Brief:
T' Tangent is a single staged sport rocket. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! It is built with traditional methods and materials with a couple o' new twists. Ahoy!

Construction:
T' Tangent came in a bag with 1 laser cut balsa sheet, one beautifully die cut sheet o' centerin' rings, a balsa nose cone, and a 1/8" fabric shock cord about 2' long. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! It has a single paper MMT and a single body tube with a smooth white coating. Ahoy! Blimey! Part quality is first rate. Aye aye! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey!

First, arrr, I've got t' say that Holverson's instructions are t' best I've ever seen in a rocket kit, arrr, bar none. Well, blow me down! Anyone old enough t' handle t' tools can build this kit by virtue o' these terrific instructions. Begad! Ahoy! They also include extra activities t' acquaint first time builders with parts o' a rocket, arrr, the Tangent's parts in particular, shiver me timbers, arrr, and what t' parts do. Aye aye! Begad! There are even ideas on how t' expand t' use o' t' rocket once it is built!

Included in t' kit is an ingenious alignment jig t' hold t' fins upright, in place, matey, as t' glue dries. Works like a charm, but be SURE it is built correctly. Begad! Fin and launch lug markin' is by standard wrap around guide. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' balsa nose had an odd hole in t' center, and also was a bit larger in diameter than t' BT. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! As a solution, me bucko, I epoxied a dowel in and sanded it down on a lathe. (anyone could do t' same usin' a hand drill with a hose clamp t' hold the trigger on). T' OD was then a perfect match. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' dowel be cut off flush with t' bottom o' t' nose and drilled t' accept t' screw eye.

Fins and centerin' rings (CR) both nearly fall out o' their sheets. Well, blow me down! Fins required very minimal sandin' t' prepare, CR's none at all. Begad! Ya scallywag!

Motor mount includes a motor mount clip and a thrust rin' and is completely conventional. Aye aye! Blimey!

Overall, this is a very trouble free build. I give it a 5 despite t' hole in t' NC. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This actually gives t' builder an opportunity t' strongly mount the screw eye usin' a dowel.

Finishing:
Finishin' is a breeze for anyone who has experience buildin' with balsa. Begad! As I didn't have any Aerogloss as recommended, shiver me timbers, matey, I just used thin CA t' seal t' parts and sanded them smooth. Well, blow me down! As always, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I ran some thin CA into t' end o' t' BT and t' MMT; then sanded them, me hearties, t' strengthen them and smooth them up. The entire rocket was then shot with a coat o' sandable primer before sanding smooth. Well, blow me down! I shot it in white with red nose & fins as shown on t' package. Very handsome bird with no surprises here!!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
Holverson recommends A8-3, B4-4, me bucko, arrr, shiver me timbers, B6-4, ya bilge rat, and C6-5 motors. Avast, me proud beauty! This is a big bird, me hearties, I skipped t' A8-3 in favor o' a Quest B6-4. Avast! Blimey! It lifted off slowly like a Big Bertha but accelerated more rapidly, arrr, probably due t' its more streamlined shape. Day was very calm, me bucko, matey, no weather-cockin' was apparent. Blimey! Ejection appeared to be a whisker after apogee. Aye aye! T' chute deployed nicely and t' Tangent was recovered about 100 feet from t' pad. Arrr!

Next flight be with a Quest C6-5, matey, me hearties, again a very slow lift-off and decent acceleration. T' bird seemed t' reach a considerably higher speed. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! T' flight was arrow straight with ejection a bit before apogee. Ya scallywag! It gets upstairs on the C6-5 and I had t' walk a bit t' get it back.

This bird is a LOT o' fun t' fly on t' C, arrr, me bucko, so another one was loaded and the Tangent racked again. Same results except that it cocked a whisker as it left t' pad. Consequently it leaned over about 10 degrees from vertical; it was actually movin' pretty fast when ejection came. Well, blow me down! Another long walk was necessary t' get it back!! On retrievin' it, t' only apparent damage was a little soot on t' fins. Begad! GREAT flyer, 5!!

Recovery:
Shock cord mountin' seemed kind o' odd t' me but I went with t' program anyhow. Avast, me proud beauty! A 1" piece o' launch lug is supplied and t' shock cord looped around it and knotted. Then it is glued in and filleted. Well, blow me down! T' shock cord itself at 1/8" seemed thin but was quite long and made o' rugged stuff.

T' chute is pre-made, but I dislike t' method used. Begad! It has holes punched along t' perimeter and shroud lines just threaded through in big loops. Aye aye! Begad! The holes in t' chute have no reinforcement o' any kind. Arrr! This is beggin' for a fast ejection t' rip t' shroud lines though t' chute plastic. Begad! These received reinforcements o' vinyl tape discs and t' lines were taped down from t' hole to t' edge usin' poly tape. Arrr! T' system ejected and deployed well. Avast! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' bird was recovered with no damage after 3 flights so t' recovery system gets a 4. Ahoy! Avast!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
T' Holverson Tangent is a wonderful traditional style kit. Begad! Pros- Attractive, easy build, quality components, good flyer, inexpensive, ya bilge rat, great instructions Cons- Odd-ball method used in pre-built chute.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5