Sunward Aerospace has recently changed hands, and while talking to the new owner (a very nice man) I realized that I have kinda left Sunward on the back shelf recently. Sometimes a kit or company will just kinda get lost in the shuffle, but I'd like to take this opprotunity to remind everyone that Sunward makes some very fine and unique rocket kits. Most are the "rocketfighter" type of kits. 2 foot long kits with large wingspans, made from high quality parts.
In order to help "reintroduce" Sunward to the rocket public, we've put the PHOENIX on sale at the drastically reduced price of 10.50.
If you haven't tried them, head over to
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and get one. I'm sure you'll love them. If you already have a Sunward kit in your fleet, let us know what you think of them.
I recently bought, built and just this past weekend flew my Sunward Phoenix. An Estes B6-2 was loaded for it's first flight as recommended by the manufacturer. I pushed the launch button and it flew about 25 feet into the air, began to arc over and then promptly nose coned into the ground due to a lack of power from the engine. The rocket is tough though and didn't receive any damage. I immediately prepped it again and loaded the max recommended engine a C6-5 into it and hit the launch button and it maxed out at about
250 feet of altitude before it began to nose over. This was followed by a late but satisfactory chute deployment. For the record my Phoenix weighs
127.5 grams without wadding or motor.
I think the rocket looks great and it was a fun and slightly challenging build due to the paper shroud and the care needed during the finishing stage to make it look good. Sunward provides paper tabs to attach the fins and wings but I had some trepidation about using them on my dorsal fin and rear wings so I made those attachments in the traditional fashion.
If anyone buys this kit, I would highly recommend modifying the 18mm engine mount to a 24mm. I think the rocket is more then tough enough to use an Estes D12-5 or E9-6 but the large wingspan and lift off weight is just too much for the manufacturer recommended 18mm Estes motor.
There is a very good review of this rocket on EMRR available here:
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I agree with the reviewer that the parts and fit are of good quality and I agree with his other observations as well.
The rocket would make a great addition to your fleet if you modify the motor mount and I would recommend buying this good looking and stabile flying rocket.
If it's too heavy for a C6, then with the added weight of the mods, it very well might be too heavy for the E9. Stop thinking of this motor as an E and instead think NINE.
And any time you modify a kit like this, watch the CG. You may need nose weight for stability, and that weight may offset the added thrust of the larger motor.
Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!
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