Binder Design - Gangsta 29mm {Kit}

Binder Design Gangsta

Binder Design - Gangsta 29mm {Kit}

Contributed by Frank G. Whitby

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Manufacturer:

Binder Design

Brief:
Scott Fisher sold me a bunch of these kits for use in a rocketry class taught at the University of Utah Museum of Natural Sciences in the fall of 2006.

Gansta
Photo Courtesy of Binder Design

Construction:
The experience with the Gangsta kit was excellent. A dozen 4th and 5th graders put these kits together on a Saturday morning, requiring about 3 hours of class time. The kits were constructed with wood glue only. Most of the kids had some limited model building experience but had never assembled a rocket on their own. They built the kits and we did swing tests to establish the CG and CP. We planned to launch them on F and G single use motors.

Finishing:
They took their rockets home and painted them and then came out to a UROC sport launch one week later on a beautiful sunny November day just before Thanksgiving.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight and Recovery:
All but one kid was able to make it to the launch with their parents. We had a dedicated launch pad and we helped them to decide on the motor, purchase it from Rocket Dog Hobby (on site UROC vendor), and prep their rockets. There was a sometimes stiff 5-10 mph breeze with periods of calm. All kids launched either 2 or 3 times with single use Aerotech F and G motors. The Gangsta really moves out on all of these motors. The boost from the G80 really sent it out of sight. All rockets were recovered from every flight in perfect condition. The wood glue held up beautifully. Epoxy is not needed in the construction of this kit.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
This was a really great kit to use in a class setting. The kids were drawn to the cool design and a short rocket is easy for them to deal with and transport. The rocket is very rugged and the kids loved using an F or G motor as their introduction to model rocketry.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Other Reviews

Binder Design Gangsta By Frank G. Whitby
Picture Courtesty of Binder Design Brief: Binder Design’s Gangsta is a single stage, 2.6-inch diameter, 29mm, four-finned sport rocket, measuring 24.25-inches in length. I wonder if a black rocket named Gangsta is politically correct, yet I’m drawn to it because of the unique fin design and long nose cone on such a stubby rocket. ...

Flights

Comments:

Mike Fisher - Binder Design (July 27, 2003)

Thanks for the review! As for the inferred "political incorrectness" of this model: The black color for the Gangsta prototype was chosen because it made the rocket look "tough". Feel free to paint your Gangsta any color you want! We even have the Gangsta logo in black, so that you can even have a white Gangsta, if you so desire. We are currently phasing out all of the fiber centering rings as we run out of them. All new 29mm kits in production come with quality aircraft plywood centering rings. This also helps out in the stability, since the wood rings are lighter. Finally, on the nosecone fit....All of our nosecones fit loose due to the available mandrel sizes at our tubing manufacturer. This is not a problem. Even with enough masking tape wraps to snug it up, the nosecone and exterior surface of the tubing still line up properly.

J.C. (July 30, 2003)

I'm not sure your review was really that helpful to the typical reader. Adding the foam seemed to me to be a case of radical overkill. The additional weight could cause unnecessary problems that would have been avoided if the instructions had simply been followed.

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