Corona (Flis)

SPECIFICATIONS:
Length: 41" (104.1 cm)
Diameter: 0.976" (25 mm)
Weight: 1.66 oz. (46.7 g)
Recovery: Kevlar cord / Parachute
Fins: Laser cut plywood
Recommended Engines: A8-3, B6-4, C6-5, D10-5

Corona
is my first kit from Fliskits.com.  You can read a complete review of this kit by going here to EMRR.


CLICK ON ANY PICTURE below to see a larger image.

CORONA KIT

Here is the layout fresh from the bag. Pretty straightforward, so I went looking at The Rocketry Forum for possible MODs.
FIN CUTTING

This is the first kit I've gotten where the fins were not laser cut. I did the best I could cutting them out, but with no extra fin stock to try again, I decided to reinforce the light fin stock joint with a brace.

Note the small piece below the others. That will be added to the sides of the fins to strengthen the bond and add visual touches.
FINS ASSEMBLED

Sorry for the fuzzy picture, but you can see the two halves of each fin now assembled and the brace I added for strength. These things still seem very light and fragile. I'm thinking about upgrading the rocket to 24mm engines, so mayebe I will have to upgrade the balsa as well.

Stay tuned...
FINS ATTACHED TO BODY TUBE

Fins attached with CA glue.

Fillets were created to strengthen the bond and add an aerodynamic element at the fin root edge. Very thick on the glue.
MOTOR MOUNT ASSEMBLY

She's dry and now fully decorated with the stock decal sheet. The paper fillets on all fin roots and over the laser turrets added nicely to the design once the paint was dry.
PREPAINTED MMT

Skipping the step to glue in the MMT right now, since I may end up upgrading this kit to 24mm engines.

The end was prepainted RED to keep from having to mask-paint the rocket later.
KEVLAR MOD

The shock cord is very short, so I'm replacing the cord with a kevlar tether. The tether is seen here bonded to the coupler used to connect the two halves of the main body tube. The length of the kevlar is enough to reach the end of the BT and a few extra inches. A barrel swivel is attached at that point to provide a quick-connect/release anchor point for the shock cord assembly.

more to come...
Comments