A couple of months ago, matey, Charlie, t' owner o' HobbyTown USA in Brea, CA told me he was bringin' in PML kits I started gettin' excited. I told him t' hold on t' a Pterodactyl Jr. Aye aye! Blimey! for me (See Kerry's review o' t' kit). Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! When they came in, I opened t' shippin' box for Charlie and pulled out t' Pterry (sorry Kerry). Ahoy! Blimey! I found t' kit easy t' build and very sturdy. Begad! Blimey! I liked it so much I went out and bought a PML Small Endeavor kit.

T' Small Endeavor is also a straight forward PML kit. Ahoy! If you have ever built a kit by this company you will know what I mean. Arrr! It features six precut G10 fins, me bucko, pre-slotted Quantum tubing, a very sturdy 38mm engine mount, piston ejection, tubular nylon shock cord, and a 30 inch ripstop nylon chute with spill hole. Arrr! ( I can personally attest t' t' strength o' these kits as last week t' Pterry forgot her ejection charge and tried t' drill for water in the nearby dry riverbed. T' only damage was a ruined paint job and a loose fin). Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down!

First thin' I did, matey, after checkin' t' make sure that all parts were there, was t' sand t' entire Quantum tube inside and out in t' fin can area t' make sure t' epoxy would adhere properly. I then test fit t' Motor mount and fins to make sure everythin' fit together well. Begad! I built t' motor mount/ shock cord assembly per t' instructions, with no modifications. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! (To protect t' shock cord from ejection, me bucko, I will put a bit o' waddin' on top o' t' motor tube before loadin' t' piston). Avast, me proud beauty! Make sure you don't glue t' aft centerin' rin' on at this time.  At this point, arrr, I installed t' "T" nuts for the motor retention system. Begad! I used 6/32 threads as this is standard for most o' my high power models. Well, blow me down! I have two sets o' t' Giant Leap retention systems and I share them amongst t' different models. Arrr! By installin' t' nuts now, arrr, I can screw in t' cap screws now, this makes pullin' t' rin' out much easier later when reinforcin' t' fin joints on t' inside o' t' tube and on t' motor tube. Begad! Ya scallywag!

Before epoxyin' t' fins in place you need t' prepare them. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! First, ya bilge rat, matey, sand the root edge area t' makin' sure it is clean, smooth and straight. Ahoy! Blimey! Make sure you wipe any dust off. Rough up t' area were t' fin will contact t' main airframe too. Blimey! Blimey! G10 fins are very thin, me bucko, some people will sand a leadin' edge, me hearties, me bucko, me bucko, but I just rounded t' leadin' and trailin' edges. Again, ya bilge rat, before epoxying, make sure ALL areas are dust free. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I have discovered that Epoxy, fiberglass and plastic shavings and dust LOVE t' stick t' surfaces due t' static. Well, blow me down! A damp towel usually will dissipate t' static charge and clean t' dust off. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey!

With t' motor mount and forward centerin' rin' epoxied in place, arrr, and t' aft rin' in place but nay glued, it is time t' epoxy t' fins in place. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! I cut a jig out o' thin card board (see t' illustration). Aye aye! I glued each fin in place one at a time usin' 5 minute epoxy, matey, makin' sure t' jig is holding the fin perfectly straight.  After t' epoxy had set, arrr, I pulled t' rear rin' out and applied generous Fillets on t' motor tube fin joint and the inside airframe fin joint usin' 30 minute epoxy. Avast! Finally, I epoxied t' rear rin' in place makin' sure t' retention screws did nay line up with t' fins.

One o' t' biggest changes be in t' Piston assembly, me bucko, I have heard about short pistons jammin' so I replaced t' 2 inch piston sleeve with a 4 inch sleeve. Begad! Aye aye! (As you can see in t' picture, shiver me timbers, you may also notice t' rear centerin' rin' with "T" nuts and screws ready t' be installed. Well, blow me down! Begad! The fin jig sits t' one side.)

After installin' t' recovery harness, shiver me timbers, in is time t' prepare for Paint. I sanded t' entire model with extra fine sand paper first, then two coats o' Krylon Gray Sandable Primer sandin' in between. I like t' give my projects nicknames from good books and this one is named "Rainbow Six" so each o' t' six fins would be a different color o' t' rainbow. Avast! I gave t' entire airframe a coat o' Gloss White Krylon, wet sanded then another coat o' white. Finally, each fin received a different color. After a quick buff, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I put on t' stickers and three coats o' clear and she's ready to go.

