Aerotech Wart-Hog

Aerotech - Wart-Hog {Kit} (89018) [1992-]

Contributed by Kevin Fisher

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Manufacturer: Aerotech
Style: Sport
Rating
(Contributed - by Kevin Fisher - 10/21/00) 

Brief: This is a great rocket. This is a great rocket. It was the second mid power rocket I built and it was very challenging yet easy enough for the average builder. This is the same for all Aerotech kits.  This kit runs on Aerotech composite motors. I would use an E15-4W at the least. 

Construction:  As with all Aerotech kits , the packaging was great and all the parts were there. None were broken. None were broken. Most of the materials were a phenolic base cardboard tubing. The kit had plastic, pre-cut fins. The kit had plastic, pre-cut fins. The instructions were fine but there was just one thing. I don't know if I have missed the step but I would stress lining up the fins, because you will CA the motor tube into the BT, and the Fin-Lok's won't be in place, so then , there goes that rocket.One more think I highly stress, you must fit in the fins all the way, yes, they do go in so that they are flush, you really have to push.

Finishing: To finish my rocket, I used Testor's model spray paint and painted it a Blue Camo pattern. (Gray, Lt. Blue, Dk. Blue, Black)  It came out really nice. Good visibility, too. I did not use the decals so don't ask me how those went on. They were peel-off not water-transfer. I also think that Aerotech's recommended paint job would be fine, but at Lucern Dry Lake, you would lose it even on an E15.  If you want to do camo on any of your rockets, just e-mail me on the technique, It is very simple.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight: I used an F25 for my first flight. I used an F25 for my first flight. It was great, hardly any spinning, and it went off slow enough to get some great pictures. I just stuffed the motor in, no technique to that! This kit, like all Aerotech kits, did not use recovery wadding, they use a kinda meshy stuff that works great. The motor retention was a metal hook. you might want to friction fit also on a RMS. 

The second flight was on a G40. That was a very fast flight, to put it mildly. It hit about 2000 feet. It hit about 2000 feet. I plan on flying this on an H73 next month after certification. (L1) By the why I am certifying level 1 on a Public Enemy PSYCHO. 

Recovery: The recovery of this rocket did not impress me one bit. At about apogee , the parachute came out and just stripped right off the shrouds. Not a pretty sight!  So now I have a rocket with a steamer type recovery whipping around its 3-foot shock cord. Also during thrust, the rails flew off.  But back to the suspense, so I had a rocket coming down as fast as it went up. Well finally it landed and lucky for me, Lucern Landings help a lot. Needless to say the parachute was ruined. One of the ROC members found it on their car! I would switch to a Rocketman, myself, or even a Top Flight 24 inch parachute.

Flight Rating: 1 out of 5

Summary: This is a great kit building and thrusting wise.  I would immediately switch to a sturdier parachute and not put the decorative rails on at all. Overall this kit is worthwhile if you are willing to beef up construction and put another 20 bucks into it.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5

UPDATED 10/00 - OK...this is really showing how dumb I was about rocketry 2 years ago. I just came back to see if my reviews were still there and can't believe I gave it a 1/5 in flight. Man, as I look at the video, it flew great, and it was my stupid building techniques that screwed it, so...oh well...its a really kewl rocket, but I still would go to a nicer parachute. Yea...this review is stupid,... I didn't know what I was talking about...but ok. And I would change the ratings to:

Other Reviews
  • Aerotech Wart-Hog By Frank Casey (September 29, 2009)

    Brief: This is a very versitile kit made by Aerotech. The motor selection is excellent. this rocket can fly on 24mm and 29mm single use or RMS motors. The kit provies a 29mm mount and a 24mm mount adapter. Construction: The parts are top quality, sturdy and include: Motor adaptor tube Adaptor rings E spacer tube Thrust ring Thrust ring flange Motor tube ...

  • Aerotech Wart-Hog By Greg Deeter

    Brief: This is a single stage 2.6" diameter by 37" tall rocket currently in production by Aerotech. It is called an "Advanced Model Rocket". Construction: I do not consider this to be an "Advanced Model Rocket" as it was quite simple to build. The first Aerotech kit that I built was a Cheetah. I enjoyed that one so much I purchased the Arreaux, ...

Flights

Comments:

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S.O. (December 1, 1999)
I would like to say that I do not agree with the review. The 'chute is strong but you either chose the wrong delay (or got an Aerotech "special" delay) also the rails add much to the appearance to the hog so use epoxy in putting them on that will keep them on. I think that the warthog should get a 4 it has some problems but they can all be fixed in less than five minutes and through wise/luckily motor choices
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S.R. (May 1, 2000)
I built the Warthog stock, without any modifications and flew it twice on Aerotech F20-4W Econojet Motors. It flew to about 1000' both times and deployed the parachute at or shortly after apogee. Both flights were perfect, with no damage to the rocket. I did, however, have a problem with the labels on the Econojet Motors. The added thickness of the labels made the motors difficult to install, and the heat dissolved the adhesive. When I extracted the motors after recovery (using a pair of pliers), the labels stayed in the motor mount tube and had to be removed separately. If I had allowed the motors to cool, I fear they may have welded themselves in the motor mount.
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unknown (September 1, 2000)
I have flown my Warthog over 25 times with different motors. Never having a bad result. The rails stay on fine you just have to make sure you use a strong adhesive. I use CA. This was my first Mid power rocket and it's still my favorite.
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J.D. (March 1, 2001)
I also disagree with the review. This is about as bullet-proof as they come. Very stout rocket, if not a bit heavy. I have flown on an E-18, but will only fly on F's in the future. Still, a very easy to build rocket that handles some nice size motors.
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D.B. (April 1, 2001)
I have not had any problem with the parachute that came with the kit. My "Hog" has flown 12 times on F24 and G35 Econojets. I agree that the motor labels are a problem. I always remove them before flight. My fins have come off several times on hard landing. they don't break, but pop out of the fin locks. It would be better to roughen up the contact surfaces and use a good epoxy to secure them.
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T.J.A. (October 9, 2001)
I strongly disagree with the review above. I had no problem with the parachute. When I got to the launch site, the decorative rails had fallen of so I used 90min epoxy and they aren't coming off now. With an E-15 it flew true and strait. I plan to use a F next. I did not like the paint job that they showed so I did mine olive drab. I think this is a great first-time mid power rocket.
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S.H. (September 24, 2002)
I built mine with CA and the strips stay on! I tried something different, I made a mod to hold an older Estes E engine(E15-4) to see what it would do. It went up fine to about 400 Feet and came down real nice! Had 5 nice flights wit the E (have not tried the newer E engines yet). Some may not like this, but I like the to experiment with rockets & every thing said it should work out fine(all specs.)and it was!!

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