Aerotech - Arreaux {Kit} (89013) [1989-]

Aerotech Arreaux

Aerotech - Arreaux {Kit} (89013) [1989-]

Contributed by Jarret Winkelman

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Diameter:	1.90 inches
Length:	43.00 inches
Manufacturer:	Aerotech
Style:	Sport

Brief:
Single stage with cargo bay and parachute recovery.

Construction:
The kit comes with 2 body tubes. One being the payload section and one being the fin section. It also has 3 plastic (very strong!) fins included. The centering rings are almost unbreakable and the nose cone is very solid.

The instructions were very good although the kit is pretty straight-forward. There are a few illustrations and I don't recommend any changes in the building of this kit. The kit was very easy to build except the fins were very hard to get in. I had to cut a little bit of the tab off, and that made them slide in perfect. This could be a result of a mistake made by me though. This is my first Aerotech kit and I was very pleased with the sturdiness of the kit.

Finishing:
Pro's: Very easy to finish. I painted it the recommended colors but have yet to put on the decals. It looks great and is easy to spot in the air. Con's: NONE!

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
I have flown the Arreaux once with an Aerotech RMS F22-7 motor. The motor sat loaded for a month due to bad weather, so it didn't have the punch that it would have. The rocket rose slowly and looked GREAT. Because of the motor sitting for so long, apogee was a little lower then expected and the rocket came strait down about 50 feet from pad. Even with the speed the rocket was traveling at ejection, the rocket was not damaged and the parachute opened. The rocket descended at a great speed and landed close to the pad. I think the F22-7 is a great first flight motor especially if it doesn't sit for a month! I plan on flying the Arreaux on a G64-10 the last week of June and will tell you how it goes.

Updated 01/01:I have now flown the Arreaux 3 times. The first flight on the F22-7 you know about. The next flight on the G64-10W was what made this my favorite rocket. An awesome flight to 3100ft. It was fast off the pad and quick to get to apogee. What a beautiful flight! Ejection was right at apogee and the decent took close to 5 min. It landed about 3/4 of a mile away. The rocket was unharmed. The next flight on the F22-7 was also perfect with ejection near apogee and no damage.

Recovery:
Pro's: Everything! Con's: NOTHING! GREAT starter kit. (this is my second High Impulse rocket)

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
Great rocket for anyone. The ejection baffle does what it says it does. There was no damage to the shock cord or the parachute.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Other Reviews

Aerotech Arreaux By Greg Deeter
Brief: This is a single stage, 29mm, easy to build, yet very durable rocket kit from AeroTech. My first AeroTech kit was the Cheetah and I was so pleased with it that I ordered and built this Arreaux, the G-Force, Mustang, Sumo, and Wart-Hog all at the same time. I built this rocket two years ago, installed the recovery system about a month ago, painted it on a Friday night, and flew it the ...
Aerotech Arreaux By Steve Bloom
4 points The kit comes well packaged and all the parts were there this time. On other Aerotech kits I've built I've had missing parts.The instructions are well written and easy to follow with good drawings.A few changes are recommended however. The shock cord attachment right at the top of the engine mount is seen as a problem by me.Even with the cooling mesh installed the ...
Aerotech Arreaux By Solomon Westerman
High-Performance, Payload Rocket. Your standard 3FNC (3 Fins and a Nose Cone) rocket on the outside, but has a complex interior. As with my other Aerotech kit, one page was missing (payload construction) and substituted for another page already printed. But the rocket construction was pretty simple, so you could figure it out. The only thing different is the FinLock rings, which glue ...

Flights

Comments:

Y.L. (January 1, 2001)

The Arreaux was my first mid-power kit. I've had my Arreaux now for three years and I've flown it on E15s, E30s, E16s (RMS), F14s and F22s (RMS) and I even used it to burn my old stock of FSI motors (E60s and F100s) for a total of about 40+ flights and it's still alive and kicking. It's lightweight enough to fly well on the whimmpy blackjack motors and delivers nice performance on everything else. I would recommend this kit to anyone.

unknown (August 1, 2001)

One thing I'd say about Aerotech kits is that they go together incredibly easy. Conservatively, I'd say they can be assembled in less than half the time of a PML or similar kit. My Arreaux flies straight even on an E, and can be flown on a small field. Recovery is close to the pad because there's not a lot of drift. I'd highly recommend this kit to anyone as a first mid-power kit.

J.B. (September 1, 2001)

This is a great rocket! Looks good, builds good, flies good. My first "BAR rocket" and it is highly recommended. The only difference I made in building mine is that I used all epoxy. Made it a bit heavier than stock and, thus, I fly on larger motors with shorter delays, but it is truly tank-like.

S.G. (September 5, 2005)

The rocket build great. After it was built I decided to retrofit it for a H165-R engine. To do this I had cut off the motor clip, but, left a good amount of it still there to hold the H165 reloadable. What a major work to remove the CA bond on the thrust ring. I had to use a dremel wand and cut and sand. I also used a cutter to eliminate motor hook tab on the inside. Once it was cleaned out I then epoxied the aft centering ring and also the bulkhead in the payload bay tube. I then epoxied parachute line for my shock cord to the payload bay tube eye screw and then to the main airframe side. This rocket took off. There was no altimeter but it must of gone close to mach speeds he way it leaped off the launch pad. Well we had many eyes looking for it and no one saw it any longer, it was lost. But a month later the farmers found it and it was mailed back to me. All was in tact except for there was some trample damage, which I'll repair and it will fly again. Great experience and the H165-R showed a beautiful red line.

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