Brief:
This is the largest of the Corn on the cob shaped oddroc collections by First Flight Hobby. This 24mm rocket once complete is interesting and fun. Promises to be a head turner and also a great flier. This rocket uses both D and E engines.

Construction:
The parts consist of:

• One styrene foam corncob
• One body tube
• One MMT 24mm tube
• One E to D motor adapter
• One engine block
• 2 centering rings
• Small bag of bb's
• 18" parachue
• 2 sheets balsa fin stock
• Kevlar® shock cord mount
• Elastic shock cord
• Motor hook
• Instructions
• Snap swivel
• Small screw eye
• Noseblock
• Chute reinforcing tapes
• Launch lug
• Bag o bb's with corn husk scraps
• Shroud line

One of the things that really showed me that this company cares about its customers is that each small bag of parts was signed after the parts where placed inside. Also the fact that they hand drew the corn when explaining the insertion of the stuffer tube into the corn body.

As with the other two corn rockets, the instructions are well worded and thought out as well as slightly funny at times. Easy to follow. Though I would suggest the fin pattern being on its own sheet.

To build this oddroc you first need to assemble the engine mount and stuffer tube assembly after building the engine mount. The instructions say after gluing the cord to the engine mount to feed the Kevlar® cord through the stuffer tube. A better means is to feed the free end into the MMT so that it is hanging out the back then gluing the mount in place. This allows you more control when the times comes to tie the shock cord to the Kevlar®.

Next part is to carefully cut the four channels into the foam corn for the fins. I would suggest and used a Dremel with a 1/8" cutting wheel attachment on its second to lowest setting while using a piece of angle iron for a guide. This will give you a good clean cut. After this is done, trace and cut out the fins sealing and sanding until you're happy. Leave them natural to match the husk on the corn. Glue them in place with yellow glue or foam safe epoxy.

Once that is done, you want to mount the stuffer tube . Test fit first! I found I needed to wrap 5 turns of masking tape around the launch lugs and stuffer tube to get a snug fit before gluing. The next thing to do is sand and fit the nose block making sure it fits well enough so that when you put the cap on it matches with the orientation of the corn. Hollow out one side of the block about 1/2" this is to aid in balancing.

Place 5 turns of masking tape around the block and fit it snugly into the nose. Load an E9-4 and prep the rocket for flight. Tie string around the rocket at the points the tips of the fins enter the rocket and suspend it from something. It should be tail heavy. Load all of the bb's into the nose block and snugly fit it into the nose. Place nose on the rocket. Remove bb's until the rocket is almost almost balanced. It should need some more weight. Mix epoxy and fill nose block over bb's and insert half a tooth pick so it touches all the way down and sticks up. Add some epoxy on the inside of the nose and insert the block. The tooth pick should insert into the foam. Allow to dry.

Once dry, replace the nose onto the rocket and check the balance. Adjust as needed. Perform a swing test with at least 8' of string.

Using 5 or 15 minute epoxy, glue the block in place while the block is in the tube so to aid in the alignment. Let the rocket dry nose down for a least an hour before going on.

If at all possible, I would use more than one launch lug as this is a through the body lug system.

Finishing:
Use matte finish foam safe spray paint to finish.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight and Recovery:
I flew the Corn-E twice on E9-4s. A 6' launch rod set into light 5-10mph winds. First flight was pretty straight with a slight spin. Recovery was good. No damage. Second flight was decent. She left the launch pad with a slight arch after seeming to hang on the launch rod for a second. At apogee she flipped over I believe due to winds and ejected. Landing was a little hard but no damage due to snow on the ground.

Flight Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary:
Needs at least a 6' rod might up lugs to one full stuffer tube length to handle 1/4" rods for a more stable lift off.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5