Brief:
T' Backdraft is a BT-60-based, ya bilge rat, 24mm-powered rocket that on face value looks like a standard 2-stager. Ya scallywag! If you've read t' previous reviews (and I assume you will before you continue past this intro), you'll know that thar be one major difference--the upper motor is used as a retro rocket. Blimey! Heavenly Hobbies calls this t' TailWind delayed deployment system. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' upper stage is ignited with a slow-burnin' fuse ('green cannon fuse'), so t' flight prep will be out o' t' experience base o' most rocketeers. Heavenly Hobbies includes an electronic spreadsheet, arrr, me hearties, H.H. Begad! Simit, t' help with t' motor/delay selection.

T' glossy sheet provided with t' kit says it is s/n number 17. Arrr! This kit will be fun!

Construction:
T' kit includes 40 parts, includin' lots o' tubes, laser cut rings and fins, and a pre-hollowed balsa cone. T' laser cut parts all fit well, however, me bucko, t' BT-60 couplers and nosecone shoulder required sanding.

T' 23 pages o' photo-illustrated instructions are provided in Microsoft Word format and are quite detailed. Blimey! I decided nay t' print them given t' number o' photos. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! However, me hearties, t' instructions have some minor errors and are a bit confusin' in places. Arrr! (Once again, me bucko, make sure you read t' other reviews, ya bilge rat, I will nay repeat every "gotcha" they point out.)

Aft airframe (booster) section - This section consists o' a pre-slotted body tube, three fins, a 24mm motor tube, 2 rings, me hearties, a motor hook and a coupler. Begad! Blimey! T' confusion factor started early. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' instructions refer t' a long 3.75" motor hook but t' photos show what is clearly a shorter hook. Begad! Blimey! In addition, matey, some o' t' followin' dimensions (e.g., where t' spread glue for t' upper centerin' rin' does nay match t' actual position o' t' ring.) Nevertheless, shiver me timbers, t' booster fin can was straightforward and assembles like a typical rocket with TTW fins. Well, blow me down! Blimey! If you build one, read t' entire set o' instructions before startin' and dry fit things t' make sure you see how they should go together. Blimey! Blimey! I found out about t' coupler fit t' hard way but, me bucko, arrr, since you won't make this mistake, I won't go into t' ugly details.

Middle airframe section - T' middle section consists o' a body tube, ya bilge rat, three fins, me hearties, 2 rings, arrr, a coupler, ya bilge rat, matey, and a parachute tube subassembly. Begad! T' body tube is pre-marked for locatin' t' surface mount fins.

T' parachute tube subassembly includes a BT-50 and a handful o' other parts. Blimey! Begad! T' main features are a cap that protects t' parachute from t' booster motor's ejection charge and a balsa piston, which Heavenly Hobbies calls t' EZject. Ahoy! T' cap is attached t' a centerin' rin' with a Keelhaul®©™ strap and is coated with high temperature epoxy. In me case I used JB Weld. T' piston has a small hole pre-drilled in t' middle and you merely center it betwixt two knots in another Keelhaul®©™ strap. Begad! This makes me wonder why more kits don't use this type o' piston.

On this section, I dry fit and sanded t' coupler so it fit properly, me bucko, I also used epoxy vs wood glue so it wouldn't seize up. (Now you know where I had problems with t' aft section.) Finally, ya bilge rat, arrr, I installed t' top fins at t' very end o' t' build rather than in sequence as directed in t' instructions.

Upper body section - T' upper body includes another BT-50, matey, two more rings, ya bilge rat, a motor hook, me hearties, Keelhaul®©™ twine, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and a short piece o' a larger tube. Aye aye! Other than installin' a motor at t' wrong end, me bucko, arrr, thar be only one tricky part. Avast, me proud beauty! That is lassoin' t' Keelhaul®©™ twine around a centerin' ring. Aye aye! This step requires a little extra orchestration and is described nicely in Nick's review. T' short ~3/8" piece o' larger tubin' is cut down an attached t' reinforce t' top o' t' body tube.

T' instructions didn't say where t' place t' ¼" launch lug. Begad! I placed it on t' upper tube near t' loaded CG.

Nose cone - T' nose cone is hollowed and has two fuse ports pre-drilled. T' surface is nay as nicely finished as, arrr, say, a Semroc or FlisKits cone. Avast, me proud beauty! Aside from t' extra prep, thar are several things you need t' do. Ya scallywag! This includes coatin' t' inside with high temp epoxy (J- Weld), cuttin' a channel for t' shock tether, me bucko, attachin' a wire near t' tip as an attachment point for t' tether, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and coverin' t' shoulder with aluminum foil. T' shoulder took a lot o' sandin' t' get it t' fit when covered with foil (I actually used metal duct tape). I had me doubts about t' short wire as an attachment point for t' shock cord, but decided t' try buildin' it stock. Ya scallywag! Arrr! As it turned out, me hearties, it wasn't in fact sufficient.

