Ken Johnson's PageRocketReviews.com Pages:
2015-08-08Sparkly Twister Flight I dusted off the old Custom Twister that had been gathering dust. It was still just as sparkly and pretty as the day I last saw it a dozen years ago, and I had some old Quest A6-4 motors at the ready. So I popped one in and took it to the launch pad. Embarrassment! This thing chased its tail and ... [More]
Fiesta Flight Dismal performance. A Quest A6-4 is not strong enough to fly this rocket. - Quest A6-4 - Ball Ground GA [More]
Starhawk Flight I don't know if it was a bad motor or what, but this was a bit disappointing. It went up about 60 feet and arched over, landing in a briar bush. No damage. This is one of my favorite rockets and is a good one to gauge wind currents. I may retire it though, as it has started to show a little ... [More]
2013-03-19Eggbert Flight Jumped off the pad and wobbled a bit on the way up. Nose cone came down intact but the rest was destroyed on impact. The minimal diameter rocket makes parachute deployment difficult- in this case, it got stuck about halfway out of the body tube. - Estes C6-5 - Biello Field Woodstock [More]
Space Taxi Flight One of the better paint jobs I've done on a rocket. The Space Taxi, as I called it, was a great performer- so much so that it vaporized off the pad with just a B motor, never to be seen again. Great flights, but keep the power low unless you have lots of spotters. - Estes B6-6 - Biello Field ... [More]
Starhawk Flight Straight and fast. This is the 35th flight for this rocket! - B6-6 - Biello Field Woodstock [More]
2002-10-18Custom Rockets Elite (Kit)  Review
A lightweight, minimum diameter egg lofter with an efficient aerodynamic design.
The kit comes in the typical "hanging bag" style package. As such, it doesn't protect the kit from any damage incurred in shipping, and this one was indeed damaged in shipment, though I couldn't tell until ... [More]
2002-01-04Custom Rockets Venture (Kit)  Review An entry level 3FNC rocket that tries hard to beat the Estes Alpha.
Like the other Custom rocket kits I have built, the nose cone was excessively loose and had a lot of casting flash. And like the others, the parting line had a number of dimples and flaws that detract from the rocket if not ... [More]
2001-10-10Estes Star Wars R2-D2(2) (Modification)  Review Another in the continuing series of improved "little" R2-D2 rockets from Estes. This one features what the "big" R2 had all along: A REAL nose cone, thereby eliminating recovery failure.
Modifications: The first thing that had to go was the top, so R2 was beheaded at the blue band, just below ... [More]
2001-06-15Scratch AdVenture (Modification)  Review
Took an already good Custom Venture and added a 3" payload section, making it a rocket I call AdVenture.
Modifications: About the only real hard part was to make the coupler. If you don't have a lathe, you could just cut down a 24mm composite motor casing and add some attachment ... [More]
2001-03-01Estes Yankee (Kit)  Review A small, lightweight 3FNC rocket with an unusual nose cone.
Actually, I built 2 Yankee kits; one to replace the initial rocket that disappeared after its third flight. The first kit featured a nice balsa nose cone, but the second kit, while otherwise identical, had a plastic nose cone. But both ... [More]
2001-02-11Quest Starhawk (Kit)  Review An education-series rocket that can only be purchased in bulk. Perfect for a group of scouts, a school project, church groups, or someone who just wants a ton of the same rocket, for whatever reason.
The individual kits come in a clear plastic bag, and contain a plastic nose cone molded in ... [More]
2001-01-01Aerospace Speciality Products Sandia Sandhawk (Kit)  Review A diminutive scale model of a Sandia Sandhawk that's small in size but big on detail.
Don't be mislead, as I was, about the skill required to build this kit. What you get for your money is a great 13mm body tube, a shorter piece of 13mm tube for the nose cone, a good quality balsa nose and a ... [More]
2000-10-21Estes Super Flea (Clone)  Review The Super Flea was a single stage mini-motored rocket that came in a 2 rocket kit along with the Javelin. Estes sold these in the early 1970s, and it was the first kit I ever purchased with my own money. There was nothing really special about them, but it has a sentimental value for me, as I built ... [More]
2000-04-15LOC/Precision Bruiser (Kit)  Review
Modifications:
Anti-zipper airframe
Full 2 layer fiberglass
Extra centering ring - mid fin
Totally redesigned fins - g10 and 50's styling
Dual recovery
External access to electronics bays
Internal wire race for timer air-starts
Custom built "Y" shock cords - 1" ... [More]
2000-01-11Custom Rockets Fiesta (Kit)  Review
An entry level rocket that suffers from some quality control problems. At first glance, the lackluster packaging had me thinking "Siesta" instead, but once I delved into the project, there was plenty to like about this single stage 4FNC rocket.
The package was the typical plastic "hanging ... [More]
1998-01-01Modification Star Wars R2-D2 (Modification)  Review An engineering exercise to test the flight characteristics and durability of the Estes R2D2 rocket by upgrading to a 24mm motor mount.
Modifications: The only tools required are ones that every modeler has: an Xacto knife or similar, a ruler (in my case metric, because I don't understand that ... [More]
1995-01-01Modification Solar Warrior (Modification) Review Upsized to 18mm motor. Simplest modification I've ever performed; just never installed the 13mm mount. CP and CG were still perfect.
Modifications: Primered, sanded, primered, sanded, ad infinitum, until body tube was perfect. No paint, just clear-coated the primer. The streamer was given much ... [More]
1992-01-01Estes Star Wars R2-D2 (Kit)  Review A flying replica of the Star Wars R2D2.
The instructions were easy to follow, and the order of assembly seemed logical. The kit components were all there and fit well, except for the body wrap decal, which was a bit too short, leaving a 1/8" gap. Regular wood glue and styrene cement were all ... [More]
0000-00-00Scratch Obelisk (Scratch)  Review
A two-stage rectangular rocket, made from a couple of toothpaste boxes, that resembles the Washington Monument.
I was brushing my teeth one day, and looked down at the empty toothpaste box, and thought "Why not?" So, the plan for Obelisk was born. I took 1/8" balsa and formed the nose, ... [More]
Plastic Kit Condor V-2 (Kit)  Review (by Kenneth
R. Johnson)
Brief:
A plastic model conversion from a Czech-made Condor V-2 rocket model for 13mm
motors.
Construction:
This plastic model conversion was made from the static model made by a Czech
company named Condor. As such, it is made from the typical styrene plastic ... [More]
Binder Design Spike (Kit)  Review
( Contributed - by Ken Johnson) Brief:
Single stage rocket capable of "I" engine flights with awesome
flights on F and G.
Construction:
The Binder Design kit was complete and in good condition. The kit was purchased
at a local hobby shop because of its ability to fly on ... [More]
Scratch Micro Sputnik (Scratch)  Review Brief: A lilliputian scale-down of one of my favorite rockets, the Spudnik. Or, in other words, I've too much time on my hands.
The materials were all scrap, destined for the dustbin. So, one rainy Saturday night with nothing to do, I decided to build a replacement for my son's crippled space ... [More]
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