Manufacturer: | FlisKits |
Brief:
The FlisKits "Tumble Weed" Model Rocket Kit had caught my eye on the
FlisKits website when I was looking to purchase a Nomad, so I had it added to
my order. It's by far the smallest rocket in their line, resembling somewhat a
dressed up Mosquito and it is designed to fly on 13mm motors. However, upon
arrival I knew this was much more than a simple model and I quickly stored it
away for a build. Well, my daughter found it and decided she wanted to build
this little beauty, so off to the workshop we went, kit in hand.
Construction:
The kit comes in a small package and includes a nose cone, Balsa Fin material,
extra long custom motor retainer, stiff glass type cloth, Fin Ring, Launch Lug
and body tube. Once again, this kit was a post update and already had the hole
punched in the side for the ejection charge. The instruction sheet was well
written with ample photos of construction and the template sheet included cut
outs for a body wrap, fins and fin tips. All in all, the quality was excellent
and I was pleased with the contents.
My Tumble Weed was kit #33; yes, FlisKits actually serial number the first 100 production kits for you collectors out there and have forced me to buy double kits on the ones I wanted, one to save and one to build. This one was no different! Construction went well and was straight forward until we got to the fins. Note that there was a change to the instructions calling for you to shorten the nose cone shoulder and this was stickered on the instructions themselves so you wouldn't miss the step.
Fin construction went well, but was rather complex, hence challenging, for such a small kit; the templates produced perfect fins with the ring fitting the first time. Even the body wrap fit perfectly, no over or under wrap as I had seen with other mfgrs they obviously have it down to an art in this department. Fin tips were even more of a challenge, but I found that when sanding with some fine sandpaper, even my large hands could handle them without much difficulty.
The motor ejection was another story. This model uses a blow-back ejection, where the motor blows most of the gasses out the side hole, travels rearward over an inch, then stops by means of the motor hook catch. It is an old concept which works. The only problem I had was with the cloth you overlay on top of the retainer bar. Using glue, it is "glassed/laminated" to the side of the body tube, which is fine except the cloth is a bit stiff. I recommend you use epoxy on this cloth; I used Alphaetic Resin and it took a wile to set and probably isn't as strong. Another thing I did was to coat the nose cone with thin CA glue, which gives it a "plastic" coating after sanding.
Finishing:
The model, once built, was sanded with 320 and 400 grit sandpaper to remove
ridges and smooth out the fillets, then I applied a few coats of Krylon Primer.
I waited a day, then sanded the primer and planned the paint scheme. My
daughter wanted it painted using the same pattern as on the package, so I
purchased some bright green and orange and bought a can of Krylon Purple Glossy
for the main body tube. Painting went well
The Krylon was first, then the
other two colors were brushed on a couple days later
even so, it came out
pretty nice. It was then time to let it dry, then fly.
Construction Rating: 4 out of 5
Flight:
Launch day came and I had picked up a pack of 1/2A3-4's to test both it and my
new FlisKits Cougar 660 Streamer Duration Rocket. The A motors were left in the
box as I wanted to be able to find this one. It was set on the pad and hooked
up. We were getting excited just thinking about it going up, but my previous
experience with rockets of this size usually resulted in donations to the
"rocket gods", as many a Mosquito just seemed to just disappear,
never to be found again. I did NOT want that to happen here, so we started
slow.
Recovery:
The model was launched and left the pad in a hurry, but was able to be easily
tracked. Ejection happened near apogee and the rocket free-fell back to earth
and landed without damage. The bright colors made it easy to find in the grass
and we quickly prepped it for another flight, which went just as well as the
first. Both times the motor actually stayed in the model, so I was happy about
that.
Flight Rating: 5 out of 5
Summary:
In summary, the FlisKits Tumble Weed is a very cool little kit! Don't let the
small package fool you as there are some building challenges in store, but the
results reminded me once again of the old Nostalgic rockets from days of old,
when quality and classic design prevailed over mass production. The Tumble Weed
is no exception and I recommend it to those who are looking for great looks and
flight characteristics
Good things really do come in small packages and
this is no exception for the FlisKits "Tumble Weed!"
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
Brief: I am partial to ring fin rockets. The Sprite was the first rocket I built at 11 years old. This kit will not disappoint with its fine materials, classic form, and good looks but has a little higher price than that Sprite I built. Supposed to be a tumble recovery but more on that later. Construction: The kit includes a small body tube, balsa nose cone, balsa sheet, ...
FlisKits is the newest company in town (opened in September 2002) and from my vantage point, they have come in with a big banner-like entrance. I have built kits from 22 different manufacturers and when I received the (3) FlisKits I had ordered, I was initially amazed at the packaging. They are so professional looking that if hanging in a hobby store you would think they were mass-produced in ...
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FlisKits (October 31, 2002)