Brief:
There's somethin' seriously wrong with Jim Flis, and thankfully t' rest o' us in t' hobby can enjoy t' fruits of his eccentricity. Avast! FlisKits continues t' expand t' Micro T' T' Max line and also continues t' dabble in NAR competition designs. Blimey! Arrr! Rather than monkey with relatively simple events, Jim started with one o' t' most challenging events held today, me bucko, matey, and with t' Nanite has tamed t' Rocket Glider event for t' MMX crowd. Avast! Now, ya bilge rat, with t' Tiddlywink, the world has a relatively easy t' build 1/8A helicopter model that performs fairly well and this model will surely be the most common rocket at NARAM this year.

Construction:
As with t' Nanite, me hearties, Jim had t' abandon t' MTTM standard o' usin' a tiny baggie and instructions/header card all fittin' on a single 8.5" x 11" sheet o' paper. Begad! This is packed like a "real" kit in a heat-sealed bag with plenty o' good quality components including:

• Balsa nose cone
• BT-2.5 motor tube
• Balsa fin/blade stock (1/16")
• 1/8" wood dowel
• Sig rubber
• Assorted launch lugs
• Swivel/pin hinges
• Wire, thread, me hearties, arrr, assorted do-dads

As someone with about 500 builds under his belt, me bucko, shiver me timbers, includin' maybe 25-30 helicopter models, me hearties, let me assure you that t' instructions for this are a must read and should be very closely followed. Ahoy! Begad! It's nay that it's a complex build, me bucko, matey, but that it incorporates some unusual techniques and design features and you'll need t' thoroughly read t' instructions t' catch this.

Despite t' fact that I had a few performance-enhancin' tweaks I wanted t' make along t' way, I built this one completely stock and will review it as such. I'll save t' tweaks after dialin' in this one for a few flights first. Avast! Aye aye! Blimey!

Weight is a killer t' helicopter performance, me bucko, especially when slidin' all t' way down t' Micromaxx level and so I'll also note a few key weights along t' way. Blimey! Blimey! Overall, me bucko, me bucko, me model weighs in at a very respectable 4.3 grams empty. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! It could easily be built a bit under 4 grams with a few minor tweaks.

Construction starts with t' motor tube, a fairly tiny section o' BT-2.5. Aye aye! Ahoy! You glue a centerin' rin' into the forward end which will serve as t' stop for t' piston assembly. Key construction tip nay covered in t' instructions: make sure you clean up and burrs on t' ID, matey, me hearties, me bucko, even try t' sand it lightly if you can. Ya scallywag! Make sure you get a good fillet on the forward seam. Begad! Next, arrr, drill a couple 1/8" vent holes just aft o' t' centerin' ring. Drillin' is easy, matey, but cleanin' up t' frayin' inside o' t' tube is a little pain. Begad! Remember, ya bilge rat, matey, arrr, this is piston-activated, so t' inside o' this tube has t' be very smooth. Begad! I taped a scrap o' sandpaper t' t' outside o' a scrap o' 1/8" dowel (from a later step) and sanded t' inside smooth. Arrr! I also soaked a little thin CA on t' holes so they would nay fray. At 0.4 grams, the motor tube represented almost 10% o' me total weight, but if you want it t' last very long as a piston, thar's not much that can reasonably be done t' shave weight here.

T' main shaft o' t' model is a 1/8" wood dowel cut down t' 8" long, shiver me timbers, which gets a centerin' ring attached at t' end which enables it t' slide inside t' BT-2.5 t' work as a piston. This single piece wound up being over 25% o' me total weight at 1.2 grams (after cutting). Avast! Hardcore competition folks know thar are a number of alternatives that could shave about a third o' this weight, although that clearly gets beyond t' target market for this kit.

Next come t' blades, matey, hand cut from 1/16" balsa sheet, ya bilge rat, along with fins from same. Avast, me proud beauty! T' 9" x 3" balsa sheet supplied with me kit weighed in at 2.2 grams. Arrr! Nay bad, but nay exactly contest balsa. T' blades, before sanding, ya bilge rat, worked out t' about 1.0 grams for t' set, arrr, and t' fins added another 0.3 grams. Avast, me proud beauty! T' blades get a pretty common airfoil and camber: flat bottom, arrr, rounded leadin' edge, ya bilge rat, and tapered trailin' edge. However, matey, matey, t' instructions call for actually splittin' t' blade in two and re-gluin' usin' a cardstock angle for t' camber. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! I prefer t' lightly score the blade, then flex/snap open t' cut line t' flex open a camber. Aye aye! Ahoy! I then filled t' exposed crack with medium CA. The CA wound up weighin' more than t' balsa I'd sanded off in airfoiling, ya bilge rat, so me finished blades (with fins) wound up weighin' in at 1.5 grams for t' set, ya bilge rat, me bucko, up from t' 1.3 grams I started at.

