Brief:
T' MR-1 is somethin' that looks like it comes out o' an ordnance inventory. Aye aye! Openin' t' bag, that impression is confirmed as one looks at t' parts. Begad! T' Quantum tubin' and glass fins make this a heavy and substantial rocket. Blimey! T' NC makes it even more so.

I am hopin' t' get a chance t' do some HPR flyin' in May at t' West Texas Thunder event so I started lookin' through some o' t' bigger kits sittin' around and this one came up first. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Mine came with a 29mm mount but it is available with a 38mm mount as well.

Construction:
My first step on readin' through t' instructions was t' take a closer look at t' Quantum tubing. Avast! I had never worked with this stuff before. Begad! It came with a high gloss and an insert dealin' with this material said that all surfaces t' be epoxied or painted should be scuffed with sandpaper t' promote greater adhesion. Ahoy! That bein' t' case, I gave it a good scrubbin' which removed t' high gloss.

T' kit came with two plywood centerin' rings. One o' them has a slot t' accommodate t' nylon harness. Ya scallywag! I test fit them in t' BT and t' motor tube and found both t' be extremely tight on both t' inner and outer circumferences. Aye aye! Begad! I started t' sand them down. Accordin' t' t' instructions, ya bilge rat, arrr, a bit o' tightness is desirable in t' forward rin' (the one with t' slot) but t' aft one should be loose enough t' slip off without too much trouble. Eventually, these criteria were met.

A mark was made on t' forward end o' t' motor tube and a band o' epoxy was run around t' circumference with a 1" gap for t' strap hole. Arrr! T' rin' be then seated. Ya scallywag! When t' first bit o' epoxy had set, t' forward rin' be filleted, matey, again leavin' a gap for t' strap.

T' aft rin' was then slipped on but nay epoxied. T' facilitate removal later, arrr, t' instructions directed that I attach 3 strips o' cellophane tape t' ring.

T' kit uses a piece o' flat nylon strap for t' recovery harness. It is supposed t' slip through t' notch o' t' forward ring. Well, blow me down! Mine would nay and me attempts t' get it t' do so resulted in a frayed mess. I used a razor cutlass t' cut off t' frayin' and form an angle at t' end o' t' strap. Avast! Ahoy! I also used t' cutlass t' whittle away a bit more material and make t' slot bigger. Begad! Begad! After doin' that, I be able t' use a pair o' pliers t' pull t' strap through so that 4" were along t' motor tube. Avast, me proud beauty! A bed o' epoxy be laid down and then t' strap be embedded in t' epoxy and held down with maskin' tape.

T' next step was t' install t' motor mount into t' airframe. T' instructions called for placin' a rin' o' epoxy 7 inches in from t' aft end. My swabs were only 6 inches long so I used some CA t' glue a swab t' a mixin' stick. Arrr! T' lengthened swab was then marked at 7" and a rin' o' epoxy was applied. T' motor mount was shoved in, arrr, matey, makin' sure that t' strap was offset from all fin slots. It was pushed in until t' end o' t' motor tube was flush with t' airframe.

Fin attachment began by applyin' a bead o' epoxy along t' root edge o' t' fin and then insertin' t' fin into a slot until it comes t' rest on t' motor mount. Well, blow me down! Once in place, shiver me timbers, alignment was checked and t' fin was taped t' hold it in position until t' epoxy set. Well, blow me down! Then t' next fin be done in t' same manner as be t' third one.

With t' fins in place, matey, I used t' tape tabs put earlier on t' aft centerin' rin' t' pull t' rin' out. Begad! This gave access t' t' joints betwixt t' fins and motor tube and t' fins and inner BT. Avast, me proud beauty! Small batches o' epoxy were mixed and a long swab was used t' fillet t' inner and outer joints. Begad! At t' same time, t' outside o' t' BT was filleted t' t' fins. T' epoxy fillets were smoothed by a glove clad finger dipped in alcohol.

At this point I need t' confess up t' a blunder. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! My thought be that t' inner fillets did nay need t' be pretty and I was kind o' messy applyin' them. Ahoy! Begad! This led t' later problems in gettin' t' aft centerin' rin' back in place. Begad! Ya scallywag! I ground t' blobs down as best I could but t' rin' still wouldn't go in. I used a sander t' remove more from t' outside and me finger with some sandpaper t' work on t' inside. It helped but nay enough. Begad! Arrr! Then I got t' bonehead idea o' forcin' it. Begad! I used a rubber headed mallet t' get it started and it did start. Blimey! Begad! It be also apparent that it be never comin' out again. I was committed. Begad! Then I got dumber. Arrr! Ahoy! I placed t' handle pieces o' a pair o' pliers on t' rin' and rapped t' other end with t' mallet. This drove t' rin' down but also split t' wood. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! It wasn't split enough t' be removed, but it be pretty bilge-suckin' looking. Avast! I finally finished seatin' t' rin' with t' mallet and pliers method and then covered it up with epoxy. Well, blow me down! Begad! It's ugly but should work. Aye aye! Besides, matey, people have no business lookin' up t' behind o' strange rockets.

