Brief:
This review is for t' 2010 EMRR Challenge "Two on One" review.

Duane Boldt and Alan Boldt contributed t' this review.

Alan:
This 26.5" 2-stage rocket is purple and yellow with cool decals. It is easy t' build and thar are nay many parts. T' Mongoose has plastic, one-piece fin units on both t' booster and sustainer.

Construction:
Components:

• 1 - 18" Purple body tube
• 1 - 2" Purple booster body tube
• 1 - Yellow nose cone (50YR)
• 1 - Nose cone adapter
• 2 - Plastic fin units
• 3 - Green adapter rings
• 2 - Gray engine block rings
• 1 - 1/8" x 24" elastic shock cord
• 2 - 2.75" blue engine mount tubes
• 1 - Yellow reinforcement ring
• 1 - 1/8" launch lug
• 1 - 12" plastic parachute
• 1 - Green adapter ring
• 1 - Sheet o' self-stick decals
• 1 - Folded sheet o' instructions

Duane:
PROS: This kit makes a nice fast kit t' build with school classrooms or school rocketry clubs. Blimey! Blimey! It is long enough t' satisfy t' 24"+ requireement for t' NARTREK Cadet Mercury Level and also t' fly t' multi-stage flight in t' later Cadet level. Avast! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! It be easy for us t' build completely with thick CA glue.

Alan:
CONS: T' only two cons are that t' body tubes are nay very strong and can be crushed if you are nay careful. Begad! Also, if you break any o' t' plastic fin sets, shiver me timbers, they are difficult t' repair. Begad! Most glues, even plastic cements, don't work well on them.

Duane:
T' instuctions are typical Estes instructions and are easy t' follow. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! We were buildin' ours with a group o' students and used thick CA glue from LongLongJonRocket.com t' speed things up. Ahoy! Since we used t' CA, we were havin' t' wait for t' glue t' dry more than 10-15 seconds before movin' on t' t' next step.

1. Well, blow me down! T' booster is assembled with t' short purple body tube, and engine tube, ya bilge rat, engine block rin' and an adapter tube.

2. Begad! T' upper stage involved a similar process with t' longer purple body tube and similar parts.

** One thin' you need t' be careful o' is gluein' t' engline block rin' in t' correct position in t' booster and sustainer. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It goes t' t' behind where t' motor will be in t' booster and forward o' t' motor space in t' sustainer. Begad! Blimey! We had t' "undo" one or two o' t' engine block rings. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Just follow t' instructions and you will be fine.

3. Arrr! We marked t' line for t' launch lugs before installin' t' sustainer motor mount/fin assembly. Begad! Then glued in t' motor assembly into t' sustainer body tube.

4. We marked for t' launch lug possitions along t' line drawn in step 3 and then scraped just a little paint off t' tube at t' marks. We then glued on t' launch lugs.

5. Aye aye! Aye aye! We also used CA t' glue t' nose cone parts together,

6. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! We actually used a hot glue cannon for t' attachin' t' "3-fold" shock cord mounts inside t' body tube. Ahoy! This saves some mess and works well as long as you glue it good and while t' glue is still hot and liquid. Ya scallywag! (We have only ever had one come apart and that is when a rocket a much too short delay and t' nose cone came off while it was still travelin' very fast.)

7. Begad! Begad! T' parachute was tied t' t' nose cone mattachment point along with t' loose end o' t' shock cord.

There you go. Ya scallywag! A very fast build in one short session even with a group o' kids. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket performs well and as long as you do nay crush t' tubes, as Alan mentioned, t' rocket wil make many successful flights.

Finishing:
Duane:
There really isn't any finishin' other than applyin' t' decals. Aye aye! they are typical self-adhesive decals. T' kids like them a lot and had fun puttin' them on. Well, blow me down! Nay quite as nice as waterslide decals, ya bilge rat, but easy t' apply.

Alan:
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Duane:
We mostly flew B6-4 motors for single stage flights and B6-0 / B6-6 combos for two stage flights. T' rocket performed great. Blimey! Blimey! T' field we were lauchin' at is great for up t' B motors. C's and multi-stage sometimes get devoured by t' rocket eatin' trees or are carried by wind t' a make some other lucky kid happy. Well, blow me down! Overall great performance on our flights.

Recovery:
Alan:
PROS: Very easy t' assemble parachute. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! No damage if packed correctly. Lands nay t' far from pad in low wind conditions.

CONS: T' body tubes were kind o' flimsy and sometimes were crumpled on landing, matey, if parachute didn't deploy fully. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! One student, arrr, launchin' with us, shiver me timbers, did loose their sustainer on a multi-stage flight with too much wind.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Duane:
PROS: T' Mongoose is a simple t' build kit that works good for classroom building. It is easy enough that it can be built quick and with little hassle when workin' with larger numbers o' kids. Ahoy! It also works for several o' t' NARTREK Cadet required flights includin' Level 1 build with plastic fins, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, 24"+, me bucko, and Multi-Staged.

CONS: T' tubes are a little flimsy and t' paper can sometimes peel. Treat tube ends with thin CA before buildin' t' keep them from unraveling.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other:
Alan:
T' Mongoose is a simple rocket t' build and flies well.