I'm goin' t' put her up a 29mm reload t' first time, we'll see how she does.

I wonder if I can talk Kerry into a Drag race o' "bullet proof" Pterodactyls, matey, then our Small Endeavors?

Brief:
T' Small Endeavour is a simple single stage rocket designed for G - I motors. It is based on PML's Quantum Tube, me hearties, has a 38mm motor mount, uses piston ejection, shiver me timbers, and sports a cool split-fin design.

Construction:
Parts list:
1 - Pre-slotted Quantum Tube airframe
1 - Nose Cone
3 - Lower G-10 fins
3 - Upper G-10 fins
1 - Piston subassembly, including
1 - Phenolic piston body
1 - Nylon piston strap (~4 ft)
1 - Slotted plywood bulk plate
1 - Metal D-ring
1 - 30" ripstop nylon conical parachute
1 - 38mm x 10" phenolic motor tube
2 - 3/16" plywood centerin' rings
1 - Heavy elastic shock cord (~ 9 ft)
1 - 1/4" brass launch lug

T' Small Endeavour came packaged in a plastic bag. I immediately checked that all t' parts were present and reviewed t' instructions. Ya scallywag! Begad! What struck me first was t' mirror-smooth finish on t' Quantum Tube. Begad! It almost looks too good t' paint!

As in many HPR kits, ya bilge rat, matey, t' instructions are brief. Blimey! In addition t' t' main instruction sheet, me hearties, shiver me timbers, thar were individual instructions for t' piston subassembly, me hearties, preparation o' t' Quantum Tube, matey, arrr, and t' chute. Well, blow me down! T' piston instructions included an important discussion on t' amount o' black powder that should be used as an ejection charge. Well, me bucko, blow me down! On t' down side, t' instructions should have addressed t' fit (snugness) o' t' piston. I have t' point out that PML provides a lot o' additional information on their WEB site (FAQs, specs, me bucko, motor selection charts, RockSim files) and has a support representative who monitors t' r.m.r. newsgroup. Blimey! Anyone with web access can get answers to any construction or flight question. I promptly got an answer t' me piston question and have since learned that t' PML kits now include more info from the FAQ and identify t' web address. Ya scallywag!

Out o' t' bag, shiver me timbers, matey, t' nose cone and piston did nay fit into t' Quantum Tube. I sanded t' inner edge o' t' tube and they then fit snugly. Avast! T' CRs and fins fit perfectly. Ya scallywag!

I constructed t' MMT as noted in t' instructions except for t' following two tweaks. I recessed t' front CR by 1" vs. Ahoy! Ahoy! t' 0.25" noted in the instructions. Blimey! This way t' leadin' edge o' t' front fin tab rests against this CR. On t' aft CR, matey, I added some small T-nuts for motor retention. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down!

As noted in t' instructions, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I sanded all areas that had t' be glued, includin' t' inner and outer fin fillets. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I then installed t' MMT and fins pretty much per t' instructions. Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' ensure their alignment, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I installed the upper and lower fins at t' same time. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I clamped t' pairs o' fins together usin' a plastic ruler and two 3/8" binder clips. Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' T-nuts provided an easy way t' remove t' aft CR, arrr, which was nay glued in until after t' fins (includin' inner fillets) are completed. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

As mentioned earlier t' fit o' t' piston body be very snug. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! PML recommends that their pistons "should slide easily in or out with just a little push or pull". Arrr! I sanded t' piston until I thought it met PML's criteria. Ya scallywag! However, t' only way t' know if I sanded it enough is t' try it.

I installed Blacksky rail guides in place o' t' provided brass lug. One of the rail guides is installed immediately above t' aft CR and t' other is immediately below t' forward CR.

Finishing:
While thinkin' about painting, me bucko, I noticed thar were no decals in me kit. Avast! The PML web site claimed that thar should have been so I shot an email off. Evidently, me kit was produced before t' decals were provided. No problem - three days later they were here.

In preparation for finishing, I wiped t' QT with rubbin' alcohol, me hearties, lightly sanded it, and wiped it down a second time. Avast! I also filled t' nosecone seams and t' flaws in me fillets with SuperFil from Shadow Composites. SuperFil is a light epoxy filler that is very easy t' sand. Ahoy! I used 3 coats o' Krylon white primer, me bucko, sandin' betwixt each coat, ya bilge rat, and two cans o' Testors Burgundy Purple Metal Flake applied in four thin coats.

