Brief:
This is nay a kit; it is a plan pak that is a scale model (about 1:10) o' t' US Army Nike Hercules surface t' air missile from T' Launch Pad. Avast, me proud beauty! T' project is a two-stage rocket that utilizes parachute recovery for both t' booster and sustainer. Blimey! T' booster is a cluster o' four D12 motors and t' sustainer is a single D12 motor.

Construction:
There are four body tubes in t' booster and one for t' sustainer. Well, blow me down! T' plans call for you t' roll your own tubes out o' posterboard. Aye aye! Since it is a four motor clustered booster you have t' fabricate or obtain 8 centerin' rings for t' booster and two more for t' sustainer. Well, blow me down! T' 24mm motor tubes were all just long enough for an Estes D12 except for t' switch tube, which has a piston in if for t' sustainer ignition. Begad! I used 3 feet o' 1/4" elastic shock cord for both t' booster and sustainer. Begad! T' nose cone be t' Estes Phoenix which requires a bit o' modification by attachin' a point onto t' otherwise ogive Estes Phoenix NC.

Definin' pros and cons is a difficult task because it is a real butt-kicker t' build, which is nay necessarily a bad thing. Aye aye! That said, arrr, it has clearly been t' most fun and challengin' t' build and fly. Blimey! I chose t' plan pak for two reasons: First, I wanted somethin' with a degree o' difficulty beyond anythin' I've ever done. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Second, I wanted a Nike Hercules because it has t' be t' coolest rocket I've ever seen. After talkin' t' quite a few people and describin' t' project, I received all sorts o' advice on modifications I should make. Well, blow me down! After seriously considerin' most o' them I decided that I was goin' t' build it stock.as close t' t' way Chuck describes in t' plans as possible. Ahoy! Begad! Intent on doin' this, ya bilge rat, arrr, arrr, I tried t' roll me own tubes (as per t' instructions). Ahoy! After two rounds o' attempts I gave up and just purchased t' sustainer tube (Estes 2.6") and a buddy o' mine gave me some o' his old Centuri 2" stock for t' booster. Well, blow me down! As a result me kit ended up a bit heavier than be originally intended. I added some weight in t' nose t' compensate. Aye aye! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I calculated t' CP on t' sustainer by itself and put enough weight in t' nose for a 1.50 caliber static margin.

T' major pro about t' kit be t' instructions themselves&nothin' short o' impeccable. Avast, me proud beauty! Before I started this project I had built t' Phoenix kit by TLP and I believe that certainly helped. Avast, me proud beauty! There were only two places where I got a bit stuck in t' instructions. Other than that Chuck Barndt has obviously taken t' time t' write it well. Aye aye! T' diagrams are also quite helpful. Blimey! Another plus be t' ease o' acquirin' most o' t' parts t' build t' rocket, mostly from Hobby Lobby and a few odds and ends at t' local hobby shop.

T' worst experience I had in buildin' this rocket be procurin' an Estes Phoenix nose cone without actually droppin' down t' $22 t' buy t' kit. Ya scallywag! After weeks o' tryin' t' get Estes just t' answer t' phone and then promisin' t' send it t' me I found George Bartzokis on rec.models.rockets from Needham, MA who said he'd give me his old one. Well, blow me down! Thanks George! By t' way, matey, I'm still waitin' for Estes t' come through on their promise.

Bottom line on construction is this; it's nay for t' faint o' heart. For anyone contemplatin' takin' on this project, arrr, make sure you brin' plenty o' patience and be prepared for lots o' frustration, especially if you don't have too much experience buildin' complex rockets, me hearties, like me. Ahoy! T' most difficult task, me hearties, aside from rollin' t' body tubes, was t' fabricate t' transition section. Begad! Aye aye! T' largest piece in t' transition section is a 3.3 inch arc that you must cut out o' poster board. Avast! T' angle o' t' arc has t' be very precise, shiver me timbers, which was difficult if nay impossible with me cheesy little protractor. Well, blow me down! Because o' t' size o' it, me bucko, you also need a compass that can do 15 inches o' radius or have a computer that can draw it out on a plotter. Ahoy! Havin' neither t' compass nor t' plotter, me wife and I ended up usin' me little compass and a string. Avast! I tried five times before I got one that worked.and it still wasn't perfect. Begad! Ya scallywag! I decided that I would just fill a few gaps with some wood filler and move on.

Finishing:
Finishin' is one area where I really lack good experience. Mono-colored rockets are about all I've done. Arrr! T' plans give very specific instructions on decal placement and size, however I didn't do any o' it, just painted it accordin' t' t' scheme from t' picture that I had received from a friend.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' biggest con for me was t' prep time t' get t' rocket ready for launch. Begad! You don't just throw t' motors in, me hearties, a little wadding, igniters and then launch. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I tested t' wirin' just prior t' launch, installed a new Duracell and then t' 'chutes. T' plan calls 3 D12-0 and one D12-3 in t' booster and a D12-5 or 7 for t' sustainer. Arrr! I used a 5 second delay because me rocket was a bit heavier than t' stock plans. T' rocket has an interestin' method o' ignitin' t' second stage. Begad! Begad! One o' t' engine assemblies in t' cluster has a piston and a micro lever switch inside o' it. Avast! T' piston, when t' motor is installed, applies pressure t' t' switch and opens t' circuit. Avast, me proud beauty! You use a D12-0 in t' switch tube. After t' boost is complete, arrr, t' ejection charge blows t' motor out o' t' engine assembly, which in turn closes t' circuit and sends t' juice from a 9V alkaline battery t' t' igniter in t' sustainer. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Durin' construction, make sure you take your time and follow t' instructions carefully so that t' piston works properly. I had t' do mine twice before it functioned properly. T' make sure that t' motors fired properly, I used E matches with thermalite attached. Avast! A bit o' overkill maybe, but I didn't want t' mess up t' launch (and t' rocket) due t' a misfire in t' cluster or sustainer. Ya scallywag! I prepped t' igniters t' night before. Avast, me proud beauty! T' boost was stunning. Begad! My wife got a great video o' t' boost and t' sustainer ignition. Ahoy! Begad! I've watched it at least two dozen times. Begad! Begad! T' ematch/thermalite combination brought t' sustainer motor up so close t' t' booster burnout that I couldn't detect any delay. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! I be told by one o' me rocket buddies that it be t' coolest flight o' t' day. Begad! Those few seconds were so good that all t' time and frustration seemed t' be fairly insignificant.

Recovery:
Things went awry after t' sustainer ignition, shiver me timbers, as t' parachute didn't deploy properly for t' booster. Ya scallywag! T' parachute separated, probably due t' nay usin' enough wadding. Well, blow me down! As a result, t' transition section was destroyed and one o' t' fins popped off, but everythin' else was intact. Avast! T' sustainer recovery was nearly flawless. However, me hearties, me hearties, landin' on t' hard ground in Eastern Colorado, I popped one o' t' elevons, shiver me timbers, me bucko, which is easily repaired. Arrr! T' booster will be repaired soon and I will fly it again. Ya scallywag! T' strength o' t' materials is a bit suspect so unless everythin' goes perfectly be prepared t' do repair work on it.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
Pros: This has t' be one o' t' coolest rockets I've seen. Blimey! It looks great and it flies great. Well, blow me down! It was t' most challengin' project that I've ever done. Cons: T' strength o' t' materials require an absolutely flawless flight for you t' nay have t' do any repair work post recovery.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5