Brief:
Square tube rocket with square tube fins and parachute recovery.

Construction:
Square body tube, 4 square tube fins, solid pyramidal nose "cone", and square tube launch lug. Basswood centering "rings" with metal motor clip, Kevlar shock cord, and water slide decals. In addition kit includes: fishing swivel for chute attachment, assortment of sanding papers, emery board, and glue-applicator Q-tip.

This is a pretty straightforward rocket to build. The instructions include step-by-step photographs (some in color). If you've built a few rockets before, the directions aren't needed, but I will say that the writing of the instructions left me baffled in a couple places. If this was the first rocket you'd built, my guess is that you would be pretty confused. In particular, the directions for placing the launch lug would be much more clear with a diagram or arrows in the picture.

The square tubing is very stiff and strong. Plus, gluing square tube fins to a square body gives you a very large bond area. This rocket is built like a tank.

Finishing:
The outside surface of the square tubing has very deep and wide spirals and it has a washboard finish (little ridges every 1mm or so). I used a lot of wood filler and still ended up with imperfections showing through. This may say more about my skill level than anything else, but finishing these rockets smoothly is a much larger challenge than standard tubing.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
I've flown this model 5 times so far. The kit recommends B4-4, B6-4, and C6-5 motors. I used a B6-4 twice, a C6-5 twice, and although I wouldn't recommend it, I also flew it once with an A8-3.

In all 5 flights the rocket flew straight up, no noticeable weathercock even though I had 10-15 mph wind (probably because the fin area is small). On the B6-4 and C6-5 I had 4 for 4 good deploys and great flights. I flew the Quest How-High altimeter on one of the B6-4 flights and measured 194 feet. There is no payload bay on this rocket. I was experimenting with wrapping the How-High in tinfoil and wadding above the wadding and parachute. Details will be posted on the Rocketry Forum.

The rocket seems to take-off slowly and is fun to watch, particularly on the C6-5.

I ran some wRASP altitude predictions for these motors using different assumptions for tube diameters (since the "tube" is a square) and will post those on the forum as well. (Best agreement between computer and real-world are Drag Coeff=0.9 and "diameter" = 1.66".)

Recovery:
All deploys were nose-down well after apogee. I think that the C6-3 would be the best motor, and that's what I will fly next time.

The A8-3 flight deployed the chute 1/2 second before impact onto a hard baseball diamond. The chute did not have time to open and slow the rocket. One square tube fin hit the ground pretty hard and bent its edge by 1/8". I simply bent it back and took it back to the pad for the next flight. Did I mention this rocket is built like a tank?

I used 4 sheets of Quest "blue wadding" extra loosely wadded up in this rocket for each flight.

After 5 flights the rocket remains in excellent condition.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
This is a very different looking rocket because it is square and has square tube fins. It is built very solidly and I expect it will fly 20+ flights at least. This kit components and "extras" in the kit were high quality.

Overall Rating: 4 ½ out of 5

Brief:
Inspired by the classic Estes kits of the late 70's and early 80's, this sleek explorer is the flagship kit from New Way Space Models. Basically the main thing that separates this rocket from the rest is the square body and nose cone. It's different, and it certainly gets the attention on the pad.

Construction:
The kit arrived in perfect shape, and it's a quality product. The kit includes a nice nose cone and laser cut fins. Also included is a nice set of decals. The square airframe is super strong but slightly heavier compared to the normal BT material. The spirals are maybe a little deeper than normal, but they should fill up easy. The other thing worth mentioning is that a sandpaper pack is included with the kit along with a cotton swab glue applicator. The included instructions are very well done and clearly written.

The construction is straightforward with one exception. Since the body is square, the motor mount has centering squares instead of rings so it's very important that you align both of the centering squares so they will slide in the body tube. Even if they are off slightly it will cause problems. The fins are aligned off center, but New Way provides a nice template. At first I thought fin alignment on a square body would be a breeze. However, it turned out to be harder because the body might be slightly out of square over the length of the body. So you run into a situation where it might look straight from the back and misaligned from the front. Not really a big deal but something to be aware of. New Way provides a nice Kevlar shock cord that attaches to the body coupler. The nose cone is really cool looking and requires very little sanding to get the correct fit.

When constructed, you have a very durable rocket. The square body material is much thicker than the normal body tubing and also heavier.

Finishing:
I sealed the balsa nose cone and fins with two coats of Minwax Poly. I then brushed on a coat of thinned lightweight filler on the balsa and body spirals. The spirals are deeper compared to normal body tubes but still fill easy. After sanding, I sprayed two coats of primer, sanding between coats. Next up was two coats of Krylon for the color. Once dry, I used some Monokote trimsheet to add the checkerboard.

When the SquareOne is completed and ready to fly, it feels heavy. Although mine is 3oz, it is below the advertised weight of 3.1oz.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
First flight was with a B6-4. This motor provided a nice straight boost with a nose down ejection. It left the pad nice and slow reached a respectable altitude. The lower altitude combined with a slow boost really allowed you to see the entire flight. The model came down nice and slow on the provided checkered chute and was recovered with no damage.

I have four additional flights on the SquareOne using C6-3s, which are perfect for this model. Again all flights have provided arrow straight boost with nearly perfect ejection. Two flights have been in 10mph winds and it was no problem.

Overall the model is very durable and is holding up perfectly. Also, I have experienced no problem with the wadding properly protecting the recovery system in a square tube.

Recovery:
The provided chute is really neat because it's checkered. When the model is square, you need a square pattern on your chute right? Actually the chute reminds me of a picnic table cloth but the theme works. The shock cord provided is Kevlar that attaches to a piece of elastic.

No issue with the provided recovery system, it works perfectly.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
The SquareOne is a very nice rocket. The kit was put together very nicely, and the instructions are great. It easy to build, flies great, and is very durable. The square body has deeper than normal spirals, but they fill easily. It does weigh more than you would like, but the durability is an added advantage. This would make a nice demo rocket because the boost is slow, and with a B6-4 the entire flight can be seen.

I enjoyed the build, and it's different. In this case...it's hip to be square!

Overall Rating: 4 ½ out of 5