If many of you watch the bidding on E-Bay or ROL, you've probably noticed that I frequently bid on some of the older Custom Rocket kits. I've been trying to put together a fleet represented in the Custom Rocket 1993 catalog. The only one I haven't got hold of is the Horizon. I found out that it never made it to production and apparently the company doesn't have any old plans or templates for it (or they don't want to distribute them). Anyway, trying to scale it from the catalog and found out that the dimensions are the same as the Custom Rocket Raven... Picked up the kit today and started working on it. It's got eveything I need to scratch build the Horizon except an additional motor mount and sheet balsa. I think I can pick up the reflective decals for the fins at a hobby shop (peel and stick). After spending the past few months on my Estes Saturn V, this should be a piece of cake.

Ok.......gotta have it now........

Completed bashing Custom Rocket's Raven and made this Horizon based upon the catalog. Gotta swing test it for stability and hope to fly it next weekend (wet and rainy here this weekend). The first image is the catalog and the second is the completed rocket. Used some "pine car" metallic stick-on details from Hobby Lobby on the fins. Need to pick up some vinyl lettering for the kit name (guess I should have tried printing on the metallic detailing.

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Cool! Maybe send the "plans/specs" over to Craig so we can post it on BARCLONE when you have time.

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Scott D. Hansen
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Unless I'm mistaken, Scott doesn't have the plan sheet for the Custom Raven, either. When you get some time, how about scanning those decals, plan sheets, art cards, etc... and shoot them over to Scott for posting to YORP.

Yes, BARCLONE would love to get plans for that never-produced kit. Whenever you get some free time...

Craig McGraw

Well, being Thanksgiving, my wife decided I needed to take my niece out to launch the Estes Wizard she built, oh, I'd say, five years ago. I decided to take my cloned Horizon also and see how it'd fly. Looked good on the pad but I suspected that it needed more nose weight. Sure enough, left the pad, did a loop, went almost back to vertical (okay, maybe 30 degrees from) staged, and recovered okay. Paracute deployed about 20 ft from the ground (used a B6-0 to A8-5). Now, I think I'll add some nose weight and try again. Today was really too windy to fly (at least I normally don't). Got a picture but it's too big to post.

As for the Wizard......you know streamer recovery? Tried to tell my wife but she insisted on the parachute. Found the smallest I had. Nice straight flight into the wind, parachute at apogee (A8-3), recovered about 1/2 mile down range, just short of the trees. My brother in law (always nice to have someone else to chase) said next time, use a streamer...LOL.

Don
NAR 53455

Okay....thought I'd go ahead and purchase the software and give it a try. Duh. Not much of a rocket scientist here. Anyway, below is a humble attempt at it. Craig, see if you can do something with it.....

Don
NAR 53455

Attached Files

Custom Horizon.rkt (52.7 KB, 110 views)

I made some basic changes to achieve stability. These changes are not subtle, but they're not outrageous, either...

The kit as-intended is not flyable without that 1/2 oz of ballast, as you've seen. This is a poor design, which is likely the reason it was pulled early, or was never released at all. The B6/A8 combination is as much as the design can handle without extensive mods (like changing the fin size and/or shape).

I was able to reduce the ballast to just 3/16 oz, which is always a good starting point.

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Attached Files

Custom_Horizon (Modified V1).rkt (102.9 KB, 109 views)

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