Brief:
It's an unusual cone rocket. No fins, but the nose weight makes it stable.
Pre-printed paper cone, so you don't need to paint it. Very simple to prep.
Construction:
You have to be ready and willing to roll cones out of light cardstock. There is
also a short piece of nesting body tubes, and some foam board for the base and
mid-section bulkhead.
If you're not used to rolling cones, this rocket is going to be frustration
personified. On the other hand, rolling cones out of cardstock is a handy skill
to have for model rockets. If you're not sure about cone rolling, photocopy the
cone patterns onto light card stock and practice.
The double cone used for the nose cone is especially tricky. You have to
put in on thin, or you'll get lumps when you roll it, but thin white glue grabs
paper very quickly. You pretty much have to do it in one motion. Practice on
some photocopied patterns until you're good at it. If I did it again, I might
do it as two nested cones to make it easier.
After you do the double-thick nose cone, the rest is a snap.
Finishing:
What finishing? It's already printed. That's one of the cool things about it.
Construction Rating:
4
out of 5
Flight:
I only got to fly this once. It flew very straight up and reasonably high on a
D12-3. The ejection was right at apogee. The rocket tumbles down very safely.
Even though I taped the motor in very well, the motor still ejected.
Recovery:
If I were to build another one, I'd put a much longer shock cord on it, and I'd
put in a stronger motor retention system. Either the motor mount rebounded and
pierced the cone, or the ejected motor flew through the cone. Whatever the
case, the cone was seriously damaged and the upper section of the motor mount
was badly damaged.
I
think with a half motor hook attached to the lower motor tube, and a longer
shock cord would definitely improve this rocket.
Flight Rating:
3
out of 5
Summary:
It's a fun rocket. It's unusual and flies very straight. This is the kind of
rocket that is perfect for school demonstrations (as long as you figure out how
to retain the motor). The variety of preprinted cones keeps it from being
boring or repetitive. Do not tackle this rocket if you have an aversion to
rolling paper cones, though.
Overall Rating:
4
out of 5
