Giant Leap Rocketry Thunderbolt 38

Giant Leap Rocketry - Thunderbolt 38

Contributed by Herb Estus

Manufacturer: Giant Leap Rocketry
Rating
(by Herb Estus - 06/10/02)

Brief:
38mm minimum diameter rocket that can be flown with anywhere from an F50 with the optional 29mm adaptor to a 38mm J350.

Construction:

  • 8" Ogive nosecone
  • 38mm Acme Fin can
  • 48" 38mm non-brittle phenolic tubing
  • 2" coupler with a metal roll pin for shock chord attachment
  • 1/4" Acme conformal launch lugs
  • 12' of Strap Nylon for shock cord
  • 24" parachute with swivel
  • 1- 7 1/4" Thunderbolt 38 decal
  • I added the following options:
    • 38mm slim line motor retainer
    • 29mm slim line motor adaptor

Pro's- instructions where detailed and easy to follow with directions for using the slim line retainers or not using them. Motor retainer and fin can epoxied easy enough attached shock cord to coupler then epoxied into tube, I just put the coupler far enough down to allow for the parachute and some wadding.

Finishing:
Sanded mold lines from nose cone and fin can. Used wood filler to fill in spiral grooves in tubing. I just primered it for now, not sure what color or colors I want it.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
I just flew this on a F50-4t. It was slightly breezy but, the flight was nice and straight. A low altitude flight. However, the delay was a bit too long. The rocket was halfway back down before the ejection charge fired. Talk about a lump in throat feeling. But it does fly with this motor. Next time, thought, I will use something with a bit more power. It will definitely be more impressive with a bigger motor.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
Pros- The kit is as advertised very simple and easy to build less than 1 1/2 hrs to finish, other than letting epoxy set. Con's- If I had to do over I would have used the Kevlar® cord didn't think about it until rocket was together now going to be nearly impossible to change it. I would have also bought the parachute protector.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Other Reviews
  • Giant Leap Rocketry Thunderbolt 38 By Lance Alligood

    Brief: The Giant Leap Thunderbolt38 is a minimum diameter "almost ready to fly" high power rocket. By keeping the parts list as simple as possible, this rocket could be built and ready to fly in a single, rather short build session--especially for a high power rocket. However, despite the simplicity of the design, I would not consider this to be a good choice for someone ...

  • Giant Leap Rocketry Thunderbolt 38 By Thomas Rau

    ( Contributed - by Thomas F. Rau - 05/01/02) Pic Courtesy of Giant Leap Brief: Single stage, minimum diameter, hpr, with 24" Parachute. Optional SlimLine motor retainer, 29mm adaptor, Kevlar ® shock cord, Kevlar ® chute protector. Construction: Kit contains: Single 56 inch long, 38mm non-brittle phenolic tubing. One Acme Zytec fin-can (3 fin). One ...

Flights

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