FlisKits Deuce's Wild

FlisKits - Deuce's Wild {Kit} (CL002)

Contributed by Jason Toft

Diameter: 1.64 inches
Length: 21.20 inches
Manufacturer: FlisKits
Skill Level: 3
Style: Cluster, Sport
Rating
(by Jason Toft - 04/15/03)

Rocket PicBrief:
An awesome little rocket with dual canted motor mounts. Just BEGGING to be upscaled

Construction:
When I received my Deuce, there was one 17 inch BT-60 tube, a balsa ogive nose, fin stock, motor mount materials, and other miscellaneous materials required for construction. (launch lugs, chute, etc.)

I opened the package and inspected the quality of the materials. Wow, cool! A balsa nose cone! As a rocketeer beginning in the "age of plastic" that was an unexpected surprise! Without repeating what Doug said in the above review, the rocket went together with very few hitches.

I did have a little trouble with the motor mount, so I fired off an e-mail to Jim Flis, owner of Fliskits. He informed me that they had just received a set of laser cut centering rings. Neat! He sent the rings to every rocketeer that had ordered a DW. They made the construction so much easier.

The next step in construction was to put the patterns on the tube. This also involved cutting out the pattern for the motor tubes so they could stick out of the tube. I marked the fins, and the holes for the motor tubes. I then roughly cut the holes. After the motor mount was dry, I inserted it and applied a generous amount of wood glue. I also applied a small mount of glue around the tubes.

Motor MountBack

After these few steps, I used some of Apogee Components FIXIT epoxy clay around the motor tubes. The clay is so easy to work with, just mix until it is a single solid color, and apply! I rolled it into two snakes and rubbed it in! Dipping my finger into water made it easy to achieve a smooth finish. See picture (above, right).

The large fin pattern was now traced onto the one-eighth inch stock and cut out. Fliskits says that this is supposed to make you think about your rocket, rather than throw it together. I did not round the edges, I didn't feel that this was necessary. The fins attached quickly, and I applied Fill n Finish fillets, and a small fin faring with the FnF. I sealed the fins with one coat of thinned wood glue and two coats of sanding sealer. Finally, I sealed the nose cone with FIVE coats of sealer.

Finishing:
To commemorate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win of the Super Bowl, I attempted to paint the rocket in their colors. What I ended up with has more of one or the other color. For example, I have too much black, and the red is kind of off. But the rocket look very, very good!!! See the before and after painting pictures.

Finished

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

MotorsFlight:
For the first flight, I used a non-recommended set of two B4-4's. Only one motor lit, causing the rocket to lawndart about two feet from a tree! Whew! The following flight, I used two B6-4's. Both motors lit, producing the AWESOME smoke trails that the rocket is designed to produce!!! I have many great pictures, as you can see. In all, I have flown the rocket five times, with only one motor igniting two times. I recommend using the B6-4, because the high thrust, short burn will get the rocket to enough altitude for the chute to deploy. The C6-5 shouldn't put it too far out of sight, but use a large field when doing this. I used my new digital camera to take all of these pictures.

Take-Off 1Lift-Off 2

Recovery:
I used my 16 inch nylon cute in place of the plastic chute supplied with the kit, because I have made friends with nylon!

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
Mr. Jim Flis and his partner, Brian McCarthy, have produced an excellent product that will be adored by rocketeers forever. The dual smoke trails are awesome, and I am currently working on a 24mm upscale, will provide pics of that and a review soon.

THANKS FLISKITS!!!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Other Reviews
  • FlisKits Deuce's Wild By Hank Helmen (November 13, 2008)

    This is a skill level 3, two engine canted cluster rocket. The Duce has one body tube and uses four fins. It comes with a very nice balsa nose cone and two parachutes. The motor mount is unique but goes together easily and works great. Two pre-cut engine mounting rings are included with in the hardware. A BT-60 body tube is supplied in the kit as well as 30" of thin shock cord. The 1/8" ...

  • FlisKits Deuce's Wild By Mike Salter

    The Deuce's Wild! is (in my opinion) one of the most innovative kits available at the moment and will undoubtedly become a classic. It's unique point is the dual smoke trails from the canted motors, a great spectacle that grabs anyone's attention. The moment I saw the Deuce (when FlisKits first opened), I wanted one and soon set about trying to bring them to the UK...this basically involved ...

  • FlisKits Deuce's Wild By Dick Stafford

    Brief: Just another quick review of The Rocketry Forum's favorite kit...large fins, 2 canted 18mm motors, 'nuff said! I won't repeat all of this information, I'll just be pointing out what I think are the high points, assuming you have read the other reviews, above. The parts are all of good quality, and the laser cut fiber motor mount components make assembly easy. With a balsa nose cone, ...

