Mercury Engineering Integrator

Mercury Engineering - Integrator

Contributed by jeff ybarra

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Published: 2010-05-08
Manufacturer: Mercury Engineering

Brief:
This is the same model as the 3x24 cluster edition . The difference is a single 29mm mount. If you are looking for a big rocket and big thrills that won't break the bank, your search is over.

Construction:

Instructions for this model were straight forward, no surprises. I used 5min. epoxy for all joints. I was unsure about the fiberboard shock cord mount.It seemed that might be a weak point, so I epoxied a piece of 1/8' ply to the back side, drilled then attached the eye-bolt. I used Kevlar® shock cord that extended just to the end of the body tube then attached the 60"elastic shock cord to it. My other concern was the paper fin covering. It turned out fine though, I did use the glue stick method. It worked well. I also added positive motor retention with threaded inserts, screws, and a drawer repair bracket. It was an easy build for me. This was my first mid power kit.

Finishing:
Finishing was an easy job. I got good transitions on the paper fin covering. I sealed the open edges with thin CA. I filled the tube grooves with thinned Elmer wood filler, then sanded the whole unit. I started with 2 coats of Valspar white primer. Sanded with 220, then painted with 2 coats of Valspar white. I washed ,then sanded the nose cone, and painted with Valspar plastic paint. I applied the water slide decals with no problems and finished with 2 coats of Krylon crystal clear.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
The recommended motors are an F45-5, F42-4, G40-4, and G80-7. Winds were calm.

Maiden flight was with a G76-4G. It was a perfect shot, nice and straight. It went to about 900ft.

#2 was on a F40-7W maybe 500ft.Delay was to long for comfort, but we survived.Paper covering peeled partially away on one fin tip. No problem thin CA to the rescue.

#3 was a G76-4G. This seems to be the perfect motor for this big rocket.

Recovery:
I used a piece of Kevlar® extending just beyond the body tube to attach the elastic shock chord to. The 36" parachute was fine. All three shots it landed within 100ft of pad. Descent was nice and slow. On a windy day you might have to walk a ways.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
This is a easy building rocket. The only thing I might change would be the balsa paper covered fins. Lite ply would be better. All parts were good quality. It's nice to have a big rocket that you can see all stages of a launch clearly. Slow take off. Nice straight ascent. Apogee and chute deployment. I think it's a great kit.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Other Reviews
  • Mercury Engineering Integrator By George Beever (July 6, 2009)

    Described as "High-Powered Thrills in a Mid-Powered Rocket". This is a single-staged, 3 X 24mm cluster rocket that builds out to 52.5 inches in length with a diameter of 4 inches. A 3FNC for those who like to cluster 24mm motors. The kit, which was packaged in it's shipping box and not bagged, consisted of two 4-inch diameter main body tubes, three 24mm motor mount tubes, fiberboard ...

Flights

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