FlisKits doo-Hickey

FlisKits - doo-Hickey

Contributed by Jon Chrisman

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Manufacturer: FlisKits
FlisKits Doo-Hicky

Brief:
This is a micro-sized downscale of the popular Thing-A-Ma-Jig, scaled to fly on the Quest MicroMaxx engines. It incorporates the very cool design feature of the Jig-Tech fin tub first introduced in the Thing-A-Ma-Jig, and it eases the assembly enormously in the micro scale.

Construction:
The parts list:

  • 1 Motor mount tube

  • 1 Body tube

  • 1 Balsa nose cone

  • Balsa fin stock (4 fins)

  • 2 Centering rings

  • 1 Motor block

  • 1 Kevlar® (thread) shock cord

  • 1 Mylar streamer

  • 1 Launch lug

The instructions for the Doo-Hickey are contained on one side of an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet with very clear diagrams and concise directions. It was a fairly quick build, and someone with moderate modeling skills can realistically finish the kit in about an hour.

The assembly starts with the motor mount. One of the minor "gotchas" is inserting the motor block. You put a bead of glue at near the top of the motor tube and use a motor to slide the motor block up into the glue. Make sure you remove it before the glue starts to set! The instruction state you could use a 1/4" dowel to do this as well, but I found that the 1/4" dowel I have is too big to fit in the motor tube.

Next you glue on the centering rings and tie the Kevlar® line around the motor tube behind the forward centering ring. Setting the motor tube in the main body tube I kept having difficulty as the Kevlar® kept going into the ring of glue you put in the main tube. I guess this was due some sort of static/magnetic attraction. However, I eventually got the Kevlar® threaded through the tube and the motor mount set.

The assembly of the fin tub is real straightforward. Punch out the laser cut holes and put the notched pegs in the holes. Do a dry fit first to make sure things line up. Be careful on the fin orientation as it is possible to assemble the tub with one fin upside down.

Placing the fin tub on the main body tube is where I deviated from the directions and found to work well. The instructions have you slide the tub on the tube then place glue with a toothpick where the fin touches the tube. I slid the tub on and marked where the fins touched the tube, then took the tub off and placed a thin bead of glue in a line on the tube then slid the tub back on, wiping off the excess glue. This seemed to work well for me. I also deviated by nestling the launch lug inside one of the fin tub holes.

The Kevlar® is then attached to the nose cone using a small braid nail and the streamer attached with tape to the Kevlar®.

Finishing:
Finishing is simple. The high quality balsa used on the kit meant no fill needed. A coat of primer, some light sanding, then a quick coat of red followed immediately by a misting of blue/black pearl for my color choices.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
Maiden flights of my Doo-Hickey were flown in my front yard with a light 5-10mph breeze. Rocket scooted off the pad a lot quicker then expected and reached approx 120-150 feet. A lot faster and higher then other MicroMaxx rockets I have flown have performed. Flight was straight and true with no tilting. Excellent flights!

Recovery:
Recovery is with a brightly colored mylar streamer. This eases in spotting the rockets return if you lose track of it. All 3 flights recovered about 10 feet from the pad.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
An excellent little rocket to compliment anyones fleet of MicroMaxx rockets! Fun to fly!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Flights

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