Shrockets Flying Model Rocket Kit Ibis SHR 05152
The Ibis model rocket is patterned after a luxury space liner. It is based on a 1.325" diameter tube, so it is a good size model that will impress those that see it launched. Comes with a resin tail cone, through-the-wall fins, a blow molded nose cone, and a lot of colorful self-adhesive vinyl decals.
Length: 24.5"(62.23cm)
Diameter: 1.325" (3.37cm)
Fin Span: 6.94"(17.6cm)
Weight: 4.4oz (125g)
6 fins
18" Plastic Chute Recovery
Motors:
Estes B6-4 200ft
Estes B6-2 219ft
Estes C6-3 526ft
Aerotech D10-5 1235ft
Quest C12-6
Quest D16-6
Made in the USA by Apogee
The Ibis is a futuristic interstellar aircraft to transport tourists to vacation destinations on other planets. It can cruise in both the vacuum of space and through the thick atmospheres surrounding the planets. It is a creation from the mind of Shrox, the futuristic rocket designer that has dreamt up several other rockets for Apogee Components. Here is information from Shrox about the Ibis Luxury Spaceliner:
"Cloud Nine orbits on high, beckoning tourists and vacationers from all over the Earth. Go there in the stellar style of the Ibis Luxury Spaceliner. All seats and suites are Prime One Class, accommodations and facilities are as far ahead and above as Cloud Nine is high.
Join the dignitaries, celebrities, and elite in out of this world luxury and fun. Play ZeroG Pariezi Squares and swim in a warm vapor pool as you enjoy the view, food, and drink. Listen to stellar music as you browse the Far Horizon shops and boutiques. Video call to family and friends on the Earth below, but try not to be too smug about it all."
Even though it has a futuristic shape, it features a ton of laser cut parts, like all the fins and the slots on the main body tube and the inlet tube. It also has a molded boattail with the slot for the engine hook already molded in. The kit is relatively easy to assemble, which is why it is only rated a skill level 3 on our complexity scale.
This is one kit you’ll love showing off, because like all the Shrox designed models, it has a visual appeal that gathers attention from everyone that sees it. Let your imagination be the first passenger on the maiden voyage of your Ibis rocket.
One cool feature of the Ibis rocket is the ducted tube on the bottom of the rocket. This acts like a little fin, making the rocket more stable. The tube has a slanted edge on it, which makes it unique. In the past, this would have been cut as part of the assembly process. Unfortunately, this would have pushed the kit into the skill level 4 category. So we laser-cut the slant into the tube for you. Now all you have to do is to attach it to the rocket and add the dorsal fins into their slots on the tube. You'll really like how easy we tried to make the assembly of this beautiful kit.
The Ibis is rated as a Skill Level 3 rocket on the Apogee Components complexity scale. That means it is "average." If you've built kits before, this rocket will be relatively straightforward for you. The core of the rocket is relatively simple to put together and you probably won't even think twice about it because it has laser-cut parts and a beautifully slotted tube.
The reason it a little bit more exacting than a Skill Level 2 kit is because you have to pay attention to detail when you are installing the rocket motor tube. If you slide the engine tube in too far, it is possible to block some of the slots for the through-the-wall fins, and the boattail may not fit in the tube correctly.
Probably the most challenging aspect of building the kit is assembling the wing panels. The main wing is made from three pieces of balsa wood that have to be assembled together by gluing the edges together. This should be done on a flat surface so that both wings are flat and the tabs fit into the slots on the tube.
Note that this rocket kit has a lot of forward fin area, which moves the CP forward. That can be destabilizing. So be sure to add all the nose weight included to push the CG further towards the nose to make the rocket more stable.
Painting this rocket may be a challenge too. You don't have to paint it the way we did, just have fun with the scheme. We've provided a downloadable PDF document showing the paint scheme created by Shrox, as well as the location of the various decals for the rocket.
If you want general tips on building rockets, be sure to check out our Advanced Construction Videos. There are well over 200 YouTube videos that cover things like painting, assembly techniques, and flying model rockets.
For the Ibis rocket, we highly recommend watching video #228, which shows how to get a flawless surface finish on the balsa wood fins of this rocket. Also watch video #90, which shows how to use soapy water to position self-adhesive decals like the ones on this kit. This is how we put down the decals quickly and easily on the kits shown here.
We know that your friends will be in awe of how you got such a great looking rocket. And when you share your secrets, please mention us.
While the manufacturer's name says "Shrockets," the rocket is produced by Apogee Components, using the premium components you'd expect. The Ibis is a first class rocket in almost every way. We didn't skimp on the quality of the materials or the effort to customize them for you.
