(Contributed - by Dan Schneider) 
Brief:
Aerotech's 4", G-powered, recovered rocket using their
proprietary LABYRINTH™ ejection system.
Construction:
Pros: Big (for Aerotech) Easy to build, very nice flyer
Cons: Limited recommended motor . Very thin fins. Pricy.
Being my first 4" kit, my first impression was WOW! There's something
very nice about being able to get your hands into the to work. All the
parts listed in the instructions were present, even an extra .
Everything fit nicely with the possible exception of a very tight tube couple.
A little sanding brought that little annoyance into line.
A few basics about the kit: It has two 4" tubes. The tubes are fairly
sturdy and the spirals are pretty shallow. The fit nicely (if not a
little too snug). The is an old plastic ACE nose cone. It has two
standard Aerotech 3/16" square plastic lugs. 1/4" lugs would have
been nice and probably should be upgraded. Not really sure what the centering
rings are made from. Aerotech has their own name for the material, but they
feel like a partial/slate . They are very sturdy. The elastic shock
cord is about 12' long. I was a little concerned about it being elastic, but it
worked without a hitch. The attaches to the top of the Labyrinth
baffle like all the other Aerotech kits and the other end attaches to an eye
hook in the in the upper section.
The instruction were clear and concise for the most part. (although a
couple of times I had to re-read a step to make sure I understood what they
were talking about. They had clear illustrations for most the steps that made
it very clear from a visual stand point. I didn't use any new construction
techniques with this rocket that I haven't done before with the exception of
only using epoxy. I didn't bother using in areas that they said to use it.
System 3 epoxy worked fantastic.
As designed, on G motors, flights were a
lot of fun! Slow take off and low altitude are a lot of fun for me so flying
this rocket on G's was a blast. I realized very early on that I didn't want to
limit this bird to only G motors. I decided that this was also going to be my
cert rocketry to qualify level 1. Modifications were going to have to be made.
I used the "bonus" centering ring to add Kaplow Klips and left out
the and motor block. I used only System3 epoxy to glue everything
(quite liberally I might add). I will also glass the pathetically thin fins for
the H and above flights.
Finishing:
Mine is not finished yet, but I wanted a unique look, so I am not going to go
with the recommended paint and decal scheme. The decals are the usual self
adhesive decals that AT uses on all their kits.
Construction Rating:
4
out of 5
Flight:
Built stock, it flies only on G's, but it fly's as designed on them rather
well. I have only flown mine on G64-4's so far and have not had a single
problem. It was very stable, even in high winds (20mph). No at
all, no or spiraling, no problems at all. In fact, in the 20mph+ winds,
it didn't cock into the wind at all. The wind actually gently pushed it. On the
video tape, the only effect of wind you see is the smoke from the motor going
quickly down range. The rocket didn't even seem to notice it at all.
5/00 Update:I successfully used the G-Force in this review (with some modifications) to get my Level 1 certification.
It was fairly heavy when I was done modifying it (4lbs fully loaded), but flew perfectly on an H128. The Missile Works RRc2 told me it hit 666 feet on a gusty and pretty windy day.
Recovery:
AT used their ever-popular "boing cord" shock cord. It worked well
even though I was concerned. I will modify it even further by adding bunched up
tubular nylon around the elastic for insurance. The 36" parachute brought
it down rather slowly. In the high winds, I had about a 3/4 mile walk to
retrieve it.
Flight Rating:
5
out of 5
Summary:
When built stock, this is a really fun bird to build and fly. It has one really
bad drawback that kept it's overall rating down in my eyes. It's price. If the
cash doesn't matter to you, then this is a great rocket to have in your
collection, but keep in mind that it's not "the only fish in the
sea".
Overall Rating:
3
out of 5
(Contributed - by David Kneble - 08/01/01) 
Brief:
This is a great flyer with two downsides, limited range of motors,
high price.
Construction:
All the normal components: Two 4" tubes, an ACE nosecone, 42"
parachute, bulkhead equipment, motor tube, CR's, baffle system, elastic 12'
shock cord, fins.
Instructions are very simple if you have built any other Aerotech kits. If
not, then read through them and make sure you understand them. If you have
built an Aerotech kit before, you can practically build this one via
illustrations. There are a couple of issues though. These won't effect someone
planning on flying the stock kit on the recommended motors though. I'll explain
these below.
Finishing:
Finishing was easy although the decal for the wrap is a little large and can be
a pain in the neck. Overall finishing went smoothly and the kit looks great.
Construction Rating:
4
out of 5
Flight:
I have launched mine many times, you can look in the flight logs for some of my
launches of it. There are two problems though, first is limited motor range. If
you plan on flying this with "H" and "I" motors, don't put
in the or motor hook. I did, and I really wish I hadn't. If I had
another I wouldn't put these in. I know a lot of other people say the exact
same thing. Also, if you plan to fly it on these motors I would recommend epoxy
for construction and fiber at least the fins. They are pathetically
thin and very weak.
