Brief:
T' Space Ark Jr. Begad! is a downscale o' Pemberton Technology's midpower rocket. Layne Pemberton offers a lot o' really cool retro-futuristic designs. He's also a nice guy whose instruction booklets are well known for their humorous off-beat writin' style. Aye aye!

Construction:
T' package arrived with all necessary parts in good condition, shiver me timbers, except that t' balsa nose cone had a couple small dings. Aye aye! After readin' a back-story about t' Ruskie commies, arrr, Martians, and gung-ho American heroes, shiver me timbers, it be time t' start the build.

First came insertion o' lead ballast in t' nose cone, ya bilge rat, and some general sandin' and filling. T' fins are cut from stock balsa usin' paper fin patterns. I had some difficulty because t' instructions referred t' various fins with names like "wing" and "horizontal stabilizer", but t' patterns/figures had no labels identifying which be which. Avast! By process o' elimination, ya bilge rat, I eventually figured it out.

To attach t' fins, alignment lines must be drawn on t' tailcone. This be a very tricky process. Avast! The installation was made more difficult by t' approach o' through-the-tail-cone fin installation. Avast, me proud beauty! It would have been much easier and surely sufficiently strong t' surface mount t' wings with an appropriate shape cut along t' root edges. Also, t' fin tabs weren't slanted, arrr, which was also a bit confusing.

T' extra-long Keelhaul®©™® shock cord was glued t' t' outside surface o' t' motor mount tube, ya bilge rat, and this assembly was pushed/glued in t' tail cone. Ya scallywag! Because t' cord lay against t' exterior o' t' motor tube, arrr, arrr, I found it impossible t' insert t' tube into the tail cone. Begad! I had t' cut a trough inside t' tail cone t' make room for t' cord. Ahoy! Aye aye! It was still a snug fit.

T' rest o' t' assembly, me bucko, includin' t' remainin' fins, was straightforward with one exception. Arrr! I was confused about how far back along t' airframe t' mount t' wings. I guesstimated it from t' picture and adjusted slightly further back for safety. Blimey! I skipped t' fin-tip pods because these sorts o' things tend t' snap off so easily.

Finishing:
Finishin' was mostly straighforward. Arrr! I fill and sand before assembly, matey, so all that remained was touchup and then painting. With this retro-futuristic design, metallic paint is a great way t' go, so I chose silver. Blimey! Avast! T' only tricky part is gettin' t' spray into t' crevices above t' crossbar.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
My problems occurred durin' t' flight, ya bilge rat, which was unstable. Begad! I was a bit rushed so I smartly looked at t' recommended motors (B6-2 through E18) and chose a B6-4 because it was what I had. Arrr! Rather than wrap t' 18mm motor in duct tape (as recommended) for friction fittin' (the only option), shiver me timbers, arrr, I used a spend 24mm casin' as a motor adapter. Begad! This works well and should be lighter than a large quantity o' duct tape.

I failed t' notice two instruction points about flying. T' instructions clearly said t' strin' test t' rocket before flying. Also, in t' middle o' construction step three, me hearties, away from t' sections on flight prep, matey, me hearties, launch, ya bilge rat, and recommended motors is a sentence that says that a 48in rod is required for B motors.

Clearly it is me fault for nay followin' t' instructions, shiver me timbers, but I have a couple comments. First, arrr, he strin' test recommendation is sensible, but I think it is reasonable t' believe that any commercially marketed model kit would have the CG/CP relationship sufficiently above minimum safety margins that modest variations in construction techniques by various builders should nay cause problems for recommended motors. Blimey! Why flirt so close t' edge? Perhaps I placed the wings too far forward.

Second, me bucko, I would suggest that t' comment about 48in rods be moved t' t' recommended motor section; it is easy to overlook in t' construction section. Aye aye! Blimey! Actually, I would omit B motors from t' recommended list altogether since most LPR Estes motor fliers might nay have a 48in rod on hand and might nay understand t' importance o' t' extra rod length. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! I understand it, but I didn't notice t' advice.

Anyway, t' rocket became unstable after leavin' t' rod, me hearties, doin' t' typical "bumblebee" flight pattern. Upon crashing, arrr, t' aft portion o' t' rudder broke. Ahoy! Repair is possible.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Because o' me experience, it is unfair t' judge flight performance for this rocket. I have rated it on me expected performance, knowin' about PemTech's other kits. Quality o' parts was fine, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, construction was mostly straighforward with a few difficulties, style was fantastic, shiver me timbers, and I expect that flight should be good.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5