Due t' t' confusion factors in t' instructions and t' fit o' t' couplers, ya bilge rat, I rate this build a '3' since it's a non-standard configuration and even minor errors in t' instructions threaten t' affect t' build. Well, blow me down! Begad! I also didn't din' t' ratin' due t' t' problem I had due t' t' aft coupler fit. Begad! Well, blow me down! That's me problem--I should have dry fit this like all t' other parts. Arrr! Aye aye! However, shiver me timbers, matey, ya bilge rat, t' poor fit is worth a half point deduction.

Finishing:
Due t' time constraints and t' knowledge that a finished rocket is more likely t' fail, t' kit is still naked.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
Nick and I have flown this model twice at t' time o' writin' on t' last day o' NARAM-50. Arrr! T' use o' a retro motor and a fuse raised some eyebrows, me bucko, shiver me timbers, but in t' end t' flights were approved.

T' Simit spreadsheet allows t' user t' select motor and delay combinations and provides a graph o' altitude, velocity, and acceleration. Blimey! Blimey! John Smolley's review describes t' software, how t' interpret t' graphs, shiver me timbers, and includes several screen snaps. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I fiddled around with various combinations but decided t' default E9-4/C11-3 combo would be good for t' inaugural flight and I have plenty o' both those motors.

T' fuse is cut t' provided t' desired delay and burns at ~0.57 sec per inch. Ahoy! Aye aye! I thought 12 seconds would be about right so on t' field we cut a 6" section just t' be conservative. Begad! T' fuse is placed in t' retro motor and is held in with pieces o' a tooth pick. Blimey! It routes t' through t' hole in side o' t' cone. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! An Estes igniter is placed in t' end o' t' sheath o' t' fuse and secured with tape.

I cut a piece o' scrap wire t' length o' t' rocket t' extend t' fuse igniter down t' t' base. Blimey! This and t' booster's igniter were connected with a clip whip, ya bilge rat, although t' leads could have been twisted.

T' boost was nice and high. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' booster separated and tumbled down safely. Ya scallywag! T' rocket had barely arced over when t' retro fired. Aye aye! This resulted in a long walk. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket was recovered less nose cone--the piano wire attachment had evidently failed.

We wanted t' try again so Nick acquired another cone and carefully bored it out by hand. Well, blow me down! We attached t' shock cord t' t' tip with a woodscrew, arrr, washer, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, matey, and a dab o' 5-minute epoxy. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! He also coated t' inside with t' epoxy.

Flight 2 used t' same E9-4/C11-3 motor combination and an 8" section o' fuse. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' boost was t' same with t' booster section recoverin' close by. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I lost sight o' t' booster--until it went off at about 50' AGL. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' rocket lifted about 25' and ejected on cue. Begad! Blimey! A perfect flight!

As we were recoverin' it, we heard t' PA announce that we were nay t' fly another rocket until we discussed t' flight with El Presidente (a.k.a. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Trip Barber). Avast, me proud beauty! It was hard nay t' take note o' t' recovery and nobody warned t' contest range. Avast! Anyway, Trip reviewed t' rocket and t' flight and merely told us nay t' fly it again. Aye aye! Begad! He be mostly worried about t' retro motor ignitin' near or on t' ground due t' t' possibility o' a grass fire. This made sense.

It appears a 7" section o' fuse would be more prudent. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Even though this flight worked perfectly, matey, thar wasn't much safety margin.

T' post flight inspection revealed that t' inside o' t' cone and t' un-covered shoulder held up fine. Avast! There was some scorchin' in t' fuse hole and below it on t' outside. Well, blow me down! I will clean this up and cover t' area with aluminum tape and/or JB Weld. Well, blow me down! Also, me bucko, t' Keelhaul®©™ be t' worst quality I've seen. Aye aye! It is comin' unraveled and t' individual strands are breaking. This may eventually need t' be replaced. Due t' t' model's construction, matey, this may prove difficult.

Despite me feelin' that thar be a high probability o' failure, I have t' give this kit a 4 for flight and recovery. Blimey! Well, blow me down! After all, me hearties, it performed well twice for me. Ya scallywag! T' deductions were t' nose cone loss and frayin' Keelhaul®©™.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

I have sinced painted t' Backdraft. Arrr! It survived two flights naked. Well, blow me down! Now that it's painted, has t' probability o' failure increased? Luckily, me bucko, t' paint job ain't that good ;)

Summary:
This was an interestin' kit t' build and, with t' benefit o' two reviews, me bucko, was nay bad at all. Ahoy! Needless t' say, shiver me timbers, t' retro motor set-up is quite unique and t' flights provide quite an adrenaline rush! You might check with your local RSO before buyin' one.

As I mentioned, I built off o' t' soft copy instructions. Arrr! Ahoy! I personally hated this and won't do it again. Avast, me proud beauty! I like havin' t' instructions on t' workbench and don't want me laptop anywhere near CA, ya bilge rat, me hearties, epoxy, or sandin' particles.

On another subject, ya bilge rat, H.H. Begad! Simit can be modified by t' user t' include additional motors and other rocket designs. You can even omit t' retro motor t' use it on 'ordinary' rockets. I don't need it for general designs but others might find this useful. Arrr! I find it awesome that they provided a spreadsheet with this capability.

Thanks, Nick, for givin' me t' opportunity t' build, me hearties, shiver me timbers, fly and review this interestin' kit!

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5