My third in the series of "paper building" of some of the free rockets throughout the Internet (See my "Free" Paper-Rocket Comparison Page). This one is not associated with a company that also sells rockets (like FlisKits Midnight Express™ or Model Minutes TricArrow). I downloaded the Pre-printed Pattern Sheet in MS Word format from the New Mexico Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education site. I printed it on 110lb Card Stock (Georgia Pacific brand purchased from WalMart). I also downloaded and printed the instruction set.

The rocket patterns were all contained on two pages and there was a single page of instructions. The instructions were brief and to the point with no illustrations. They outlined the needed materials and steps for construction. Another point, is based off the CAP Rocket, there is Red-White-and-Blue version, a "D" motor version, a 2-stage, an egg-loft version and a version with a fin variation.

You need to provide a recovery system including a shock cord and streamer. You will also need clay nose weight. CAP recommends 10-12" of flat 1/8" elastic and 3" x 24" of very light brightly-colored nylon material for the parachute.

CAP also recommends that you have a scissors, Elmer's glue, 3 spent motors (for shaping the body tube), a launch rod or small Phillips screw driver (for shaping the launch lug), a tooth pick (for shaping the nose cone), ruler, and scotch tape.

CONSTRUCTION:

Some of the main points of construction are outlined below. I cut each of the rocket pieces out of the pattern sheets and followed each step in the instructions. The toughest section was the nose cone.

The nose cone is interesting because it doesn't have an internal shoulder, it has an external shoulder. In other words, instead of the shoulder sliding inside of the rocket body, it slides over the outside, like a cap (no pun intended). The trouble I had with the nose cone was that the bottom cone was not quite as wide as the collar piece. The glue tabs allowed this to work and then I filled the gaps with glue.

The fins were built up with two pieces. The inside fin stiffener is folded in a manner that established the trailing edges of the fins. This method creates a sharp (airfoiled) leading edge and also give the fins some thickness and sturdiness.

The body tube is rolled and has more than just a glue tab. It is rolled so that it is about 3 spirals overall. This made the tube fairly rigid. I didn't have that much trouble rolling the tube. I rolled it tighter than it was supposed to be and held it for a while. I let it loose to where it should connect and checked to see if a motor would fit. It was tight with 110lb paper, but did. I then held one side with my pinky in the tube and applied glue to the raised edge, smeared it with my finger and pressed it down the length of the tube. I then flipped it and pressed that edge onto the table covered with newspaper. I then rolled it on the newspaper over that joint. Bearing in mind that I kept the inside of the tube still a bit tighter. Once dried I used my pinky on both sides and twisted opposite to expand the inside of the tube.

There is a thrust ring and a launch lug that are included in the pattern sheets.

I used 32 inches of 1/32" Kevlar® for my shock cord. It was attached using the 3-fold paper method (outlined in the instructions) to the body tube. It was glued into the tip of the nose cone per the instructions. Then after that was dry I added Plast-i-Clay Modeling Clay for the nose weight. I added enough to fill it up the glue tabs. The instructions were a bit confusing because in the "Materials Needed" section it said you need 1 cubic inch of clay, while in the "Construction" section it said use 1 cubic cm. I emails the CAP folks and they are fixing that. So fill it up to the glue tabs. My Center of Gravity (balance point) was 6" from the tip of the nose cone.

I added a 24" x 3/4" Nomex® Streamer. I cut this from a roll of Nomex® that I had purchased from the now defunct Rogue Aerospace many years ago.

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this rocket 4 points. It is fairly straight forward and the instructions were clear enough to get a builder through it.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

CAP indicates that this rocket is designed for A, B, and C motors. My finished rocket weighed 0.9 ounces. I decided to use an A8-3 and B6-6 for flying it.

My first flight was on an A8-3. The motor is friction fit into the motor mount until it hits the thrust ring. I didn't have to use any tape as the tightness of my tube was good to hold the motor. I added a couple of balls of wadding and rolled the streamer. Everything was ready.

It was quit windy but I decided to go for it. The A8-3 was a pretty good match and the ejection was at (or just before) apogee. There seemed to be some tail wiggle on the way up, but it was straight overall. Recovery was fine, although the wind really carried it. No damage.

My next flight was a repeat of the first on an A8-3, but on a calmer day. It too showed a little bit of tail wiggle going up. Ejection was just before apogee and recovered it just fine.

The next flight was on a B6-6. This time the "little bit of tail wiggle" turned into a lot of tail wiggle with larger circular motions. It really looked bad, although the flight was straight up. The ejection seemed to happen perfectly at apogee.

The rocket is showing no wear. Everything is sound with the exception of my shockcord and streamer. The thread twisted a lot and the streamer attachment is tore slightly.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, I would rate this rocket 4 ½ points. The flight of the CAP Rocket is good but this wiggle could be a problem. Yes, yes, is it the design or the builder? Conceptually it could be the builder and the placement of the fins and such. It is kind of like the Estes Blue Ninja that for me always has a slight wobble, Someone else noticed it too, so it could be the rocket. We'll never know for the CAP rocket, unless someone else builds it.

I give the rocket an OVERALL rating of 4 ½ points. Hey, it is a "free" rocket and has some expendability to a two-stage and egg-lofter. It provides other unique techniques for paper rocket building. Give it a try!

GUEST's OPINION:
12/04 - "I built the two-staged variant. I did spin-tests to make sure it could handle the engines. It launched straight but the wind kicked the tail out, and it was at about a 45 degree angle when it staged. Neat flight, recovered the booster, but really lost the upper stage. Event though I had a C6-7 in the sustainer, I did not see a spiral. You need to do the spin test to make sure you have the play-dough right." (D.G.)

GUEST's OPINION:
06/03 - "At first I thought, "What a dumb idea!" When I saw the first picture, I thought, "This is absurd. I mean, how well would a stupid paper rocket fly, let alone hold up after even one launch." Then I read the review and saw the launch photo, and suddenly I found myself downloading the plans. How refreshing, a model I actually have to build, using skills that I haven't used since 5th grade! What a fun, cheap rocket!" (K.R.J.)

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
06/03 - "After cutting the rocket tube out, roll it tightly and place the tube into a couple of cigar tubes, one on each end. Leave them on overnight. Now, when you take the tube out you can put in a couple of spent engine casings and the tube will remain tightly rolled while you apply the glue. Made it assembly easy as pie." (K.R.J. )