This flying model rocket kit is sold as being extremely low mass and suitable for sport or competition. As we had a NAR competition come up at one of the clubs we fly with, the Stratos was selected to compete in streamer duration. It comes with a piston ejection system which eliminates the need for recovery wadding. I'm all for eliminating wadding but had to wonder if wadding would not have been lighter than the balsa piston. The Stratos 18 is a competition model, after all. Usually, I try to get a picture of the rocket on a pad for reviews. We opted not to install the launch lug and fly it off a tower. As the model is hard to see on a tower, the picture shows it on my hobby table.

As the name suggests, it flies on 18mm motors. A 13mm version, the "Stratos 13" is also available from Heavenly Hobbies.

Parts List

This skill level 2 model rocket kit doesn't list the age for which it is suited as such. It merely states "Adult supervision required".

- balsa nose cone
- body tube
- balsa piston
- engine block
- 2 balsa fin stock sheets
- paper streamer with strip of adhesive tape and Kevlar cord
- Kevlar and elastic shock cords
- launch lug (optional)
- instructions

The instructions list wood glue, cyanoacrilate (CA), epoxy, sandpaper, masking tape and a hobby knife as the items required to build this competition model.

As my eight year old son was building this model, I cut the fins for him and replace CA with wood glue and epoxy (to glue shock cord to the nose cone) with a small eye hook and white glue.

Construction

This is a fairly basic model and is easy to build. The hardest part is cutting the fins. The fin pattern make even this quite easy.

The instructions are very well done and even included color pictures to illustrate some of the steps.

A small piece is cut from the engine block to attach the shock cord to it. It is then glued into the model rocket's airframe and the fins are glued into position. A fin placement guide is included with the instructions.

The piston is a piece of balsa with a small hole in the middle. It is threaded on the Kevlar shock cord and secure by putting some knots in the Kevlar on both sides. A drop of glue is then used to keep the knots secure.

The Kevlar shock cord is tied to the elastic shock cord which is in turn secured to the nose cone.

Finally, the streamer is taped to another string of Kevlar which is tied in a knot around the elastic shock cord.

Finishing

While you could paint this model, it would likely do no more than add unwelcome weight. If you need to increase visibility, a magic marker could be used to color the model rocket.

Flight Data

Recommended engines are A8-5, B6-6 and C6-7.

This Heavenly Hobbies kit flies rather well, even on an A8 it goes nearly out of sight. Unfortunately, the motor kicked on the first flight and it was disqualified. On the second flight, the engine block came lose. Both pieces were recovered, the flight was also disqualified. I should point out that the engine block issue was not a problem with the kit. It wasn't secured as well as it could have been during construction.