Brief:
T' Dragonite is a simple, EX2 rocket with an equally simple 3FNC design. Arrr! It requires only t' simplest o' assembly and recovers under a 12" chute.

I bought this kit for me step-son hopin' t' get him interested in rocketry. Begad! Blimey! He was 15 at t' time and chose this one because he liked t' color scheme. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! T' rocket is long gone now and I am doin' this review from memory because I was requested t' do so. T' only artwork I have is a photo taken from eBay.

Construction:
T' parts are all pre-colored. Ya scallywag! They consist o' a black body tube, arrr, orange fin can/motor mount, slide on launch lugs (one o' which doubles as a shock cord mount), me hearties, approximately 5 inches o' elastic shock cord, shiver me timbers, plastic nose cone, 12" parachute kit, plastic motor retainer ring, ya bilge rat, and a sticker sheet.

I wanted me step-son t' read t' instructions, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but he did as I feared and just looked at t' picture t' slap the thin' together. Ahoy! Fortunately, matey, arrr, arrr, it was difficult t' mess up too badly.

T' body tube slides onto t' fin can and is secured with model cement. Ahoy! Blimey! Two plastic rings slide over t' body tube and need t' be aligned. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! T' launch lugs are molded into t' rings. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Blimey! T' upper one also has a slit intended to secure t' shock cord. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! Accordin' t' t' design, t' shock cord passes through a slit in t' upper part o' t' body tube and then through t' slit in t' upper plastic ring. Avast, me proud beauty! It is then knotted t' keep it from comin' out. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This is done instead o' t' standard Estes tri-fold. T' shock cord is then t' be tied t' t' nosecone and t' parachute attached as usual in these models.

I made some modifications. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' shock cord be only about 5" long. Ahoy! I don't know if it be planned this way or if I got a defective kit. Bobby put it together as designed but I pulled out t' cord, replaced it with a piece about 14" long and mounted it with a tri-fold mount.

PROs: very easy t' build

CONs: stinky shock cord schema

Finishing:
T' finishin' involved applyin' t' stickers. Avast! Aye aye! T' main one was a large body wrap. Arrr! It wrinkled as it be applied but not too badly. Ya scallywag! With that, it was ready.

PROs: mostly already done and looks good when done right

CONs: stickers give you just one chance t' get it right

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended motors are: A8-3, B4-4, B6-4, arrr, me bucko, arrr, C6-5, shiver me timbers, and C6-7.

We chose an A8-3 for t' first flight. T' motor just slips into t' fin can and then t' retainer rin' is inserted and given a twist t' lock it in. Aye aye! T' rocket took off straight and then arced over right at apogee. Everything deployed as planned and t' rocket recovered fine.

T' second flight used a B6-4. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It be a textbook flight right until ejection. Ya scallywag! Blimey! At that point, arrr, arrr, t' body tube separated from t' fin can instead o' t' nosecone from t' body tube. Everythin' plunged t' earth but thar was no real damage. I decided t' repair it by simply cementin' t' body tube back in place.

T' final flight o' t' Dragonite was about a month later. Avast! This time we loaded a C6-5. Arrr! It be a repeat o' the second flight in all details except that t' upper section lawn darted and was nay worth repairin' this time. A check showed that t' cement bond had broken again and that t' chute was packed too tightly.

PROs: Flies well, me hearties, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, easy t' prep

CONs: crashes well after BT separates from fin can. If I had t' build another o' these, I would use epoxy instead of t' recommended model cement.

Recovery:
As described above, me bucko, t' shock cord and its attachment stink. If I really wanted t' hold onto one o' these models for a while, matey, I would find a way t' run a piece o' Keelhaul®©™® from t' fin can and then connect that t' a piece o' elastic.

Recoverin' as a "blow-nose"/tumble is hard on t' rocket.

PROs: it's easy

CONs: it doesn't work very well

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
This could be a nice entry level rocket for a beginner if it was a little better thought out. Begad! It does look nice...right until it crashes again.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5