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

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

T' instructions were complete and simple t' follow. Begad! T' most intriguing feature o' construction be t' use o' polyurethane glue in t' construction of the motor mount. Begad! 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! The polyurethane glue, when expanded and dried forms a honeycomb-like matrix surroundin' t' motor tube, fillin' t' void inside t' airframe. Well, blow me down! I have used plenty o' this type o' glue for projects around t' house and was 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. Blimey! Begad! 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. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! 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! Avast! This was effective, me hearties, if messy. Blimey! Avast! 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... Arrr! Begad! 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, I got way too much polyurethane glue on t' aft end o' t' motor mount too, arrr, 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, but there is somethin' oddly satisfyin' about watchin' it foam up and expand.

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

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

I punched holes in t' airframe for rail button mountin' before finishing, but waited t' glue t' buttons in place until after finishing. Aye aye! Begad! There was no clear description o' this process in t' instructions but t' requirements were obvious.

Overall, I built t' kit as described. Begad! It required considerable time to deal with 12 fins and t' unusual motor mount construction. Avast! I saw no defects in the kit or instructions except t' omission o' t' point about rail button mountin' and t' boy tube crimp. Ya scallywag! T' kit was 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. Aye aye! Blimey! I sanded them a bit more after one coat o' brown primer. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I did nay apply any more primer and I did nay fill the fin grain or body tube spirals. Arrr! Blimey! T' crimp in t' airframe looked fine, me hearties, shiver me timbers, so I did not try t' cover it in any way. Aye aye! Blimey! Structurally it looked t' be OK. I then applied the top coats o' paint, me hearties, matey, arrr, tryin' t' approximate Sean's paint scheme, shiver me timbers, matey, which I think is pretty cool. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I didn't have quite t' right paints around. Blimey! Blimey! I looked for some o' t' tool-box metal lookin' gray paint at Kmart but they were out. Blimey! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! "Dude, ya bilge rat, 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, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I like t' missile-look paint scheme, and I added t' four US flag decals that came with t' kit. Ya scallywag! 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. Begad! I did nay find a RockSim file online nor have I tried t' make a RockSim model o' t' rocket myself, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but this be t' motor I had handy. Avast! Ahoy! Launch day was 80 degrees and sunny in the desert with a 5-10 MPH breeze. Avast! Visibility was limited only by t' distant mountains. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' shock cord and chute pretty much filled t' airframe. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I remembered t' put in some waddin' first. Blimey! This be me first rocket t' use rail buttons. Ahoy! I think I gummed up t' igniter a bit, and t' motor sputtered 5 or six times, causin' t' rocket t' hop up and down and burp a few times on the rail but then it took off just fine. Ahoy! I think it probably went well over 1000' and deployment looked t' be perfect. Blimey! A longer delay might have been better. Ya scallywag! The long shock cord worked well and t' chute appeared t' be o' t' appropriate size for t' rocket. Aye aye! It landed in dirt and suffered no damage. T' flight was very nice t' watch. Avast! I plan t' launch again soon with an F motor.

Recovery:
PROs: Fine, me bucko, matey, fast take off. Begad! Reasonably straight boost, matey, rail worked well. Recovery was good. 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. Arrr! Blimey! This was me first Cycline3 kit and I bought it because I like t' design and Sean's paint job. Begad! Blimey!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5