Second Review - HeliCAT

Normally I steer clear of "E2X" "Ready to Fly" and other such easily assembled models that take about 10 minutes of gluing, but it seems all launch pads now come with an included rocket these days, so I picked out the "Helicat"(http://www.estesrockets.com/rockets/launch-sets/001465-helicattm) model. Having previously built a helicopter-recovery Estes Skywinder(http://www.rocketryforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7079&d=1244516204) model for 8th grade science class and enjoyed it, it was more intriguing than the other launchpad kits I saw. So here we go.

Basic Overview: Unlike the Skywinder, which has its helicopter fins mounted on the body and whose fins spin on a crude bearing around the body for recovery, the Helicat uses the blades to recover only the nosecone, with a standard parachute being used to recover the rest of the body.

Construction:
As with most E2X models, the construction was pretty straightforward and foolproof. It came with a snap-and-glue together engine block, plastic snap-and-glue fins, a body tube coupler, and a nosecone with mounts for the helicopter blades. The blades are then snapped into the nosecone and a rubber band is used to deploy when the nosecone ejects. In all, about a 10 minute or less start-to-finish job which requires no finishing other than stick-on decals. 

Flight:
For the first flight of the Helicat, I used a standard B6-4 engine and it performed very well, going straight up and deploying both the helicopter nosecone and parachute without incident. The "Helicopter" nosecone portion did not really rotate about like you would have expected so much as just simply tumbled about until it hit the ground. For the second flight, I decided to move up to a C6-3 and decided to tightly pack the parachute inbetween the helicopter blades for what I believed to be a more efficient deployment as well as to prevent the minor scorching that had occurred the previous flight. For this reason, the parachute and blades were packed too tightly in and the charge failed to deploy the nosecone, resulting in an impressive javelin straight into the ground with the nose cone impaling a good 1" or so, I repaired the extensive body damage but it has not been flown since.

Conclusion:
For an included E2X rocket, the Helicat is a cool gimmick that stands out over some of the other packages for being different. That being said, the helicopter recovery is just kind of a lame gimmick and does not really add much to the flight. I give it credit that it's a cheap, quick and dirty way to do something different, but I would not buy one again.