Brief:
OOP, 13mm, parachute recovery, Skill Level 1 4FNC.

A while back, me bucko, I found an advertisement for an Estes Aerospace Club Viper kit on eBay. Avast, me proud beauty! Nay knowin' anythin' about it except that I did nay have one, I put in a token bid. Nobody else did so I got it.

It arrived and seemed t' be intact. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! In lookin' over t' instructions, ya bilge rat, me bucko, me bucko, I learned that originally t' purchaser would be sent t' decals when Estes received t' EAC paperwork. Ya scallywag! Somehow, I didn't think that would work anymore.

Checkin' online, I found that t' decals were available from Excelsior Rocketry. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Havin' had fair winds with them before, me hearties, I ordered them.

Construction:
T' kit came with a body tube, a motor tube, me hearties, an engine hook, a thrust ring, arrr, an engine hook sleeve, shiver me timbers, a launch lug, shiver me timbers, a sheet o' balsa, me hearties, an EAC Viper parachute kit, me hearties, a plastic nose cone, a pair o' centerin' rings and t' instruction sheet. As I mentioned before, arrr, I had t' get t' decals from Excelsior.

Construction begins with t' motor mount. A slit was placed for t' engine hook and t' thrust rin' was glued in place just ahead o' it. Ahoy! T' hook was then put in place and a black sleeve be slipped over it and glued into place.

I decided right from t' start t' forgo t' Estes tri-fold in favor o' a Keelhaul®©™® thread tied t' t' motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! With that in mind, I cut a small slit in t' forward centerin' rin' so I could pass the Keelhaul®©™® through and then glued t' rings in place on t' mount. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! After filletin' t' centerin' rings, I tied off a length of Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube just aft o' t' forward centerin' rin' and laid on another glue fillet t' keep it in place.

A nice thin' about this kit is somethin' you don't often see in Estes kits anymore, especially Level 1 kits. Arrr! You were provided with a template and expected t' cut your own balsa. I used t' hate doin' this as a kid because I knew I would mess it up. Arrr! Ahoy! It took me a while t' get used t' it as a BAR too for t' same reason, ya bilge rat, but now I enjoy doin' it occasionally as long as t' profile is nay too outlandish.

I cut t' template out o' t' instructions for t' forward and t' aft fins and then traced their outlines on the balsa. Avast! Begad! I used a #11 blade t' cut them out and am somewhat surprised, shiver me timbers, 2 weeks later as I write this, matey, arrr, that me wife has still nay noticed t' little nicks in t' tablecloth. Arrr! I'll have t' remember t' rotate it around t' t' kids' position after they all go t' bed.

T' instructions came with a wraparound fin markin' guide. Avast, me proud beauty! I cut it out, wrapped it around t' body tube, transferred t' lines, arrr, and then ran them t' length o' t' BT with t' door jamb keepin' me honest.

I also sanded t' leadin' and trailin' edges o' t' fins round. Ya scallywag! For some reason I do nay remember, I did nay do the outer edges.

Then came t' time t' glue t' fins one. Begad! Blimey! I used yellow glue and mounted t' aft fins first. When they were stiff enough t' move on, me bucko, me bucko, I mounted t' forward ones. All fins were then filleted with yellow glue.

T' motor mount was slipped in from t' aft and glued into place and filleted, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, makin' sure that t' Keelhaul®©™® was passed through t' notch I had cut. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' launch lug was then glued into place with CA and t' rocket was ready for finishing.

Finishing:
I painted t' fins with Elmer's sealer and they had more than 2 weeks t' set up before I could get t' them again. When I did get t' it again, I spent some time sandin' down t' wood filler. Begad! Avast! I decided that I did nay mind t' spirals all that much and left them alone.

After brushin' t' rocket off, I set it up in me booth and primed it with Kilz. Well, blow me down! After about an hour, ya bilge rat, I wandered over and gave it another shot o' Kilz t' touch up a few bare places.

I left t' rocket t' dry overnight and then sanded it down. Begad! T' real paintin' began with 2 coats o' gloss white. Blimey! Begad!

T' instructions say t' match t' colors (besides white) on t' rocket t' t' color o' t' decals. Ahoy! This boils down t' an orange-ish yellow and a pinkish purple. I tried numerous home improvement venues but was never able t' find a good match. I finally tried t' local hobby shop and found a couple that were pretty close. Avast! I knew I would find it there but I balked at payin' t' prices demanded for those itty-bitty cans. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Sometimes though, arrr, matey, you do what ya gotta do. Avast!

T' yellow paint I used was called Smoothster Yellow from Boyd. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I masked off everythin' except t' forward fins and t' tips o' t' aft fins and then painted.

The "purple" paint was from Model Masters and be called "Panther Pink". Avast! Blimey! It was a very close match to the decals from Excelsior. I masked off for t' purple and sprayed. Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! A few hours later, matey, ya bilge rat, I gave another coat.

After drying, it be time t' apply t' decals. As I mentioned in t' beginning, me hearties, I got t' decals from Excelsior Rocketry. I got plenty for me loot in several respects. Aye aye! There were more decals than indicated in t' instructions. There were spares o' t' designs I actually used, just in case I messed up, and they were all o' high quality. Ya scallywag! In the end, I mostly went with t' scheme indicated in t' instructions but I did add 2 additional "Estes Aerospace Club" decals on t' sides o' t' BT. Ahoy! Aye aye! I was well satisfied with t' result.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I have t' admit I was blown away by t' performance o' this rocket. Ya scallywag! Begad! I expected it t' be fine but I did nay expect wonderful. Wonderful is what I got.

For t' maiden flight, shiver me timbers, I loaded a 1/2A3-2T. Ahoy! Blimey! It took off straight, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, deployed at apogee, and drifted down on the 9" chute I had installed. It be ready t' go again.

T' second flight be on an A3-4T. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! It again performed flawlessly and went much higher than I had imagined. It looked good comin' down too.

T' final flight o' t' day was on an A10-3T. I used that motor because it was one o' t' recommended ones, arrr, shiver me timbers, but I usually prefer a lower average impulse. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! On this rocket, me bucko, it be t' best o' a very good lot. Begad! Blimey! Straight and true, perfect in every respect---except t' walking.

Recovery:
I replaced t' 12" plastic chute with a 9" nylon one. T' nylon worked just fine.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This was a nice kit. Begad! It looks better than your average skill level one and performs wonderfully. Arrr! It's success with kits like this that could get kids hooked.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5