Brief
This is a sturdy, single staged high power rocket with a hardwood nose and boattail. It recovers by chute and comes with a 54mm mount, but can fly on 38 and 29mm motors as well.

Construction
After getting my level 2, I began to surf the net to answer the question, "What next?" I wondered what was out there that was different. Then I discovered a new company called Starship Enterprises (now called Fat Cat Rockets as of 1/1/01) and perused their site and found the GTX. I fancied that it looked like a giant Crayola crayon and I liked it. So I ordered it. Service was prompt, and shipment was received intact and undamaged. All parts fit precisely.

The fins were precut and are plywood. The nose cone is hardwood, symmetrically turned and a precise fit for the 3-inch spiral wound body tube, which is paper, but of the strength seen in extra thick motor tubes. The shock cord mount has steel cabling that runs from the engine mount to the 1/2 inch elastic, which ties to a screw-eye in the nose cone. nose cone.

The instructions are simple. That's because the model is easy schmeasy to assemble. It's great for those impulses to fly something new the next day. The only hard parts are crimping the clamps that form the loops in the steel cable and drilling a pilot hole in the hardwood nose cone to admit the screw-eye. I needed to employ heavy duty pliers and an electric drill for this.

Also, the body tube did not come pregrooved. I needed to employ a strong exacto knife to make the slots for the fins, but a marking guide was supplied to make it easier. I used epoxy all the way for construction, but instead of my favorite quick setting type, I used 1/2 hour epoxy to make the bonds stronger. The fins fit through the body wall right to the motor tube, and I applied the centering ring so that it too supplied a bond at the upper part of the fin tab. The boattail acts as a centering ring too, as it provides anchor for the motor tube. It also streamlined the end of the rocket and reduces base drag.

The parachute that came with the model struck me as too small (I recollect it being around 24 inches), as I imagined the weight of the hardware of the motor plus the model hitting the hard desert, so I made it one that was 30 inches across. Out here in the west, the soil is hard, so we favor larger chutes...not longer walks, but that's what we get!!! Overall, what I got is a sturdy and nice looking rocket.

Finishing
This was left up to me, as no decals came with it. So I went wild and let the project mutate. At first I painted it gloss black. Then I applied red and yellow striping along the fin joints and up the body tube. It looks distinctive, to say the least. I almost didn't want to paint the model because the nose cone and boattail are pretty. But the body tube wouldn't have matched had I glossed the wooden parts.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight
The manufacturer recommends the G80 for 29mm flights up to the 54mm I65. I was daunted by the model's small size and cringed at the thought of sticking such a monstrous motor in it. So I used an adapter and put in a 29mm H180-M. I wanted to dig a hole for me to crouch down in when I set it off, because I feared that I was overpowering it. But not only did it scream and disappear off the pad in a hurry, it did so intact and landed about half a mile away. And it did so within feet of my months-lost Impulse Aerospace Machbuster, which was still flyable!!!

Anyway, I used plenty of worm bed wadding, and everything packs loosely and easily into the tube. I drilled a small vent hole into the body with an awl to prevent premature separation. Yes, there is a treatment for that condition....

The motor was retained with the flat steel part of an old stapler, the part with a right angle bend at the end that served as a motor hook of sorts, as this part was aftward and held the motor in. Now, do I DARE a 54mm motor? See if I don't! Maybe a 38mm I161 would be a blast, as well...

Recovery
The system survived without any damage, but I might later replace the elastic with bungee cord, as I've had great experiences with it, and it's durable. I think that a longer delay than I used would be better. The medium delay used is 10 seconds, I believe. Maybe 14 would be better. It seemed to be rising at ejection. You know, I would not be surprised if this bird was close to mach. The noise was impressive indeed.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary
Friendly company to buy from, prompt service. Sturdy. Don't doubt it. It can take it. Simple to put together. I recommend it for sure.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5