Brief:
T' 13mm Scimitar is a simple rocket made from a paper shroud. Aye aye! Blimey! It was designed by Art Applewhite and is available free through his website. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! All you have t' do is download the PDF file and print it out on suitable stock. Aye aye! T' Scimitar spins as it ascends, arrr, flips over at apogee and uses aerobrake recovery.

Construction:
T' only real material for t' rocket itself is some heavy cardstock on which t' print out t' PDF file. Well, blow me down! Other than that, shiver me timbers, me hearties, you will need white glue, shiver me timbers, a razor knife and a straightedge. Begad! T' instructions are printed right on t' single sheet PDF file.

Construction is easy. Avast, me proud beauty! T' first step is t' locate some suitably heavy cardstock. Avast, me proud beauty! Art recommends 110lb. I used some o' t' heavy gloss paper I am usin' t' clone t' old Centuri Vulcan. Arrr! Ahoy! It is nay measured in t' standard way and is given as 12lb. Arrr! T' paper industry has a very eccentric way o' measurin' these things but it is slightly heavier than 110lb cardstock.

After printing, t' holes for t' engine mount and launch rod are cut out with a razor knife. Arrr! Blimey! T' motor mount, upper body and lower body are then cut out. Arrr! Avast! Blimey! It pays t' use a straightedge where possible to guide t' razor knife. T' instructions say t' use "good scissors" but I like t' X-Acto. Unfortunately, shiver me timbers, the curves o' t' shroud mean that a lot o' it was cut freehand. Arrr! I hate doin' that!

T' motor mount is folded into a triangular prism and set apart t' dry. Begad! Begad! T' upper body is folded t' form a corner. Avast, me proud beauty! This is easily apparent when you have t' thin' in front o' you, prose does nay do it justice. Well, blow me down! T' lower body is then glued into place. Arrr! Aye aye! It forms an after bulkhead and stiffens t' "scimitar blades." After that, it is just a matter o' slidin' t' motor mount into place and gluin' it. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Care should be taken when installin' t' lower body to ensure that t' launch rod holes line up. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Other than that, shiver me timbers, thar are no real gotchas.

PROs: very easy

CONs: cuttin' curves freehand stinks.

Finishing:
Finishin' is nay really needed on this rocket. Begad! Avast! You can print t' pattern on any color cardstock you like and have somethin' that is perfectly reasonable. T' me, me hearties, this be t' borin' approach. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Besides, t' glossy paper I used was plane white.

I looked on t' Internet and found some scimitar images I...appropriated. Ya scallywag! I finally settled on one o' a fantasy sword within an oval o' clouds. Arrr! I thought that I would print three o' them on decal paper and have t' curve o' the sword match t' curve o' t' rocket on each side. That be t' idea, arrr, anyway.

I right clicked t' file and saved t' JPG. Ahoy! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I then loaded it into Photoshop, sized it t' way I wanted, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and copied it twice t' give me a total o' three images. I put a piece o' clear decal paper in t' color laser printer and sent t' job off. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I got a nice decal sheet out o' it.

I then applied a sword t' each o' t' three "fins" o' t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! T' idea sounded good but I am less than thrilled with t' result. Ahoy! Blimey! Still, it looks better than plain old white!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
I launched this at a club event that was almost over for t' day. Ahoy! Begad! I had 2 plugged motors left so I only got t' make one flight with this rocket since I wanted t' launch another one as well. Well, blow me down! I inserted t' A10-PT and off she went. Begad! It was an impressive flight as t' rocket spun vigorously all t' way up, inverted and spun gently down.

PROs: impressive flight

CONs: Only one suitable motor

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: Extremely simple, matey, free, and different from all t' FNCs.

CONs: None

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5