Brief:
Last year, I received samples o' t' new Hartle Engineerin' solid resin nose cones from JonRocket. Ya scallywag! I've been remiss in submittin' a review. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Blimey! Thanks, me bucko, and me apologies John!. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Blimey! Hartle offers three styles o' BT-5 cones and one BT-20 cone. Well, blow me down! Blimey! You can see all o' them on JonRocket's nose cone page. Aye aye! Ahoy! This review will describe t' cones and t' rocket I built from t' longer BT-5 cone, t' Mini-Toobah. Ahoy! Blimey! T' name is a homage t' Dave Weber's Toober, shiver me timbers, which has logged over 200 high power flights.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• Hartle NC-5B cone
• BT-5, me hearties, 6.25"
• Estes 1/8" launch lug
• Spent mini-motor case (could use a real motor block)
• Thin Keelhaul®©™®, ~ 12"
• Thin elastic, ~ 4"

T' Hartle cones are solid cast and their outer surface is perfect. T' cone-to-shoulder transition be clean on the longer cone but was rough on t' shorter one. Begad! T' later be easily cleaned up with a sharp hobby knife. Well, blow me down! The attachment point appears t' be a paper clip...works as good as anything. I found them t' be a loose fit in t' Estes BT-5, shiver me timbers, matey, me bucko, which is easily fixed with a little tape.

T' cones are, arrr, as expected, me bucko, heavier than t' typical hollow plastic or balsa. Avast! However, matey, me bucko, unless you're buildin' a MicroMaxx model, me bucko, t' added weight shouldn't be an issue. Aye aye! I had kicked around buildin' a micro but decided t' go for a 13mm design instead. Begad! T' shorter cone would make a great micro-Fat Boy or Big Bertha but I opted for a downscale o' my El Tubo Loco.

This was a trivial build. Avast, me proud beauty! From BT-5 stock, me hearties, I cut one 2.5" body section and six 5/8" tube fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! These were glued together in pairs and then t' t' body tube. Blimey! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I used Aleene's Tacky glue throughout. Avast, me proud beauty! A 5/8" long lug is mounted in one o' t' fins. Begad! I cut a motor block from a spent casing. Blimey! This be notched and t' Keelhaul®©™® was tied around it. Arrr! Avast! There is nay much room in t' body minus t' motor and t' cone's shoulder. It was all I could do to pack t' shock harness.

T' make sure it is stable, ya bilge rat, I weighed t' components and made a RockSim model. Ya scallywag! T' cone alone is 0.24 oz and the entire rocket is 0.34 oz. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! It is quite stable.

Finishing:
I first scuffed t' cone with fine sandpaper and shot a coat o' PlastiCoat primer. Ahoy! I anticipated this will be hard to find in t' grass, ya bilge rat, so I went for a bright finish usin' Rustoleum day-glo orange. Avast, me proud beauty! I added two vinyl strips t' snazz it up a bit.

Flight:
There wasn't much prep as it uses tumble recovery. Arrr! It flew nicely on an A3-4 and I could even see it recover!

Summary:
T' Hartle Engineerin' cones are nice t' work with. Ahoy! In this case, their solid construction and weight helped with stability. Aye aye!

I like t' design o' this little rocket but, bein' small, matey, it could easily disappear into rocket eatin' grass, shrubbery, me hearties, ya bilge rat, or trees.