg is a fun kit to build and fly as a stock kit. With theses few modifications, the rocket is incredible. It's a very simple conversion.
Added 24mm motor mount tube using 2 BT55 - BT50 centering rings. I had to modify where the fins attached to the motor mount (shortened tabs).... [More ...] Contributed by Darren Longhorn -
Tintinique
Tintinique
OK, so it's not exactly the right proportions for Tin Tin's rocket, far too squat and stubby, but that's why it's called Tintinique. Just As diamonique isn't diamond, Tintinique isn't Tin Tin. ( Anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about here, needs to watch more QVC!)
Nestlé time capsule
Centering... [More ...] Contributed by James Gartrell - Brief: Excellent 2-stage rocket with tumble recovery for the booster and with the sustainer recovering on a gold mylar streamer; beautiful flights on B/B, B/C or C/C motor combinations.
Construction: The kit contains:
BT-50 sustainer and booster tubes
2 laser cut mated balsa 3 fin sets each for both booster and sustainer
4 CR-2050 cardboard centering rings
2 standard BT-20 motor mount... [More ...] Contributed by Nick Esselman - I received an evaluation copy of Rockets 3, Version 2.1, the Model Rocket Design and Simulation software packaged offered by 1021 Designs, Inc. It arrived on a CD-ROM and installed flawlessly onto my NT system.
The first thing that is noticed about the software once loaded in the heavy use of color. The opening screen is a white grid on blue background which is shaded from dark (bottom) to... [More ...]
What You Can Do
|
