1.6" Fiberglass Formula 38

Great flying tank of a rocket

Posted by alex f on 5th Oct 2017

This is a great all-fiberglass model. It will take a major CATO to stop it from flying. One heads-up: the 5" long motor mount is too short, and is a challenge to mate with 4 3/8" long TTW fins. You either need to fabricate/request a longer MMT, or notch the root edge of the fins to make room for the MMT centering rings.
Once completed, the rockets looks great with translucent orange (in my case) body shinning through in direct sunlight. I only put a few coats of clear on top, and my finished weight was 389g (vs. 1 lb / 454 grams advertised).
The kit comes with only fiberglass parts. I added 10" 2,000# Kevlar shock cord, 14" nylon parachute (simm-ed to land at 30 ft/sec), welded eye-bolt, and Aerotech motor retainer which perfectly matches rocket body diameter. I added both rail buttons and 1/4" lug so that I can launch both off the rail with the local clubs, and off my portable launcher on my own.
If you are comfortable completing the build with your own parts and self-guided instructions - get it! The price is hard to beat, and I love the colored body tubes that don't require any priming or painting after you are done building!