
(Contributed - by Dave Way - 02/01/04)
Brief:
Single stage, scale V2 kit with 13mm motor mount and parachute recovery.
Construction:
This kit consisted of a nicely turned balsa nose cone and lower body section,
laser cut basswood fins and pods, and a 9" mylar chute with eye
screw already mounted in nose cone.
This kit is very small but with very detailed instructions. The mini V2 went
together with no problems. Probably the most difficult part was sanding the
hard basswood fins to scale. The model is very sturdy for its small size.
Finishing:
Finishing was like finishing any other balsa model. Make sure sealer is used on
the nose and tail section and primer did fine taking out the grain on the fins.
I then primed the entire rocket and sanded to desired smoothness followed by a
paint scheme. When finished, it looks very impressive, just like one
of the big boys, except it is only 7" tall.
Construction Rating:
5
out of 5
Flight:
My 7 year old son was excited about this rocket so we had to get out as soon as
possible. We loaded it up with an Estes A3-4T and went out to our local snow
covered golf course. The first launch was perfect--very straight and what
seemed very high for its size and fat shape. Deployment was great; the little
V2 came down about 100 ft from the pad with my son making a nice catch and no
damage. The second launch was with the same motor. The shock cord burned
through and the rocket came down in 2 pieces--the nose with the chute and the
body took me about 45 minutes to find (camo worked good). We repaired and it
has been perfect since.
Recovery:
The only thing I think could be a problem is finding enough room for the
wadding, shock cord, and chute in the very small area left to put it all into
(I skimped on the wadding).
Recovery was very good with a safe descending speed for such a small model.
Flight Rating:
4
½ out of 5
Summary:
I have really enjoyed this kit. It was a fun, easy to build, and educational
kit. My son now can tell you all about WWII V2 rocket and the different paint
schemes. The rocket for being so small turned out with a lot of great detail
with very impressive flights.
Overall Rating:
5
out of 5