Brief:
ARG Rockets Trident Cluster Series "D or E" rocket with payload section manufactured by Taras Tataryn o' Advanced Rocketry Group Ltd. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! in Mississauga, Ontario, me hearties, shiver me timbers, Canada. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! This kit features a 3 x 24mm motor mount with wedge fin attachment. Begad! Recovery o' this rocket is by a high visibility 24" rip stop nylon parachute.

Construction:
Taras was kind enough t' ship t' kit t' me from NARAM 47 well packaged in a clear plastic bag with a color face card for Kit #TS-3 Trident Cluster Series rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Included are three pages o' build instructions and an additional 8" x 14" single page detailed dimensioned assembly drawin' t' assist with t' placement o' some items explained in t' build instructions. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty!

T' followin' parts are included with this kit:

• 1 Sustainer Airframe (2.22" x 11")
• 1 Payload Section (2.22" x 9")
• 1 Nose Cone, Foam
• 3 Motor Tubes (1.02" x 17")
• 1 Coupler Tube
• 1 Bulkhead Disk, arrr, Plywood
• 1 Screw Eye
• 1 Cluster Bulkhead, Plywood
• 3 Fins, shiver me timbers, Plywood
• 3 Motor Blocks
• 2 Launch Lugs
• 1 Balsa Launch Lug Stand-off
• 1 Shock Cord, Keelhaul®©™®
• 1 Shock Cord, shiver me timbers, Elastic
• 1 Parachute, shiver me timbers, 24"

All plywood parts are laser cut. Ya scallywag! T' nose cone is foam with an outer hard shell and is very smooth with no seam lines, lightweight (2.8oz), ya bilge rat, and easy t' finish. Well, blow me down! The instructions are well written and easy t' follow. Ya scallywag! Additional tools required to finish this model include hobby knife, matey, ruler, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, pencil, epoxy, ya bilge rat, sandpaper, shiver me timbers, masking tape, arrr, and spray paint.

Assembly is broken down into four separate assembly steps: motor mount assembly, payload section assembly, arrr, fin assembly, arrr, and final assembly. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' parts required for each o' t' four steps are listed with that particular steps assembly instructions. This is a well planned method t' lay out assembly since you gather only t' parts you require for each o' t' four steps instead of pullin' from t' entire bag o' parts. Also listed within these instructions are the parts list and launchin' instructions.

T' additional 8" x 14" detailed dimensioned drawin' outlines coupler/bulkhead, matey, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, motor block/motor tube, ya bilge rat, Keelhaul®©™® shock cord mounting, me hearties, fin bevel, and launch lug/stand-off placements for the T222-24. Blimey! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I found this drawin' and additional information a nice addition t' the kit and very helpful. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I kept it handy durin' all assembly steps t' glance at from time t' time t' assure proper placement o' t' parts as I went through each o' t' four construction steps. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

I used AeroPoxy ES6220 fast settin' liquid epoxy adhesive for t' entire build. It has a workin' time o' 4-6 minutes and cures very rapidly. Blimey!

I used t' Keelhaul®©™® and elastic shock cord included with t' kit. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I added a Pratt Hobbies 2,000 degree Aramid cloth heat shield parachute protector t' use as permanent flameproof recovery waddin' and anchored it t' t' Keelhaul®©™® cord.

Finishing:
T' T222-24 was finished with 3 coats o' Kilz sealer/primer sprayed only on the fins t' fill in t' wood grain. I then sprayed 3 light coats o' Krylon gloss white for a base on t' entire lower section and when dry followed up with 3 light coats o' Krylon #3101 red/orange fluorescent paint. Krylon gloss black was used for t' payload section and nose cone. Arrr! Begad! I used chrome and black self-adhesive Monokote cut t' size for t' additional chrome and black trim bands.

Phred at Excelsior Rocketry produced an excellent decal sheet from a scan I provided o' an EnerJet logo decal sheet that I purchased many years ago from AAA Model Aviation Fuels. Blimey! Ahoy! Phred recommended in t' provided instructions t' use Microscale liquid decal film, matey, arrr, micro set and micro sol t' apply t' decals. Well, blow me down! Begad! I used all three o' these Microscale products with very good results. These EnerJet logo decals are available for sale from Phred on t' Excelsior Rocketry website and are located with t' Centuri waterslide decals.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
First flight was at t' Tripoli Louisiana "High Cotton" launch on Saturday October 22, ya bilge rat, 2005. Arrr! Ahoy! I used 3 D12-5 motors with maskin' tape for a friction fit into t' motor tubes and used Quickburst "Poppers" electric matches for ignition. Begad! Ya scallywag! Instant cluster motor ignition with a very straight, matey, arrr, fast boost t' an estimated apogee o' 1,150 feet.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a very nice kit based on t' EnerJet 2250 soundin' rocket originally produced in 1972 and designed by Larry Brown for EnerJet. T' original EnerJet 2250 by design used a cluster o' three 29mm motor mounts. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

Several upgrades in t' ARG kit, arrr, such as Keelhaul®©™® shock cord, arrr, me bucko, hard foam nose cone, arrr, and laser cut plywood parts, are welcomed improvements t' t' original design. Fans o' t' early EnerJet soundin' rockets will appreciate buildin' this rocket t' experience t' early high power rocketry design and construction techniques that were used back in t' early 1970's includin' wedge fin attachment and clustered motor flights. U.S. Blimey! Blimey! Rockets and LOC/Precision also still use this wedge fin attachment design in some of their current kits and I find it interestin' that over three decades later it's still an efficient and proven construction technique used today in current HPR kit construction.

ARG has also released t' Trident T172-stretch that flys on 3x18mm motors and will soon release t' T172-18 and t' T263-29 kit for 3x29mm motors. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty!

All-in-all this kit is a good value as priced and a unique and rewarding rocket that you will be proud t' display and fly at your next launch. My thanks to Taras Tataryn for t' historical EnerJet images and data he provided.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5