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rocketman-song

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im looking at the pip squeak and the 220 swift( the yellow thing) and where wondering what u though, the review on emrr gave the squeak a great review. Also can u or would u recommend( or am i able to) putting a balsa nose cone on the pip squeak, cause i really dont like plastic, and would it hinder the altitude at all.
 
It doesn't matter what you do with these . . . you'll never see them again.

Honestly, there's numerous threads about these on the board. They're cute little rockets, but you've got to paint them with dark or bright colors, or attach streamers to them. Also, if you want to see them again, put the smallest motors you can find in them and most of all keep your eye on them all the way. On an A10 they'll easily go out of sight, and with a tumble recovery there's no streamer or chute to help spot them.

As for me, after loosing a few, my Quark, Swift, and Mosquito sit on my desk - to be admired by all. Great conversation starters, along with my Phantom.
 
I'll throw the FlisKits Tumbleweed in the mix too. It one of the most fun LPR rockets I ever built!

Flying it was a mixed experience. I have only flown it 4 times on a pack of 1/2A-2T motors. I went to a local schoolyard where they keep the grass pretty short. Push the button & the rocket *vanished* off the pad. I stood perfectly still, wait for the ejection charge to pop, & then waited for another 30 seconds or so to give it plenty of time to land & I hoped to see/hear it land nearby... But usually I spent a few minutes each time scouring the grass until I found it.

YMMV...
 
Says he . . .
. . . I used to think that. But it was only a matter of time . . .
 
Originally posted by rocketman-song
ive got a big field so i never lose anything

Since you haven't listed your location...

How will we know where you are, and get to use your large field?
A statement like that could drive some rocketeers up the wall
with jealousy...
 
Originally posted by rocketman-song
im looking at the pip squeak and the 220 swift( the yellow thing) and where wondering what u though, the review on emrr gave the squeak a great review. Also can u or would u recommend( or am i able to) putting a balsa nose cone on the pip squeak, cause i really dont like plastic, and would it hinder the altitude at all.

So, you're an Elton John fan?

Substituting a balsa NC will not hurt these one bit, but that is an unnecessary change for any reason I can think of. The plastic is probably a little more durable (in case these things land on something hard the plastic won't dent as badly as balsa) but it's no big deal either way.
akpilot is mostly right (his sarcasm has a lot of truth), these dumb little things are very easy to lose. You will spend just about the same amount of time if you do a good build and good paint job, and they often are lost on the first flight.
The change that I would recommend is to use all the parts of the basic kit but add about an 8 or 10 inch length of BT, along with a coupler at the front of the MMT (to serve as both thrust block and BT coupler. Tether the MMT and fwd BT with about 36 inches of kevlar string and let the thing tumble down. The added weight will help keep the flights under control (and within sight) and the added size will help you find it on the ground. PM me if you want any help with this idea.


And welcome to TRF!!
 
Originally posted by powderburner


The change that I would recommend is to use all the parts of the basic kit but add about an 8 or 10 inch length of BT, along with a coupler at the front of the MMT (to serve as both thrust block and BT coupler. Tether the MMT and fwd BT with about 36 inches of kevlar string and let the thing tumble down. The added weight will help keep the flights under control (and within sight) and the added size will help you find it on the ground. PM me if you want any help with this idea.


Now that's the ticket!!! Never thought about extending these . . .
 
Originally posted by rocketman-song
ive got a big field so i never lose anything

These little rockets don't get lost in trees, they get lost in the field because they are so small and hard to see. If you lose sight of it, good luck finding it again. The largest field in the world won't help you.
 
Originally posted by rocketman-song
ive got a big field so i never lose anything

Rockets like this and the Quark, Mosquito, etc. are referred to as "fire and forget" models for a reason. It's not the size of the field, it's the size of the rocket. They take off so fast, you lose sight of them, and then they are so small, you can't see it after that. If you replace the nose with balsa, or go heavier and put a basswood NC on it, you might make it heavy enough to slow down to a trackable speed.

Trackable...is that a word?
 
I did a kitbash of the Swift by inserting a 2.5 inch piece of body tube between the original base and the nose. I rigged it so that the two were hooked together with Kevlar thread.

It was cheap, easier to see, but I should have used thicker Kevlar. When I rebuild it, it will incorporate the thicker stuff.
 
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