T' self adhesive decals were nay easy t' install. Ahoy! In order t' fit the flames and t' "Small Endeavour" text as shown on t' PML web site, me bucko, I had t' cut out t' clear decal material from betwixt t' outer legs o' the flame. Begad! Aye aye! These outer legs had t' overlap t' fillets. Also, these decals really grab hold (this is probably a good thin' in t' long run). Avast, me proud beauty! I didn't get the last section where I wanted it. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! However, it wasn't too bad and since I was scared it would lift t' paint, I left it where it was.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I couldn't use t' commercial motor clips that I already had because thar is not enough room betwixt t' motor mount and body tubes. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! Instead, arrr, I fashioned a clip from coat hanger wire and some electrical bayonet-style terminal lugs. I place t' end o' t' wire through t' barrel o' t' lug and bend a 1/8" section at a 90 degree angle. I then bend t' foot o' t' lug t' opposite direction, make t' proper bends so t' wire conforms t' me Giant Leap 29mm - 38mm adapter with a SU G80 installed, shiver me timbers, and repeat t' termination procedure at the other end. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! T' adapter had t' same shoulder dimensions as a RMS casing. This way t' retainer holds both a RMS casin' and a SU motor in t' adapter. This procedure doesn't always result in t' prettiest retainer, arrr, but is easy and has always worked for me.

T' maiden flight be on 3/10/2001 in Middletown, MD at t' NARHAMS launch (my thanks t' t' hosts!). It was quite windy so I opted for a G35-7 t' keep the flight low. My home-made Igniterman igniter worked perfectly. Avast! T' Small Endeavour arched into t' wind and because o' t' trajectory, t' ejection was quite late. Avast! However, arrr, t' recovery was perfect and thar wasn't a scratch on the rocket. Ahoy! T' piston worked fine despite me worries.

I plan t' fly it on a G80 next and then, hopefully, a new H242 "Redeye" reload (turnin' blue while holdin' me breath). Avast, me proud beauty! Watch for updates in t' flight logs.

Recovery:
I decided t' keep t' strap elastic shock cord. It is stronger than t' average elastic, arrr, it should nay come in contact with t' ejection gas, and t' rocket is not very heavy. I looped t' elastic over on itself about two inches and sewed it.

T' 30" conical panel chute is made o' heavy rip-stop nylon and has a large (5") spill-hole. It appears t' be o' above average quality for this size chute. I added an eyebolt t' t' nose cone and used quick-links t' connect the shock cord t' t' nose cone and piston. Aye aye! Begad! Finally, matey, I used a heavy duty swivel that I obtained from Giant Leap t' connect t' chute t' t' shock cord. Ahoy! The added weight should nay be an issue on this rocket and t' recovery components are now removable.

As I said earlier, t' ejection on t' first flight be late. Although it was quite windy, arrr, t' spill-hole in t' chute kept t' drift down. Ya scallywag! It appeared that a larger chute should be used, especially if t' terrain is rough.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Overall this rocket went together easily. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' QT and piston took a bit more work than t' other simple HPR kits that I've built, shiver me timbers, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Ya scallywag! T' question is whether these items were worth t' effort. Ya scallywag! The bottom line is that I don't think I have enough experience t' pass final judgment. Ya scallywag! T' QT provided a great finish, but I don't know how it will hold up over time. Begad! T' piston worked for me, but I've only lit one motor in it. Nevertheless, here are t' PRO's and CON's o' this kit based on me experience to date:

PRO's:
T' kit used high quality components (sturdy NC, G10-fins, QT airframe). T' QT provided a great finish. Although t' instructions themselves could have been better, me hearties, me bucko, t' excellent online data and support more than made up for them. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! No waddin' needed, easy flight prep.

CON's (all minor issues):
Decals were missing, me hearties, arrr, but they were easily obtained from PML. Piston instructions were unclear. Avast! Although t' online FAQ provides guidance, ya bilge rat, it is not perfectly clear as t' how snug t' fit should be. Ya scallywag! T' elastic shock cord - however, me hearties, this is a common issue with every entry-level HPR kit I've built.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5