  • FlisKits Deuce's Wild By Carl Tulanko

    Brief: The Deuces Wild is a very unique model rocket from FlisKits, a newer company on the block in the model rocket industry. The Deuce boasts a cluster using dual 'canted' 18mm motors, which gives it a really cool look both on the pad and in the air. The model came in a plastic bag, similar to Estes Rockets, but that is where the similarity ends. Inside the bag was a real balsa nosecone, ...

  • FlisKits Deuce's Wild By Douglas Gardei

    Dual Canted 18mm motor mounts. Designed to produce two distinctive smoke trails when launched. The Deuce's Wild comes with Estes quality parts. The Body tube is BT-60 sized, and is topped with a nice Balsa nosecone. The kit includes two 18mm motor tubes, and two thrust rings. No motor hooks are provided. Two sheets of balsa is used to cut out the four large fins form the pattern provided. The ...

Flights

Comments:

avatar
J.F. (October 2, 2002)
As the manufacturer of the Deuce's Wild, I wanted to make a couple of comments about the kit and the review: First, and quite important, the Deuce's Wild! (and all FlisKits rocket kits) come with VERNON Estes quality parts. A significant difference we beleive, in the eyes of the long-time rocketeers. As for the motor mount, we have has several people construct the motor mount as described in the instructions with no problems, but we are still looking into possible changes per Doug's input. Cutting fins out by hand is a *feature* of FlisKits products. Gives a modeler a reason to learn how to use the tools of the trade, in our opinion. FlisKits is in the process of lengthening the shock cord on most of our kits, but the cord currently packaged with the Deuce's Wild is 18". If the one received with this kit was "less than a foot", then a problem got past our QC and will be corrected. We have also found tape disks with a much higher tack adhesive, so FlisKits parachutes will exhibit much higher quality and long life for your model. The paint job, pictures and vid's are all WONDERFUL. You did a FINE job constructing this model! KUDO's!
avatar
L.V. (November 23, 2002)
I also have a Deuce's Wild kit #7. I too had a little problem with the motor mounting, but the rest of the kit went together great. I like the idea of cutting out the fins. I remember that from my early days of building rockets. I hope they don't change that. Mine has flown twice so far both times on a pair of B6-4s.Both flights straight and perfect. I also left the chute large. The dual smoke trails are really neat. This rocket is well worth the cost and is a lot of fun. Thanks Fliskits!!!
avatar
G.D. (December 1, 2002)
My Fliskits Deuces' Wild is production #33. Just building it slow. Nice kit!
avatar
J.F. (January 3, 2003)
UPDATE from FLisKits: For the record, after talking with other folks and reviewing the kit, parts and instructions, FlisKits decided that Doug was right on the money in regard to the motor mount assembly on the Deuce's Wild. Therefore, we have created a set of laser-cut rings and changed the assembly instructions to match what Doug came up with. These new rings, with modified instructions are already shipping with new orders. Additionally, FlisKits has contacted all customers who have purchased but not yet built their Deuce's Wild! kit and have shipped them a set of rings and instructions for use. We (FlisKits) have a very good product set, but not a "perfect" product set. Your help, feedback and suggestions go a long way toward helping us reach perfection. You talk, we listen and everybody benefits! Thank you!
avatar
C.T. (January 24, 2003)
I just finished building my Deuces Wild and wanted to add that this kit is a MUST HAVE for anyone's fleet. I was one of the first if not the first to use the new "Laser Cut" black fiber Centering Rings during construction and they were a dream to work with; it takes all the worry of cutting your own out of the picture...Well done FlisKits! I alos agree with the ease of construction that Doug has posted and the results are astounding. Mine will fly this weekend and I will post a report.
avatar
J.W.M. (May 6, 2003)
I got my Deuce in the mail on Sat and built it that nite! It has the new laser cut rings and went together like a dream! Painted on Sunday and I can't wait to fly it (raining and 40 M.P.H. winds today). I gotta a bulk pack-o-motors and a fresh charge on the launch batteries just waiting for the sun!!
avatar
D.A.S. (August 19, 2003)
After losing my beloved and much-launched Flea at a CMASS launch, I had the good fortune to purchase my second FlisKit, the Deuce's Wild, from Jim himself! This is definitely a "builder's" kit. The jewel-like quality of the components, and excellent instructions, make it a real kick to build. You can really sink your teeth into this one. It's no wonder this kit keeps getting rave reviews- they are well-deserved. It looks bad to the bone with those huge fins and dual motor mounts. I can't wait to get my Deuce to a big field and fly it. Keep up the good work, Jim and Brian!
avatar
S.E.O. (August 30, 2004)
Sent My DW up on it's maiden flight. The canted motors are very cool. This kit is definitely worth every penny!

comment Post a Comment