Brief:
T' Panther Attack is a single-stage rocket from Cycline3 with t' look o' a missile. Ahoy! T' rocket has 3 sets o' 4 fins, a 12' elastic shock cord, rail buttons, arrr, and a rectangular Cycline3 Frankenchute parachute (mine is green with yellow puffy-strings).

Construction:
T' kit came with a single cardboard body tube, balsa stock and template for the fins, matey, plastic nose cone, 12' o' 1/4" elastic shock cord, ya bilge rat, rail buttons, and a piece o' card stock for makin' t' centering-rings (see polyurethane method below). T' sizable airframe tube is light and came with one considerable crimp in it, shiver me timbers, me hearties, apparently damaged in shipping, ya bilge rat, although t' kit was packaged very well for shipping. It didn't look t' me like anythin' serious to worry about, matey, so I proceeded with construction. T' finished rocket has a sort of crimp visible on one side, but looks good overall.

T' instructions were complete and simple t' follow. Arrr! T' most intriguing feature o' construction be t' use o' polyurethane glue in t' construction of the motor mount. Paper card stock is used t' make centerin' rings which contain the glue and align t' motor tube but offer no structural support. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! The polyurethane glue, when expanded and dried forms a honeycomb-like matrix surroundin' t' motor tube, shiver me timbers, fillin' t' void inside t' airframe. Begad! Blimey! I have used plenty o' this type o' glue for projects around t' house and be well aware of the pitfalls o' usin' too much--it keeps on foamin' and expandin' for an hour or so after application and can fill spaces unexpectedly. Arrr! This happened t' me in this case, arrr, as I went a bit overboard with t' glue on t' top end o' the motor mount. Begad! I rammed a broom stick up through t' motor tube every few minutes for a couple o' hours t' clear excess foamin' glue from t' front end o' the motor tube. Blimey! Blimey! This be effective, matey, if messy. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! Had I nay been attentive and aware of the glue as it attempted t' seal off t' front end o' t' motor tube, flights would have require a bit extra black powder t' effect deployment... In t' end, I think this is a very good method o' motor mount construction and I will probably use it in some o' me other projects.

Naturally, me hearties, I got way too much polyurethane glue on t' aft end o' t' motor mount too, and I had t' cut a bunch o' this away later in order t' tape my motor in place. I do seem t' get carried away with t' polyurethane glue, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but there is somethin' oddly satisfyin' about watchin' it foam up and expand.

T' fins required a bit o' sandin' and shaping, me hearties, which is tricky with the tiny front fins. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' balsa was o' good quality and worked well. Well, me hearties, blow me down! I followed the instructions and mounted and filleted all fins with 5-minute epoxy. Blimey! This worked well. Begad! T' large aft fins feel very sturdy despite their size.

I installed t' three-fold shock cord mount as suggested. Ya scallywag! Begad! This seems adequate and should nay be difficult t' replace when necessary. Begad!

I punched holes in t' airframe for rail button mountin' before finishing, but waited t' glue t' buttons in place until after finishing. Avast, me proud beauty! There be no clear description o' this process in t' instructions but t' requirements were obvious.

Overall, me bucko, I built t' kit as described. It required considerable time to deal with 12 fins and t' unusual motor mount construction. Ahoy! I saw no defects in the kit or instructions except t' omission o' t' point about rail button mountin' and t' boy tube crimp. Ahoy! T' kit be satisfyin' t' build and I plan to build t' 3-motor fat rocket soon.

Photo courtesy o' Cycline3 Rocketry      

Finishing:
I sanded t' fins a bit before installation. Avast! Blimey! I sanded them a bit more after one coat o' brown primer. I did nay apply any more primer and I did nay fill the fin grain or body tube spirals. Begad! Blimey! T' crimp in t' airframe looked fine, me bucko, matey, ya bilge rat, so I did not try t' cover it in any way. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Structurally it looked t' be OK. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I then applied the top coats o' paint, ya bilge rat, tryin' t' approximate Sean's paint scheme, which I think is pretty cool. I didn't have quite t' right paints around. I looked for some o' t' tool-box metal lookin' gray paint at Kmart but they were out. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! I improvised a bit and added a few pointy features in silver near t' forward fins at t' request o' me 3-year-old daughter. Arrr! Blimey! "Dude, me bucko, ya bilge rat, arrr, I don't mean to sound queer or nothin', but this paint job is HOT!" (Quote adapted from Orgasmo for you fans o' Utah cinema.) I discovered once again, that paint fails t' hide big globs o' epoxy used in fin fillets.

Overall, me hearties, I like t' missile-look paint scheme, and I added t' four US flag decals that came with t' kit. Well, blow me down! Avast! I epoxied t' rail buttons on after t' paint was mostly dry.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I chose a single-use AT E15-4 for t' first flight. I did nay find a RockSim file online nor have I tried t' make a RockSim model o' t' rocket myself, but this be t' motor I had handy. Blimey! Launch day be 80 degrees and sunny in the desert with a 5-10 MPH breeze. Begad! Visibility was limited only by t' distant mountains. Arrr! T' shock cord and chute pretty much filled t' airframe. I remembered t' put in some waddin' first. Arrr! This was me first rocket t' use rail buttons. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I think I gummed up t' igniter a bit, and t' motor sputtered 5 or six times, matey, causin' t' rocket t' hop up and down and burp a few times on the rail but then it took off just fine. Avast! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I think it probably went well over 1000' and deployment looked t' be perfect. A longer delay might have been better. The long shock cord worked well and t' chute appeared t' be o' t' appropriate size for t' rocket. Well, blow me down! It landed in dirt and suffered no damage. Ahoy! T' flight was very nice t' watch. Avast! Blimey! I plan t' launch again soon with an F motor.

Recovery:
PROs: Fine, ya bilge rat, fast take off. Reasonably straight boost, me hearties, rail worked well. Recovery be good. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! No apparent wear t' any o' t' parts.

CONs: none.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I would definitely buy t' Panther Attack again. Well, blow me down! This was me first Cycline3 kit and I bought it because I like t' design and Sean's paint job. Arrr!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5