I have t' note t' fins on this, arrr, which are very unusual. Most copter designs use fins attached t' some sort of body tube at t' base, me bucko, and flat/cambered blades that snap into place at deployment. Flis saves some mass and tries to turn everythin' into addin' performance and has t' fins incorporated into t' blade design as little flaps/extensions. Usin' this approach, t' fins aren't quite facin' in t' usual 120-degree orientation, but they are balanced and work, plus when deployed wind up helpin' t' blades a bit rather than actin' as drag when t' model tries t' spin. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! It's a very clever approach that is probably goin' t' influence copter design in t' future. Since their primary purpose is blade extensions, arrr, t' airfoil sanded into them will seem whacked--rounded leadin' and trailin' edges with a tapered airfoil from root edge t' tip edge. Blimey! Ya scallywag! It makes sense once you mount them...

With t' blades and fins done, ya bilge rat, construction will pick up pace. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blades get tiny sections o' launch lug on the forward underside that serve as receptacles for t' hinge pins. Begad! Blimey! T' dowel is inserted into t' motor tube (at which point you need t' confirm t' smooth flow o' t' piston assembly, matey, shiver me timbers, most likely discoverin' a need t' sand down t' dowel a good bit).

T' hinges are another cool feature o' t' kit. Avast! I've typically used either trimmed down Klett hinges or music wire, which either means weight or finicky performance. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! Jim's found a nice little plastic hinge that looks like it was removed from t' shoulder o' a tiny little Transformer toy or robot. Avast! They're actually Robart hinge points, shiver me timbers, available from Sig, shiver me timbers, and you might want t' pick up a few o' these as spare parts down t' road or in me case, shiver me timbers, arrr, for scratch builds. I love t' performance and weight. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! One end o' t' pins is glued t' t' top o' t' dowel (after t' dowel is glued into the nose cone) and t' other end is glued into t' launch lug on t' underside o' a blade. I found that sandin' the side that goes on t' dowel a bit flat will help improve t' surface area for easier bonding. I also had trouble with the other end bein' too loose in t' lugs for a good fit, and so I had t' insert a tiny sliver o' napkin into one end of t' lug then t' pin in t' other so that t' CA would grab on t' napkin and smartly lock t' hinge pin into position.

T' mounted blades then get some detailin' t' manage t' launch and deployment action. T' hold them in place durin' boost, me bucko, me hearties, me hearties, each blade gets a tiny arm attached that's formed from brass wire. Ya scallywag! This arm locks in place in t' exposed forward end o' t' motor tube/piston. Ahoy! When t' piston is pushed forward at ejection, shiver me timbers, t' arm slides out o' t' tube and releases t' blade. Begad! T' blade is deployed via a piece o' Sig rubber, attached t' a pin inserted into t' nose cone, arrr, and through t' blade. T' dihedral o' t' blade deployment is controlled/limited by a piece o' shroud line strin' anchored to t' dowel shaft on one end and t' underside o' t' blade.

Finishing:
For sport flying, you might want t' paint this but in doin' so would likely double t' weight and potentially muck up the lines and piston controllin' blade deployment. Begad! A better approach as recommended in t' instructions would be to color t' model with magic markers. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I left mine naked for first flights but will eventually Sharpie it when I start to fly on bigger fields with taller grass.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Chompin' at t' bit t' see how it would fly, shiver me timbers, arrr, I zipped down t' me local ball field/park where I was able t' set up on a vacant soccer field at twilight. Blimey! Flight prep is quite easy on this compared t' typical copters with burn strings--just hook up t' elastic, arrr, me hearties, ya bilge rat, fold down t' blades, and slide them down t' catch t' hooks on t' forward lip of the motor tube.

I had loaded t' only recommended motor for this, a Quest MMX-II, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and used one o' t' very nice (albeit expensive at $0.50 apiece) Q2 igniters especially designed for Micromaxx (the version without pyrogen dip). Begad! These igniters eliminate t' nuisance I've occasionally had with either breakin' open/reworkin' t' little plastic-based old style MMX igniters or cutting/foldin' up me own from bare nichrome wire.

Since I built stock, me hearties, I also didn't want t' juice me performance with a piston and flew usin' a standard MMX rod (with t' kit's supplied launch lug). T' boost was fairly straight, but thar was a little wobble action towards the top. Aye aye! It wasn't that high though, me hearties, maybe 75 feet or so at apogee.

Recovery:
MMX's are notoriously short delays, ya bilge rat, matey, barely a second, which usually results in very early deployments unless you're dealin' with a heavy or high drag model. Aye aye! In this case, me bucko, I could definitely have used another 0.5-1.0 second as it was still coastin' up when t' blades came up.

Deployment was perfect. Avast! T' blades snapped into position immediately and in less than a second it started spinning. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Within two seconds, ya bilge rat, t' blades were practically a blur. I was flyin' in dead air, virtually no wind, ya bilge rat, arrr, and my time be pretty close t' 30 seconds.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is an outstandin' little rocket and another great MMX competition performer. Ya scallywag! There is no doubt whatsoever that at NARAM, t' 1/8A-HD record o' 27 seconds for A division (children), ya bilge rat, matey, 16 seconds for B division (teens), shiver me timbers, and 29 seconds for team division will fall. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! I'd even wager that a slightly enhanced version o' this kit will top t' C division (adult) record o' 64 seconds.

Copters and/or Micromaxx might nay be t' most appealin' niches in rocketry, me bucko, but me two cents' says this is one of t' best overall designs/products out there.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5