Sunward Aerospace CFX-3

Sunward Aerospace - CFX-3 {Kit}

Contributed by Chan Stevens

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Diameter: 1.35 inches
Length: 25.04 inches
Manufacturer: Sunward Aerospace
Skill Level: 2
Sunward CFX-3

Brief:
This is the little brother of the CFX-Six Footer that I've previously reviewed. This is a nice and easy 4FNC rocket with Sunward's unusual canopied nose cone. It is easy to build and flies great.

Construction:
Nick's review covered the materials and instructions very thoroughly. I'll confirm that over two years later (and after a change in ownership), the kit still includes the L-bolt motor retension. This is a neat feature and other Sunward kits I've flown that feature this have held up surprisingly well.

My motor mount also fit a bit loosely in the tube and it took a liberal glob of glue to keep in place.

Using a wraparound marking guide, the body tube is marked for the 4 fins and lug. Fin attachment still incorporates the cardstock "fillets". I personally find these very annoying and of little value. They're not clearly marked differentiating between cut lines and fold lines, they don't fit very well compared to the fin root, and add obvious bumps/lines to the appearance. Nick mentioned an advantage in bonding time although I prefer tacking fins on with CA to hold in place then following up with wood glue fillets.

Construction wraps up with the shock cord attachment: a tri-fold paper mount holding down the rubber shock cord and tied to the 18" plastic chute and nose cone. The parachute is made of heavy plastic with shroud lines attached through pinholes and single reinforcement stickers.

Finishing:
I chose to paint mine to match the CFX-Six Footer, going with a yellow base and red trim on the fins. I hand painted the canopy gloss black.

The peel 'n' stick decals are very cool, but for some reason they're not die cut, so you have to trim them by hand. This is a minor nuisance, especially for the flame decal. Yes, the kit still includes the BCN-YA decal that X-game teens will admire.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
For the first flight, I went all the way up to a C6-7. I chose the 7 because I was curious as to how both the 5 and 7 second delays could be recommended for the C6 motor. The flight was straight up, reasonably good altitude (at least 800-900 feet), but the delay was a bit too long. The C6-5 should be the delay of choice.

Recovery:
The big 18" plastic chute is probably sufficient or even oversized. Unfortunately, my lines got tangled and the high descent rate caused a chipped fin. Also, inexplicably, my body tube was crimped at the forward edge of the fins. I have no idea what could have caused this, as the landing was on fairly soft grass and certainly not hard enough to cause the crimp.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
This is a very nice introductory rocket and makes an interesting companion to its big brother, the CFX-Six Footer.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Other Reviews
  • Sunward Aerospace CFX-3 By Chan Stevens (January 3, 2010)

    This is my second Sunward kit, the first being a more complicated rocket, the Phoenix , and now the CFX-3. This one is not complicated and is Sunward's simple 4 Fins and a Nose Cone (4FNC) entry level rocket. They promote this one for schools by selling it in bulk. This rocket is called the CFX-3. Not sure what it means. But it also says, " the formula for fun ". It uses Sunward's typical ...

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