In this rocket kits the fins have an interesting design and are assembled in an unusual way. There are two main fins mounted 180 degrees apart, and four smaller fins mounted at 45 degrees. This design needs an accurate building to mount the fins symmetrically, but the kit includes a plywood template to make this step much easier.

This kit belongs to the “Classic” line of kits made by Klima, the only european manufacturer of rocket kits and accessories. Rocket kits of this line need to be fully assembled, have wooden fins, slotted body tube and require painting. The self adhesive decals included add a touch of colour to your color scheme.

Features:

The Orion fins shape are the most relevant feature of this kit. It is nice to spend some time to obtain a perfect alignment and a correct shape, but the included alignment guide helps a lot.

The rocket flies with both Klima or Estes B or C motors, and with 18 mm D motors available from Klima (D9).

Body tube is white kraft cardboard with four pre-cut fins slots, fins are precisely cut from very light yet strong plywood, the nosecone is glossy white plastic, and the parachute has to be cut from plastic sheet, with instructions printed directly on it.

The plywood the fins are made of is a nice materil to work with. It is not much heavier than balsa but much stronger, it's easy to sand to get an airfoiled profile and easy to smooth it out to be filled and painted.

Fin tabs are inserted into slots cut in the body tube and are glued also to the motor mount underneath, for a greater strength.

The body tube is made of light and strong white kraft cardboard, the surface is smooth and quite glossy. You can even leave it as it is, without painting, and get a nice effect anyway.

The launch lug is the classical little tube that must be glued along the root of a fin, and thus is aligned without difficulty.

As with all Klima rocket kits, the shock cord is made partly in kevlar and partly with elastic cord, and it is tied to the motor mount for the maximum strength. It is a very good way to make a shock cord in this class of rockets and guarantees it a long life.

The kit is completed by well-made instructions, rich of illustrations. Being a kit made in Europe, the instructions are written in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.

As there are various parts to be finished and glued, and the rocket have to be painted (although it is not mandatory), the time for the assembly varies from one hour to two hours according to the builder ability and the care in painting it.

The kit includes self-adhesive decals.

As said above, the Orion flies with 18 mm engines. You can use either Klima or Estes, but if you want to use the most powerful motor in this size you have to choose Klima D9-7. We would try also with Aerotech D21 Single Use or Aerotech RMS reloadable motor with a D13 reload, but only if the rocket is built very well and strong because these motors are really powerful. If you want to try these motors, please make sure you have a large field available and you must use a 12 volt launch controller.

The recovery is via a 40 cm plastic parachute, which must be cut from the pre-printed plastic sheet included, with printed instructions on it, and the shroud lines must be fixed to the parachute.

• Plastic nosecone
• Kraft cardboard body tube with pre-cut slots for fins.
• Fins in lightweight plywood, glued to the motor mount
• Fin alignment guide
• Motor mount 18 mm
• 40 cm plastic parachute
• Instructions in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian

To launch this rocket you need a launch pad with 3mm launch rod, like the Klima Pad or Estes Astron II or Porta Pad, and a launch controller like the Klima Controller, the Astron II Estes Launch Controller or Estes Electron Beam.

Engines, glue, paint and batteries are not included.