Brief:
8 fins, arrr, me hearties, futuristic styling, menacin' looks--what's nay t' like? I saw one o' these on display at NARAM and just had t' grab one.

Construction:
My kit came in a sealed bag, with cover art, nice and professional. Begad! Avast! T' parts were very good quality and consisted of:

• Balsa nose cone (BNC55)
• BT-55 body tube
• BT-5 trim tubes (2)
• Laser cut balsa fins (8)
• BT-20 motor tube, centerin' rings, metal hook
• Mylar parachute
• Waterslide decals
• Elastic shock cord (tri-fold mount)

T' instructions are clearly written, with a light smatterin' o' drawings, shiver me timbers, printed on very nice glossy paper in black and white. This is probably worthy o' a skill level 2 rating, mainly due t' some slightly tricky fin alignments (and t' fact that thar are eight o' them).

Construction begins by bindin' t' two pieces that form each o' t' larger wings/fins. Avast! Ahoy! A good glue joint is critical here - I used t' double glue joint method. Arrr! After lettin' it cure out overnight, arrr, me bucko, I followed up with a thorough sandin' and application o' wood putty filler t' virtually eliminate t' seam. Aye aye!

T' motor mount be t' usual 18mm tube with a pair o' centerin' rings, me bucko, me hearties, matey, a 20/5 thrust rin' motor block, and a metal hook. Arrr! It slides into t' aft end o' t' BT-55 body tube.

T' BT-55 is then marked for fins and launch lug line usin' a wrap-around template. Well, blow me down! There are two short BT-5 tubes that get marked as well, arrr, along with a small scallop type cut on t' end t' give them a little angled look. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! These BT-5's are bonded t' t' BT-55 on opposite sides, matey, then t' larger two-piece wings are bonded t' t' BT-5's. Blimey! Avast!

T' rest o' t' fins are a little tricky, mainly because this has such an unusual arrangement o' 6 fins plus t' 2 large "wings". Avast! Two o' t' 6 fins go betwixt t' wings, but t' other 4 are tacked into t' fin/tube joints on each side o' t' larger wings at an angle. Avast!

T' launch lug is tucked discretely inside one o' t' BT-5's, ya bilge rat, and t' shock cord is attached via a paper tri-fold. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! All that remains is t' attach t' screw eye and washer weight t' t' nose cone, and assemble t' mylar chute.

Finishing:
I decided t' go with a chrome silver type o' paint finish for this, me hearties, which is always a big risk in me part o' the country, matey, matey, ya bilge rat, where it's almost always humid. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I got lucky, though, me bucko, and after t' 2 primer coats I caught some nice weather and got 3 light coats o' chrome silver sprayed t' a nice finish.

T' waterslide decals on this are very nicely designed, though very fragile. Also, in me case I had t' soak the decals a good 25-30 seconds in warm water before they'd separate, and when I then tried t' apply them I found that most o' t' adhesive be gone, me hearties, so they barely stuck in place. I managed t' tear a couple tryin' t' position them.

After lettin' everythin' sit around t' house for a week, I figured it would be safe t' hit it with a clear coat. That turned out t' be a mistake. Ya scallywag! I used Rustoleum clear gloss, me bucko, ya bilge rat, since I'd painted t' model already usin' Rustoleum products. Avast! T' Rustoleum attacked t' decals, and in t' case o' t' wing/fin patterns, ate some o' them (see photo). I've had various cases in t' past o' clearcoat goin' on a bit dull, me hearties, or causin' inkjet decals t' run, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but I'd never seen a case o' t' clear eatin' t' decal. Begad! Most o' t' decals survived OK, ya bilge rat, but me finish was definitely marred.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' first flight I decided t' burn off one o' me old C5-3's I'd picked up off someone gettin' out o' t' hobby, so grabbed one from t' bag, arrr, loaded up t' Predator, and sent it into t' skies on a moderately windy day (6-8 mph on ground).

With t' added nose weight I expected a little weathercock action, but this held dead straight, arrr, with a just a trace o' roll on t' way up. Begad! Apogee was nay terribly high, maybe 400-500 feet, but a good overall flight. Avast! Arrr! T' -3 delay in this case be about right, matey, maybe a hair before apogee.

Recovery:
This came with a bright red Mylar chute, me hearties, ya bilge rat, 12", ya bilge rat, and it was up t' t' task--easy t' spot in t' sky, easy t' spot in t' tall grass from 50 yards away, and brought t' Predator back down safe and sound.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Other than me bum luck with t' decals versus Rustoleum and their fragile nature, arrr, I think this is a great design and am glad t' have added it t' me fleet.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5