Brief:
This is Estes representation o' t' British surface t' air missile used in t' Falklands war in 1983. Begad! It is a single stage rocket with standard parachute recovery. Blimey! It be only in t' 1983 and 1984 catalogs. Blimey! They are gettin' harder t' find. Begad! Well, blow me down! This was t' second rocket I ever had.

Construction:
T' kit comes with t' main body tube, me bucko, a long motor tube, and 12 fins and 4 strakes. Aye aye! It has a plastic nose cone and a molded plastic aft unit. Aye aye! It has t' standard cardboard centerin' rings and a unique nose. It comes with t' older Estes elastic nylon shock cord and mylar parachute. Aye aye! It also has an engine hook.

These were t' typical Estes directions, me bucko, ya bilge rat, very easy t' follow. Arrr! T' rocket is very easy t' put together, ya bilge rat, it is a level 2 kit. T' toughest part o' t' whole rocket be t' paint scheme. Begad! Well, blow me down! I built t' forward and aft sections seperately, shiver me timbers, and then glued them together. It was a lot easier t' paint and t' build this way. Well, blow me down! I did use 5 minute epoxy for t' building, arrr, as I plan t' have it for a long time. Begad! I coated t' ends o' all t' tubes with CA for strength, as well as t' fins. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I did nay add spruce edges t' t' fins, as I will nay be flyin' it that much, shiver me timbers, arrr, and increased t' size o' t' chute.

Finishing:
PRO - Straight forward finishing, t' toughest part is removin' t' balsa grain. Avast, me proud beauty! No real surprises here.
CON - T' aft fins are prone t' break on hard landings. You may want t' change t' Basswood on them. Also, don't fly on windy days and you can increase t' size o' t' 12 inch chute t' 18 inches. Begad! Oh, shiver me timbers, and it is OOP by t' way, ya bilge rat, I have 5 so I decided t' build one. Avast! Blimey! It looks real nice finished.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I used a C6-5 on t' first flight, shiver me timbers, it went loop-de-loop into t' pavement. I guess I needed nose weight. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Also, ya bilge rat, had a very small zipper. Blimey! I added about 1/2 ounce nose weight and now it flies great! I guess t' epoxy added more weight t' t' aft than I thought. T' original still flies great with no nose weight.

Recovery:
Classic Estes recovery, matey, works great. Avast! Begad! T' original rocket motor tube burned through after 11 years and 63 flights. I added a coupler and put it right back together.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I love this kit, me hearties, me bucko, it is one o' me all-time favorites. Avast! Aye aye! It looks real good, and is somewhat a challenge t' build. Ahoy! It also is nay a kit you see everyday, me hearties, so it gets noticed. T' main con is they only made it for 1 year 17 years ago!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5