This model rocket kit was purchased mainly to fly it on 24mm Aerotech RMS reloads. These motors are relatively affordable and saucers are great to fly these motors on smaller fields. Art Applewhite has a large selection of flying saucers in different sizes and variations. This one is a member of the original version. It is very reasonably priced at $10.00 even, which includes shipping. Building the kit is fairly easy to do, just be sure to read and pay attention to the instructions carefully.

Parts List

This oddroc kit some complete with all the parts required. There are three pages of instructions.

- sheet of pre-marked card stock (gold colored)
- basswood fin stock
- 2 plastic plates (one spare)
- plate cutout guide
- motor tube with motor hook
- launch lug
- illustrated instructions

Construction

Oddrocs can be fun to build as they don't assemble the way regular rocket kits do. No nose cone, no shock cord to glue into place.

This flying saucer is pretty easy to build. As mentioned earlier, I would suggest paying close attention to the instructions. Make sure you understand each step before attempting it.

You start by cutting out various parts. There's the top of the saucer, the inside ring and seam strips to glue it all together. The inside ring is glued inside the upper half of the flying saucer. The lower half of the rocket is actually a plastic plate. The kit used for review came with an extra plate. The guide is used to cut a circle out of the plate which is then slid over the inner circle and glued to the top half.

The fins are cut out of the basswood stock and attached to the motor mount tube. I opted to leave out the engine hook as the saucer would be used with 24mm RMS reload hardware.

To finish the saucer, the fin and motor mount assembly are inserted into the inner circle.

Finishing

You can paint the bottom half of the saucer, the fin section or even the whole rocket. As the top half was already golden and shiny, I opted not to paint any of the other parts.

Flight Data

Art Applewhite recommends a nice selection of model rocket motors. None of them have an ejection charge. Those could set the field on fire when flying a saucer. The recommended black powder motors are : C11-0, D11-P, D12-0 and E9-P.

You can also use Aerotech RMS 24/40 motors or single use 24mm Aerotech motors. When using the reloads, simply don't install the ejection charge. Put some recovery wadding in the ejection well and secure it with some masking tape. For single use motors, remove the ejection charge and insert wadding.

First flight was on a F12 (Black Jack) reload. Fun flight, nice amount of smoke. Then, for those who prefer noise over smoke, a F39 (Blue Thunder) reload was used. The saucer jumped off the pad quickly with plenty of noise.

Both flights, the saucer was recovered close to the pad. Great model rocket for smaller fields.