This build was a bit frustrating but brought back a lot of memories.
The elastic tie positions from the Estes instructions didn't give enough pull so they had to be moved.
Look close to be sure you have covered every area when painting this one.
The fins look straight from all sides but the Gyroc wants to do a slow spiral during boost.
This model was designed before "shotgun ejections". There is a loud POP when the engine ejects.
This one is a fun build using spare parts and some 1/16" thick balsa.
Or just get the BMS clone kit, at $10 it's a great buy!
Very nice build. I'd left off the decals on the build from years ago (partly because there weren't any supplied in the kit), and went with simply straight solid color scheme.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, during boost it would slowly spiral up. I also noticed a similar situation where the elastic didn't seemed to have the strength to pull up the flap (most of the time they would spring to about 1/3 to halfway -- after a few seconds they'd inch up and slowly stop a bit short). I figured part of it was because of the paint stiffening up the paper hinge. I ended up leaving it as-is, rather than relocating the thread attachment point on the flap (mainly for fear that it would eventually cause a split in the flap).
On the initial flight, recovery looked a bit scary, as initially the rate of descent made it look like it would lawndart at high speed. However, it quickly began to decelerate as the spinning picked up -- and by the time it was near the ground, it would seemingly "hang" in the air. I did fly it a number of times (with the same profile -- initial high rate of descent, decelerating to point where it was nearly floating near the ground) -- before it finally met its demise by landing into a tree -- shedding bits of fin as it attempted to "drill" its way through the branches...
Hi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThe decals were drawn in CorelDraw and home printed. I've got to do the striped wrap again, the wrap around decals are hard to get right.
I haven't had a problem with the elastic "pull" yet, I'm sure it'll relax and lose strength over time. I don't store the model with a casing in place, the panels are flipped until I prep it for flight.
The hinges are still good and still sticking well to the balsa underneath. There is a crack in just the yellow paint down the fold line.
So far my two flights have been great, a slow spiral during boost and a very fast spin after ejection.
A perfect model for A8-3 or A6-4s in a small field.
I know that shred, my Centurion went horizontal after staging right into tree branches.
I bought this when I was 14, and spent the next 30 years building it (on again, off again). Then I finally launched it, and the fins sheared off on the first flight.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteI haven't had the fins shear off - yet.
They are pretty large, so there probably is a lot of drag pulling them down. The model tends to do a slow turn going up.
If you are thinking of building another, BMS produces a Gyroc clone for about $10.00.