Brief:
Another fine single stage scale model o' an Ansari X-Prize competitor from Estes.

Construction:
T' kit parts included a BT-55 body tube, a BT-60 body tube, me hearties, a BT-20 motor mount tube, matey, ya bilge rat, a wire motor-retainer hook, a mylar rin' t' retain t' motor hook, a block o' clay nose weight, a launch lug, shiver me timbers, a preassembled 12" parachute, a heavy 1/4" x 30" rubber shock cord, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, a small sheet o' laser-cut balsa for t' forward fins, a sheet o' pressure-sensitive decals, and three sets of plastic parts--one set be t' entire aft quarter o' t' airframe with t' main fins, ya bilge rat, t' second be t' nosecone and transition, and t' third is two centering rings, a display base, me hearties, and twelve (yes, shiver me timbers, twelve) rocket engine nozzles in three sizes from reasonable t' "brin' me t' tweezers and me 3.5x reading glasses t' handle and see these darn things". Begad! Avast! There be one o' t' yellow spacer tubes Estes uses for positionin' motor block rings listed on t' parts list, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but it wasn't in me kit (more on this later in t' review). Well, blow me down!

This kit be well engineered. Begad! T' instructions were t' usual well written Estes style: clear and logical. Apparently t' kit's motor mount has been revised slightly since me instruction sheet be printed. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' motor tube was just long enough t' hold a standard 18mm motor usin' t' standard hook and front thrust rin' approach. Avast, me proud beauty! T' spacin' tool be redundant so it be left out, but t' instruction sheet should be revised t' reflect t' way t' mount is now.

I needed four sprin' clothespins t' get t' fin canister glued together without gaps, arrr, but I've seen and fixed many worse fit problems in me 20+ years buildin' plastic kits.

This one is as solid as me Estes Rubicon or at least very close t' it.

PROs: Easy construction, me bucko, solid and scale-like fin canister.

CONs: Rewrite instruction sheet t' accurately reflect new motor mount.

Finishing:
It's nay a horrid paint scheme. In fact, me bucko, arrr, I painted only detailin' colors onto the parts that weren't supposed t' be white. I be worried about a checkerboard roll-pattern decal that was goin' t' go on t' BT-55-to-60 tube transition but it fit beautifully.

PROs: Nice, ya bilge rat, simple, shiver me timbers, elegant color scheme made colorful with decals.

CONs: I would still prefer waterslide decals--you can't tell me that the stickers are that much cheaper...

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I figured that I'd best use B4-2s and C6-3s in this one and save me B6-4s and C6-5s for me Thunderstar. Begad! Blimey! My first flight be on t' B4-2. Ahoy! Blimey! It produced a nice straight boost t' about 360 feet. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I used an 18" chute instead o' Estes' provided 12" unit and be glad I did--a three-ounce rocket needs a bigger chute than a 12", me bucko, unless it's flyin' a LOT higher than this one can!

Second and third flights were on C6-3s and put t' Eagle up t' close t' 500 feet as advertised. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! An acceptable demonstration rocket for t' schoolyard, arrr, if the field is big enough.

Recovery:
I used plenty o' Estes toilet paper with this one. Estes is listenin' t' us finally about shock cord length, ya bilge rat, but this one should have been equipped with an 18" parachute.

A baffle ejection setup or maybe a piston ejection setup t' reduce wadding requirements on some o' Estes' bigger tube sizes would be a good thing.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Main PROs: Headline makin' subject, easy and quick t' build and decorate, ya bilge rat, nice use o' plastic parts.

CONs: Instruction sheet slightly outdated, ya bilge rat, parachute needs t' be t' next size up from what they sent with t' kit.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5