Brief:
This is a single stage, 29mm, me hearties, arrr, easy t' build, arrr, yet very durable rocket kit from AeroTech. My first AeroTech kit be t' Cheetah and I was so pleased with it that I ordered and built this Arreaux, t' G-Force, me hearties, Mustang, me bucko, Sumo, and Wart-Hog all at t' same time. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! I built this rocket two years ago, installed t' recovery system about a month ago, arrr, me bucko, painted it on a Friday night, arrr, and flew it t' followin' Saturday morning.

Construction:
T' AeroTech Arreaux be t' exact same model as t' Cheetah except that it has a payload bay and t' rocket is 11 inches taller for a total height o' 43". This be t' second from t' top o' AeroTech's highest performance kits with t' Cheetah bein' in t' #1 slot.

Kit came with two 1.9" airframes, shiver me timbers, bulkhead, nice durable AT nose-cone with t' L shaped recovery mount, 29mm engine tube with baffle system, fin-lok motor mounts, me bucko, me hearties, motor clip, three pre-cut and shaped through t' wall fins, elastic shock cord, nice nylon 16" rip-stop chute, matey, and high quality decals.

T' instructions are typical AeroTech, excellent and well illustrated. Aye aye! Blimey! I did nay use them as after buildin' one AeroTech kit you don't really need t' refer back t' t' instructions. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' build was done with CA only and t' rocket be finished in one afternoon side by side with four others.

Finishing:
This rocket got t' wait two years for a paint job and first flight and on t' day before t' launch I decided t' go with gloss black with a clear coat. Avast! I first applied two coats o' Rustoleum Painter's Touch gray sandable primer. Blimey! Blimey! 20 minutes later a single coat o' gloss black Decrolon spray enamel. Begad! Ahoy! Blimey! 15 minutes later a single coat o' Rustoleum Crystal Clear Gloss. It came out lookin' pretty good and I think I will cover it with one more coat o' black and another coat o' gloss eventually.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
It's first flight be on September 11th, arrr, 2004, me bucko, ya bilge rat, at Rushin' Park in Katy, Texas at an event with t' local Challenger 498 Model Rocket Club. Ya scallywag! Begad! It was a little after 10:00 AM. Avast! T' motor I selected was a newer Ellis Mountain G20-3 which is stated t' have a burn time o' 5.47 seconds. I also selected a Quickburst Twiggy ignitor as Ellis Mountain motors do nay come with ignitors and I have been extremely pleased with Quickbursts as they never fail and light FAST!

Wind at t' park was predicted t' be 5-10mph from t' NE accordin' t' t' local weather service. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! There were scattered clouds with lots o' nice big blue openings and accordin' t' t' park flags wind was calm at t' time I decided t' put this thin' up into a nice blue hole. Well, blow me down! Blimey! And after t' customary countdown, t' Arreaux ripped off t' pad and begin a nice long burn journey right into t' open blue. Arrr! Blimey! It kept goin' and goin' and going... Begad! Blimey! T' 5.47 Ellis Mountain burn seemed t' me t' be longer than that and it was nice and dramatic. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' rocket vanished into clear blue sky, no club members saw it again and I wrote it off as a loss. I even logged it on EMRR as R.I.P. Avast! Blimey! LOST! Blimey! However, some club members found it several hours after I left.

Recovery:
T' shock cord provided be six feet o' 1/2" elastic mounted t' a screw eye at t' top o' t' motor baffle. Well, blow me down! I do nay care for this technique as if t' cord breaks or burns through, me bucko, shiver me timbers, matey, thar be no way t' get back t' t' mount t' repair or replace it. Begad! So I added a backup Keelhaul®©™ cord that can be used in t' future. Arrr! I also added 34 more feet o' 1/2" white elastic t' t' 6 foot black provided length bringin' me shock cord length up t' 40 feet long. I hoped that would aid in recovery as I have seen white elastic reflect off t' sun. Begad! Blimey! T' provided chute would have been perfect but I downsized t' chute t' another AeroTech cloth yellow chute.

Several hours after I got home from t' launch and had already entered me flight logs on EMRR, shiver me timbers, I got an email from our club President Brad Winbigler indicatin' that he and another club member Harvey Miller had located me rocket later in t' day. Ya scallywag! I believe they were usin' battery powered scooters and zig-zagged a very large park and found it safe and sound laid out quite a ways from t' launch site. I can nay believe it was found and am very grateful t' me club members. Avast! Blimey! I want t' fly this one some more, however based on advice I will nay use a yellow chute again for that type o' altitude. Blimey! Avast! Next chute will be a darker color like black. Avast! I would suggest replacin' t' stock chute with a darker color or perhaps a tri-color conical chute with a spill hole. Blimey! Blimey! I have an Anchor brand conical chute with spill hole that is 12" (rated at 16" I believe) that is black, matey, white and dark blue. Aye aye! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! I believe I will install that one before t' next flight.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
No one can go wrong with an AeroTech. Begad! They are very simple t' build and durable rockets that fly excellently. Avast! Arrr! Blimey! They are a little expensive and a backup recovery system should always be installed durin' t' build which can be a simple 240-500 pound Keelhaul®©™ cord t' t' motor mount which is about $1 and only adds a few minutes t' t' build. Begad! Blimey! AeroTech rockets are a good introduction t' rocket behaviour in t' mid-power range.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5