Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Diameter: | 0.74 inches |
Length: | 12.88 inches |
Manufacturer: | Squirrel Works |
Style: | Sport |
Brief:
The Space Ranger, SW-005, is another excellent kit from Squirrel Works (SW).
Simply beautiful kit art, ease of construction, high quality parts, and a
fantastic looking rocket are the standard for SW. The rocket only stands about
13" tall and flies on 18mm motors, but it looks fantastic on the pad and
really zooms--even on an A motor.
Construction:
A single 18mm (BT-20) body tube, standard engine block, balsa nose cone, screw
eye, elastic shock cord, mylar streamer, launch lug, 3-fin laser cut fin sheet,
cockpit template, and multi-color decals are provided. The shock cord and mylar
streamer were long enough that I didn't have to substitute them, although I did
add a 6" length of Kevlar®
at the shock cord attachment point.
The instruction sheet contains easy-to-follow, numbered instructions with accompanying pictorials for almost every step. No motor mount to build, laser-cut fins, and a body tube that doesn't require any finishing allow this rocket to be easily built within a day. The pre-stamped cockpit was marked to fold to an almost perfect fit on the body. As is usual on any rocket I build, I installed a 6" length of Kevlar® in the shock cord attachment with a loop at the end to attach the elastic shock cord. To minimize abrasion from the Kevlar® against the body tube, I soaked in CA around the top 1/2" of the body tube and tied the Kevlar® so the knot in the loop meets the lip of the body tube.
Finishing:
The balsa nose cone and fins require standard finishing. I use Elmer's Light
Fill n Finish, but any standard balsa sealer will work. The most time I spent
building the rocket was to fill in with the Fill n Finish around the cockpit to
eliminate the seam lines. If the cockpit seam lines don't bother you, the
rocket can be built and finished in a couple of hours and still look super. The
water slide decals do require a steady hand and some experience placing them,
since the striping on the rocket is long and thin, however, they are top
quality, lay down nicely and add a fantastic look to the rocket.
Construction Rating: 5 out of 5
Flight:
I haven't flown mine yet--rain and schedule keep getting in the way--but I've
seen the rocket fly on A, B and C motors; all superb straight flights. The
rocket really zooms on an A motor and will go almost completely out of sight on
a C motor (which is where that silver mylar streamer comes in handy).
Recovery:
The long mylar streamer and shock cord easily fit inside the tube, and despite
the extreme height that can be achieved by this model, it recovers easily with
the streamer and is so lightweight that you could really recover without damage
even without the streamer. I didn't look at the rear of the rocket after the
other guy's flights, but I think the swept back fins hanging below the end of
the body tube are far enough outside the exhaust range that they shouldn't get
burned. As is normal for a rocket with fins below the motor, or any rocket for
that matter, I would place the rocket on the launch pad so it is at least
6-8" from the blast plate.
Flight Rating: 5 out of 5
Summary:
The Space Ranger is easily constructed yet looks superb. The classic lines of
the rocket make it a fantastic addition to my rocket fleet. I can't think of
any reason someone wouldn't thoroughly enjoy this rocket!
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5
Brief: This rocket is a minimum diameter, 18mm, streamer recovery, futuristic space plane. This is a beautiful little kit that I did my best to mess up. It turned out well anyway. Construction: The instruction were the typical high quality one associates with Squirrel Works. They were printed on both sides of a single legal sized piece of paper. They were clear and contained ...
Brief: Single stage rocket with streamer recovery and the good old fashioned taped in engine. Construction: 1 body tube,1 balsa nose cone, 3 fins of 1/16" balsa, 1 launch lug, 1 tape strip, 1 screw eye, 1 engine block, 1 cockpit, 1 18" shock cord, 1 gold mylar streamer, and 1 decal sheet. These instructions are some of the most thorough I have read. Just follow them ...
Sponsored Ads
D.M. (May 2, 2004)