School Rocket by Balsa Machining Service a great kit.

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rharshberger

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Last night the TCR community outreach team did a build night with a local middle school group of 15 or so students. Per one of our kit recommendations their instructor purchased a number of BMS school Rocket kits and the optional parachutes. Having never built this kit and knowing only a little about it I was very pleased with how well done the kit is. Many times on build nights the Mentors spend a fair amount of time, marking airframes, motor mounts and other little projects. The BMS SR is extremely well thought out, with concise, step by step pictorial instructions. The airframe tubes are laser slotted, and the launch lug location is laser etched on the tube. The motor mount laser slotted for the motor hook, and where the kevlar shock cord ties in, centering ring locations are etched around the mmt, and the ply centering rings are slotted for the motor hook. Nosecone is a balsa (go figure) nosecone that uses reasonably beefy screw eye, that mounts in the nosecone using a 1/4" hardwood dowel. The only items needed for assembly are a Sharpie (putting name on mylar streamer), glue, optional toothpicks for glue placement, and a stapler for the streamer, though packing tape works just fine.
All in all this was an easy build for middleschoolers and due to the TTW construction would be a great kit for Cub Scout build night ( or any other group build) as the fins are much easier for unskilled fingers to get properly positioned. Great little kit and big kudo's to Bill Saindon (and his wife Mary iirc) at BMS for their great service and a great well thought out little kit.
 
Last night the TCR community outreach team did a build night with a local middle school group of 15 or so students. Per one of our kit recommendations their instructor purchased a number of BMS school Rocket kits and the optional parachutes. Having never built this kit and knowing only a little about it I was very pleased with how well done the kit is. Many times on build nights the Mentors spend a fair amount of time, marking airframes, motor mounts and other little projects. The BMS SR is extremely well thought out, with concise, step by step pictorial instructions. The airframe tubes are laser slotted, and the launch lug location is laser etched on the tube. The motor mount laser slotted for the motor hook, and where the kevlar shock cord ties in, centering ring locations are etched around the mmt, and the ply centering rings are slotted for the motor hook. Nosecone is a balsa (go figure) nosecone that uses reasonably beefy screw eye, that mounts in the nosecone using a 1/4" hardwood dowel. The only items needed for assembly are a Sharpie (putting name on mylar streamer), glue, optional toothpicks for glue placement, and a stapler for the streamer, though packing tape works just fine.
All in all this was an easy build for middleschoolers and due to the TTW construction would be a great kit for Cub Scout build night ( or any other group build) as the fins are much easier for unskilled fingers to get properly positioned. Great little kit and big kudo's to Bill Saindon (and his wife Mary iirc) at BMS for their great service and a great well thought out little kit.
The 3” BMS School Rocket is also a great kit - pretty much an upsized version of the original with all the laser etching etc. It even includes a nylon chute and motor retention with both 24mm and 29mm versions. It does have a big plastic nose cone though 😉

When I did a two day make and fly workshop at my daughter’s library during the summer reading program we used Discount Rocketry tube fin kits that worked really well with the wide age range of children participating. I picked a tube fin kit to keep the build simple and the flights low. I still use the one I built as an example as a first flight rocket during a launch session to check the winds. If I were to do another similar workshop with the lower age bracketed at 10 I’d probably use the BMS School Rocket.
 
The original School Rocket, in my case with the optional payload section ($1) is a favorite of mine. In addition to all the good stuff Rich says about it, it is a reliable flyer even on windy days.

Highly recommended.
 
I built a couple of the 3" School Rockets for Bill. I also built a prototype 29mm to 24mm adapter and critiqued the directions for the adapter for him. They are great kits. Very well thought out designs.
 
I really like the School Rocket for all the reasons stated above. I do an outreach program for my wife's residential school during the summer and we use BMS School rockets. The well thought out kits and easy to follow directions made it easier for some of the lower functioning students to build a solid, nice flying rocket.
Like BEC I built one with an optional payload section and also modified one of the kits into a booster so I could demonstrate two stage flights with the same rocket the students had just built. It flies very nicely on a A8-0 to A8-5.
(edit) I think I need a 3" School Rocket now....
 
We've upgraded all of our Cub Scout launch events from Estes bulk sets to BMS school rocket kits.
https://www.balsamachining.com/
All around higher quality, sturdier, cheaper, and easier to build kit.
Highly recommended!

a

P.S.: If you are managing bulk-ordering BMS kits, beware that they will arrive in two bundled plastic bags: one with body tubes, another with everything else. You print out instructions on your own. I've found that sourcing a roll of standard grocery bags works really well for sorting parts into ready-to-handout baggies.
 
I can't comment on the standard school rocket as It has remained in the build pile since I bought it. I can say that I have a pair of the three inch school rockets. One in 24mm the other in 29mm. Both are great rockets at very reasonable prices. I wish they would do more designs.

I also have a pair of the 29mm in the build pile for another day.

6.jpg34.jpg
 
I can't comment on the standard school rocket as It has remained in the build pile since I bought it. I can say that I have a pair of the three inch school rockets. One in 24mm the other in 29mm. Both are great rockets at very reasonable prices. I wish they would do more designs.

I also have a pair of the 29mm in the build pile for another day.
Nice looking rockets - 👍

IIRC BMS bought Mercury Engineering which had some solid looking 3/4FNC 3-4” designs - Grave Danger, Hijacker, RDR, Mutant Daddy, Integrator...not sure if BMS plans on using those designs to expand their line beyond their current kits.

http://web.archive.org/web/20190426025715/http://mercury-rockets.com/model_rockets_Page1.html
 
Nice looking rockets - 👍

IIRC BMS bought Mercury Engineering which had some solid looking 3/4FNC 3-4” designs - Grave Danger, Hijacker, RDR, Mutant Daddy, Integrator...not sure if BMS plans on using those designs to expand their line beyond their current kits.

http://web.archive.org/web/20190426025715/http://mercury-rockets.com/model_rockets_Page1.html


Just checked out Mercury. Those are some solid designs. I hope BMS is reading this and puts those kits in production using his level of quality and price point.
 
All these pictures of the 3 inch SR, none of the original that Rich was talking about....well, here's one. This, like most all of the ones I have built, has the optional $1 payload section (a piece of BT, a coupler and a ply disk).

Just before its 18th sortie this afternoon. Just under 1000 feet on an Estes C6-5. Data here: https://flightsketch.com/flights/2244/

IMG_4348.jpg
 
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