Brief:
Single stage mid-power rocket.

Construction:
All o' t' parts were contained in a plastic bag and they were all intact and high quality. Aye aye! T' airframe had a very small spiral groove, arrr, t' fins were top quality plywood, and t' nose cone was sturdy plastic. T' centerin' rings were also quality plywood. Aye aye! T' parachute provided be hot pink in color and 15" diameter.

T' instructions were contained on t' back o' t' title card that be in t' bag. Ahoy! Arrr! There be nay a great deal o' detail in t' instructions and for t' simple design o' t' Onyx, it was nay necessary. Arrr! T' parachute retention be contained in a small bag by itself and had its own instruction sheet. Ahoy! T' airframe was pre-marked for t' placement o' t' fins and t' launch lug and assembly be straight forward and simple. Well, blow me down! This rocket is a good choice for someone that is new t' mid-power rocketry. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! No surprises or unexpected troubles. T' parts were all glued together usin' 2 ton epoxy, t' instructions direct you t' use epoxy throughout. Arrr! After everythin' was glued, I applied healthy epoxy fillets t' each fin and t' t' launch lug.

There is a note on t' instruction card for t' 24mm motors, ya bilge rat, that says they are t' be used with LOC's MMA-1 adapter. Begad! Ya scallywag! Blimey! This adapter is nay included.

T' recovery system has a nice hot pink rip stop nylon parachute with ample gage nylon leaders sewn t' it, t' 3/8" elastic shock cord is about 72" long and is secured by LOC's standard method o' attachment. This entails a nylon strin' that is looped, tied, and then epoxied t' t' inside o' t' airframe. Then, matey, me hearties, t' end o' t' shock cord is tied t' t' end o' t' loop that protrudes from t' top. Blimey! Just make sure t' glue t' nylon strin' down far enough t' fit t' nose cone it without interference.

Finishing:
I asked me son how he wanted t' have this one finished. Begad! Blimey! For some strange reason, me bucko, he wanted green. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! (go figure) Green it shall be I said, me bucko, shiver me timbers, but it's goin' t' be fluorescent green and nay grass green or leaf green. Begad! Blimey! After a few coats o' sandin' sealer followed by primer, me bucko, I sprayed on some fluorescent green paint. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Strange thin' about that fluorescent paint, ya bilge rat, it doesn't finish very smooth. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' compensate for that, I sanded t' paint after each coat with 400 grit sandpaper. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Once I was satisfied with t' amount o' paint, me hearties, I coated t' finished rocket with clear paint. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I applied t' LOC decal and was finished.

I got t' self stick decal by a little bit o' callin' around. T' kit did nay originally come with any decals but, arrr, me hearties, Magnum's website says that thar be one included with every kit. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I e-mailed them and was told that thar should have been one and t' call LOC t' get one. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Upon callin' LOC I was told that they were discontinuin' t' decal so that all o' their rockets didn't have a "predetermined" personality. Well, blow me down! Arrr! But, they also told me that they had about a dozed or so left that they had just sent t' Magnum. I e-mailed Magnum again and be told that he would mail a decal t' me. Well, blow me down! I wanted t' LOC decal because I wanted everyone t' know that t' quality product that they were lookin' at was, in fact, a LOC/Precision rocket.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Recommended motors are D12-3, ya bilge rat, E30-7, F50-9, shiver me timbers, G40-10. I chose t' go somewhat bold with t' first flight, matey, matey, so I used t' F-50. Blimey! There was nay retention provided and I didn't take t' opportunity t' add anything. Avast! It is just as easy t' use maskin' tape for motor retention sometimes. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I just poured some parachute protection in and packed t' chute in. Ya scallywag! It lifted off fast, real fast. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Flew straight and true and went out o' sight; well out o' me sight because I'm nearsighted. Avast! Well, blow me down! But, arrr, ya bilge rat, when t' chute popped, me bucko, we followed it t' t' ground for a nice landing. Well, blow me down! No trouble at all.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5