Recovery:
When building this kit I thought the elastic shock cord wouldn't hold up, but
it has. If going for your level one cert though, change it to tubular nylon.
MOST IMPORTANT!!!! - don't attach the parachute at the mid-point in the shock
cord. Lay out the rocket on the ground with the shock cord extended and attach
the parachute so when it is deployed the tip of the hanging nose cone won't
tough the lower half. This way the two halves won't bang against each other
upon recovery . . . which can cause serious damage! Other than this shock cord
[parachute placement] problem, flight recovery is easy. Overall flights are
excellent.
Flight Rating:
4
out of 5
Summary:
The rocket is great with two major exceptions, price and limited motor range.
Overall Rating:
4
out of 5
(by Darwin May - 06/01/04)
Brief:
The G-Force is a single staged, parachute recovered large model rocket.
Construction:
There were 2 4" body tubes that were made out of the AT tubing. I opted to
design the rocket for a by not gluing the nose. It has 3 fins made of
EXTREMELY thin plastic that look just like the Sumo fins. The motor mount was
24" by my best guess, and made from thick cardboard. The shock cord
appears to be 12' and is the elastic kind. It has an ACE 4:1 nose. It is
glued on per the instructions, however I tied a separate shockcord to it and
made it removable.
The instructions were very easy to follow for such a large rocket. There
were a few illustrations that were kind of hard to see due to contrast, however
they are probably not needed. There were no templates included with this rocket
as the Fin-Lok system aligns the fins right with a little help from eyeballing.
This rocket was very easy to build as I have come to expect from AT kits.
There were no alignment issues. There was one problem with fit: the coupler is
extremely tight. I sanded it for a while and now it slides out easy. The only
sturdiness issue I found was with the fins. Upon measuring with calipers, they
are .07 inches thick.
Pros: Pretty
sturdy except for the fins
Cons: Thin fins and the coupler fit
Finishing:
I have a suggestion for painting this rocket: wash the nose first. I did not
and the paint is now flaking off of it. The decals are the standard peel &
stick which were kind of a pain because if you want the G-Force lettering to
appear you need to paint the area on the fins white first. I did this, and feel
it is worth the extra work. The wrap decal was hard to get on, and it goes
around where the rocket splits so it needs to be trimmed at the joint. Painting
was easy...simply prime, paint black part, mask first few inches of black,
paint blue.
Pros: Easy to
paint
Cons: Decals are difficult to apply
Construction Rating:
4
½ out of 5
Flight:
The recommended motors are any of the AT consumer motors including the G64. My
first flight attempt was on a G35-4W, which CATOed. It turned out to be one in
a bad batch. The second flight attempt was at the KCAR launch on a G64-4W. It
was my second reload. The flight was perfect, might have been a couple
seconds long but it was perfect at . It missed the neighboring porch by
10-15 feet and I had a very short walk for recovery.
It has a
baffle, so no flameproof material is required. I attempted to use my home built
retention system but the motor could easily slide out. I guess it needs a
spacer. The from the G35 had damaged the MMT and the motor was a bit
loose, but I decided to risk losing my reload casing. As it turned out, it was
still firmly in there after the flight.
Recovery:
The shock cord was made out of elastic. The chute was a 48" ripstop nylon
which was about 12" up. The recovery was a bit on the fast side
which yielded a short walk.
Flight Rating:
5
out of 5
Summary:
I think this is a very good rocket for someone seeking to get into G power.
Pros: Easy preparation, easy assembly, nice and sturdy
Cons: Decals, thin fins, and the coupler fit.
Overall Rating:
5
out of 5
(Contributed - by Kyle Cornelius ![[Who's Who Page]](../../images/i_owl.gif)
- 05/26/05)
Brief:
Large mid power model for low altitude flights.
Construction:
Very good materials except the coupler which needs to be beefed up
Very quick assembly with major problems in construction. The instructions
were pretty straightforward. The fins could be sturdier, but I have flown this
rocket 10+ times with only a cracked joint. Very good major components.
Finishing:
Easy to finish, except for its size, so it takes awhile.
Construction Rating:
4
½ out of 5
Flight:
It flies very low, slow, and straight. I have never seen any weathercocking
with this kit. I love flying it on G38s because I love that black smoke. It
looks really cool in the air.
Recovery:
I installed 2 feet of metal wire for insurance and I also put 3 parachutes in
it. Looks awesome coming down on 3 parachutes. I love it.
Flight Rating:
5
out of 5
Summary:
Very awesome kit and I would recommend it to anybody with previous building
experience. Just another brag on Aerotech.
Overall Rating:
4
½ out of 5
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