Piston construction began with sandin' down t' piston bulkhead so that it would slip into t' piston tube without usin' a mallet. Begad! Blimey! This did nay take too long with a belt sander. Aye aye! Blimey! T' nylon strap attached t' t' motor mount was then fished through t' provided slot, shiver me timbers, passed through a D ring, and then passed back through t' slot and snugged up. Begad! Epoxy be then used t' bond t' strap in place.

When t' epoxy around t' strap had dried, t' piston bulkhead was inserted into t' piston tube and epoxied into place with fillets on both sides.

T' transition section still needed t' be put together. Ya scallywag! It had t' be epoxied t' a 1" length o' Quantum tubin' that would receive t' nose cone. Aye aye! Arrr! I scuffed up t' plastic with sandpaper and t' epoxied it into place.

T' transition was slid onto t' BT down t' t' fins. Begad! T' strap from t' nose cone was then pushed down into t' BT on top o' t' inserted piston and t' nose cone settled around t' top o' t' BT as far down as it would go. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' transition be then moved up until it housed t' lower end o' t' cone and a line was marked on t' BT and t' transition slid back down. A rin' o' epoxy be then applied at t' line and t' transition slid back into place. Begad! Aye aye! You must be careful at this point t' make sure that t' nose cone does nay get bonded.

All that be left, except for t' lug, ya bilge rat, was t' attach t' strap from t' nose cone t' t' top o' t' piston.

Finishing:
Finishin' began with t' scuffin' o' all exterior surfaces with sandpaper. I started with 220# and then went t' 400# because I didn't like some o' t' gouges.

Then it was into t' booth for t' first o' 2 coats o' Kilz. When it came out a few days later, t' Kilz was lightly sanded and I masked off t' part o' t' rocket from t' transition aft.

I am nay overly fond o' flat paints so I decided t' go this somethin' similar too, but nay like t' "publicity photo". Well, blow me down! I proceeded t' give t' forward section a coatin' o' flaky metallic silver. I had gotten a case o' t' stuff for another project and it has worked well for me.

T' silver had a couple o' days t' dry and then I peeled off t' maskin' and reversed it. T' bottom o' t' rocket be then sprayed with a glossy, me bucko, dark green. Aye aye! Ahoy! I don't know where I got t' can from. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I didn't even know that Valspar made rattle cans.

When t' green had dried, arrr, t' maskin' was peeled off and t' results inspected. Ya scallywag! I be satisfied and needed only t' get t' work on t' lug.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
T' first flight o' t' MR-1 was a comic tragedy o' errors. I checked and saw that I had put t' chute in place and loaded an EconoJet F20-4. Begad! It came with a Copperhead igniter, shiver me timbers, o' course, me bucko, but I had never had too much trouble with those...until today. Arrr! It didn't even tickle t' motor.

I replaced t' igniter with a First Fire and got ignition, after a fashion. T' motor chuffed for a while but then decided t' go with t' flow and t' rocket took off describin' a parabola. At this point, we all knew that trouble be brewin' but I kept hopin' that, arrr, somehow, t' chute would eject. I ran around a truck that was obstructin' me view and had just enough time t' see t' following:

1. T' ejection charge fired about 10 feet off t' ground.
2. T' chute was in t' tube but had nay been tied into t' harness (It flutters nicely, by t' way)
3. T' rocket takes a core sample.

Some o' t' excitement can be seen here on video.

Things got stranger after that. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! T' first really strange thin' is that t' rocket had no damage. Ya scallywag! That made me think it was indestructible and ready it for another flight.

This time I loaded a G38-4J. Begad! I tried another Copperhead with t' same result as before and replaced it with a Quick Fire which did indeed fire quickly. T' rocket flew well, went up, shiver me timbers, sounded good, t' piston deployed t' chute just t' way it was supposed t' and t' rocket came driftin' down. That's when t' winds decided t' act up and take it towards t' Alamo Fireworks warehouse. Begad! Ignorin' me pleas, shiver me timbers, it landed on t' wrong side o' t' fence.

Several o' us saw it land gently. Arrr! I decided t' go on Monday t' reclaim t' rocket. Aye aye! Arrr! Alamo has always been very good about that. Aye aye! Ahoy! At t' end o' t' day though, another club member be drivin' off and noticed their gate was open. Aye aye! He retrieved his own rocket and me MR-1.

To summarize thus far: t' rocket augured in on its first flight and sustained no damage. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Now it had landed gently t' way it is supposed t' and it popped a fin. Begad! Blimey! A video o' t' second flight can be seen here.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I like this strange little rocket. Begad! It will be fixed and fly again.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5