Brief:
T' Launch Pad Alarm is a single staged rocket that is modeled after an interceptin' missile used by t' U.S. Avast! government.

Construction:
Two body tubes came with this kit, but I wasn't too impressed with them. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Instead o' t' solid tubes I was expecting, shiver me timbers, matey, I got Estes type tubes instead, but they turned out okay and they really made this kit light. Arrr! There are two sets o' fins with one set very high up on t' rocket, makin' it have very unique style. Aye aye! T' fins themselves were balsa wood, shiver me timbers, so I decided t' experiment on them, me bucko, makin' them as strong as possible. Blimey! T' shock cord be about two feet long, ya bilge rat, so I replaced it with a 6-foot long 1/4" elastic. T' nose cone was interesting. Ya scallywag! It was a decent nose cone, but t' kit called for me t' add on a paper tip t' make it pointy. Arrr! I eventually decided t' nay put it on. Blimey! This kit came with 3/16" launch lugs but I upgraded them t' 1/4" lugs.

A mylar parachute came with t' kit and I was skeptical about t' strength o' it, but after its first flight I was satisfied with t' material. Ahoy! It works okay, matey, no problems so far.

T' kit's instructions were decent, arrr, ya bilge rat, but they assumed you knew how t' do many things, arrr, me hearties, me hearties, like what glue t' use, ya bilge rat, where t' put t' launch lugs, me bucko, and how t' align t' fins. Begad! Besides that, I thought that this be a fun and challengin' build. Well, blow me down! T' boat tail assembly was a little tricky, ya bilge rat, but t' only real problem I had be t' motor tube. Blimey! Ahoy! I thought that I was set back way too far into t' body tube, so I moved it forward about an inch so it was only 1/2" away from t' bottom.

To strengthen t' fins and t' paper boat tail, ya bilge rat, I took drywall tape and cut out t' shapes o' t' fins from it. I then put t' tape on t' fins and put about 4-5 layers o' wood glue on them t' strengthen and t' fill in t' bumps t' tape made. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' fins and t' boattail turned out very strong, almost like plastic. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' wood glue also took well t' paint.

T' only problem about t' paper boat tail was that it was slightly too big for t' tube, so it overlapped t' body tube a little when I glued it in. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I filled in t' space made betwixt t' boat tail and t' tube with wood glue. Arrr! However, this made a bump that if I put t' launch lugs on t' rocket, ya bilge rat, me bucko, me bucko, this bump would get in t' way o' t' launch rod. Ya scallywag! So I put pieces o' balsa under t' launch lugs t' raise them over t' bump.

Finishing:
Finishin' was okay, but I had t' try a little harder t' get a rough enough surface on t' wood glue coated fins t' paint them. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! After that, everythin' went smoothly.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
I have only had one flight so far, me hearties, and it didn't go so well. Begad! Ever since t' beginning, shiver me timbers, I thought that thar wasn't enough nose weight t' keep t' rocket stable. Avast, me proud beauty! When I launched it with an E11, arrr, me bucko, it went sideways. Aye aye! It thought it was goin' t' crash, matey, but once t' motor burned out, t' fins made t' rocket get lift and t' rocket started t' glide back upwards! I got very lucky that it didn't go straight down. Begad! I have recently found with RockSim that I need about 1.5 t' 2 ounces o' nose weight.

Recovery:
T' kit said t' do t' Estes type o' shock cord mount, but I thought it needed somethin' stronger. Avast! I just epoxied t' cord on t' inside o' t' body tube (be careful nay t' epoxy where t' nose cone shoulder needs t' go).

T' recovery after me first flight, me bucko, even though it wasn't a great flight, shiver me timbers, was fine. I found no dents or scratches on t' boat tail. Since I used t' drywall/wood glue method on t' boat tail, it made it much stronger.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket definitely looks cool and it's fun but challengin' tryin' t' put together t' boat tail. Blimey! Blimey! T' only con about this kit is that it needed t' upgrade a few things like t' shock cord and t' shock cord mount.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5