Premium Quality Laser-Cut Body Tubes - The tubes are thin-wall to reduce weight, but are plenty strong for this model. The surface is slick and smooth, which makes marking lines on them easy. Painting is also a breeze since the spirals are tight and require little filling.
They are pre-cut tubes, cut with our laser system so that you don't have to do any cutting during assembly. This greatly decreases the time you will spend building the rocket, making for a more enjoyable assembly process. Additionally, the rocket will be more precise, will look better when completed, and you'll spend less time finishing the rocket since you won't have to try to fix any imperfections that typically occur when you have to make your own slotted tubes.
Blow-Molded Plastic Nose Cone - The nose cone of this kit was created specifically for the Shrockets line of kits. It is a true 3-to-1 ratio ogive nose shape. It is blow-molded from hi-impact polystyrene, so it is easy to sand, glue to, and paint. Compare it to blow-molds from other manufacturers, and you'll find it is nicer because the parachute loop on the back end is larger making it easier to attach the parachute.
Laser-cut balsa wood fins - Balsa wood is very lightweight and can be airfoiled by sanding to reduce the drag forces on the kit. This makes the rocket zoom higher and faster into the sky. Having the fins laser-cut means that each fin is pre-cut to size with the precision of a machine. There are no crunched edges. You'll notice as you are assembling the rocket that everything just goes together easily and quickly. You don't have to tweak parts by sanding them too much to make them fit together. This saves you time and effort and makes for a more enjoyable construction phase. They also have tabs on the root edge of the fin to go into the slots on the body tube. This creates a through-the-wall fin mount, which is the strongest method of attaching fins. It also assures that the fins are straight - so your rocket flies nice and steady every time it is launched.
Kevlar Shock Cord - The purpose of the shock cord is to join the nose cone to the rest of the rocket. This is important, because you don't want the nose and the parachute to float slowly while the rest of the rocket comes down fast and hard. When it all stays together, the whole thing comes down gently so that it can be used again and again.
This model comes with a high-strength, Kevlar® Shock Cord. Kevlar is six times stronger than steel, and is also fire-resistant. It can easily withstand the high heat of ejection, ensuring the rocket descends as a single piece. This makes for a very durable rocket that can be launched again and again.
Durable 18" Diameter Plastic Parachute - The kit comes with a colorful chute that makes it easy to see your rocket as it comes down from super-high flights. We chose orange because it makes it easy to see the rocket if it drifts a long distance down range. We've lost our fair share of rockets, and we use a bright color to minimize that risk.
At Apogee Components, we use a thicker cotton thread for our suspension lines than any other rocketry manufacturer. The thickness makes it easy to tie knots because it is easier for your fingers to hold. It is little features like this that we think about, as we want your experience to be the best and easiest.
Spring steel engine retainer clip allows you to swap out engines between flights in just milliseconds. It is really that fast!
Standard-Size 1/8 inch Launch Lugs - Works great on a standard launch pad. If you need a pad, we recommend the Sky Launch System. Be sure to add it to your shopping cart when ordering this rocket.
Color-Coded Centering Rings make assembly easy. You don't need to know technical names of the individual parts. You just grab the one that is the right color.
The Ibis kit also comes with a pre-molded urethane resin boattail. We chose urethane because the resin is more flexible than ordinary hi-impact polystyrene, so it can take more abuse. It is also sandable, glueable, and paintable. One extra feature we added to the boattail is a slot near the base for the engine hook. This allows you to easily bend the hook back so you can insert/remove the rocket engine from your design.
Like the nose cone, this boattail was a new component created specifically for this rocket kit. The original design from Shrox had the boattail, and we wanted to retain the overall shape, so we went to the expense of creating a special tool to make this part.
Cardstock Display Stand - Because this is such a beautiful rocket, we know you'll want to show it off. The fins don't allow the rocket to stand upright by themselves, so the display stand holds the rocket up so it is easily visible and takes up less space on your shelf.
Real Vinyl Decals - While printed vinyl decals aren't cheap to produce, you'll love them for how durable and easy they are to apply. The color is eye-popping for starters, and they are pre-cut to make assembly easy. Just peel them off and lay them on your rocket. The high-gloss finish will make your rocket the envy of your friends.
Detailed Instructions - The assembly instructions in this kit are no different from the ones we put in all Apogee kits. They are well illustrated and very detailed. We spent a lot of time creating the instructions so you are assured of a well-built kit that is actually fun to build!
You can download the instructions in PDF format here.
