Brief:
T' Lightnin' Strike is a 5 foot tall clustered 3x18mm rocket with lightning bolts for fins. Accordin' t' t' manufacturer, ya bilge rat, 1,000 foot flights are possible with three C6-5 motors.

Construction:
T' kit came packaged in a plastic bag with a very professional lookin' header card and included t' following:

• 3 BT-60 body tubes
• 3 upper fins
• 3 lower fins
• 2 tube couplers
• 1 balsa nose cone
• 3 motor mount tubes
• 3 thrust rings
• 1 18" red mylar parachute
• 1 shock cord mount
• 1 bulkhead
• 2 1/4" launch lugs
• 2 nose cone screws
• 1 screw eye
• 1 instruction booklet
• 1 fin markin' guide
• 1 sheet o' waterslide decals

I would rate this at least a high skill level 2 project due t' some o' the construction techniques utilized in t' construction o' this kit.

T' instructions were very easy t' understand and included a lot o' text and color photos. There were a few typos though but it was nay a problem. Avast! No templates were included in t' instructions but a fin markin' guide is included with t' kit.

T' build this kit you need: White, CA or epoxy glue, hobby knife, masking tape, me bucko, me bucko, scissors, matey, pencil, ya bilge rat, ruler.

I started by assemblin' t' motor mount assembly. Blimey! T' thrust rings are inserted into t' tubes by usin' a spent motor casing. T' three motor mount tubes are then glued together. Ahoy! One great tip included in t' instructions is sandin' all t' glassine off t' tubes before gluing. Avast! Trust me, shiver me timbers, this works very well. I then applied glue fillets t' complete t' motor mount assembly.

After t' glue dried, me hearties, I glued t' motor mount assembly into one o' the BT-60 tubes. Aye aye! Begad! You may notice that thar are no centerin' rings used. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Instead, you must shove gluey wads o' paper towel t' seal off t' gaps betwixt the tubes. Ahoy! This proved t' be a very messy and time consumin' technique. Aye aye! I would have preferred centerin' rings.

I took t' body tube with t' motor mounts in it, sanded t' glassine off it, matey, cut out t' fin markin' lines and marked t' tube for t' fins and launch lugs. I then attached t' fins one at a time. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Even then I found t' fins difficult at best t' attach due t' their size. Aye aye! Blimey! After all fins were secure, me bucko, I added several fillets for strength. Blimey! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I then took another BT-60 tube, shiver me timbers, me bucko, arrr, sanded it and drew a line on it and made a mark for t' second launch lug.

I differed from t' instructions a bit here by securin' t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord mount in a paper anchor instead o' just gluin' it t' t' internal wall o' t' coupler like t' instructions mentioned. I then glued t' shock cord mount into t' coupler. Ahoy! Avast! T' get t' couplers t' fit properly in t' body tubes, I had t' remove t' top layer o' paper and sand them smooth. Avast! I then glued t' coupler into t' marked body tube. Begad! When t' glue dried, I aligned the lines and glued t' tube into place.

I assembled t' bulkhead assembly at this point. Arrr! Aye aye! I glued t' bulkhead into the remainin' coupler and applied fillets on both sides for strength. Aye aye! Blimey! I then screwed t' eye bolt into place.

A nice touch with this kit is that it includes two thick HPR type 1/4 inch launch lugs. Ya scallywag! I glued them on one at a time and added several fillets t' each one for added strength.

I then tied t' elastic shock cord into place and tied a loop in it for the parachute. Begad! Blimey! T' parachute was attached t' t' shock cord as instructed.

T' nose cone can now be attached in one o' two ways. Avast, me proud beauty! First, it can be made removable by screwin' it into place with t' included screws. Second, me hearties, me bucko, it can be permanently glued into place. Ya scallywag! I decided t' glue it on but I decided t' wait until after it be painted t' attach it as I didn't particularly care for the appearance o' t' screws.

PROs: High quality parts, me hearties, quick build.

CONs: I didn't like havin' t' use wads o' gluey paper towel t' seal off the gaps in t' motor mount assembly. Arrr! T' fins were somewhat difficult t' attach.

Finishing:
After everythin' was sanded smooth, I sprayed t' entire rocket with coats of white Ace brand primer and sanded betwixt coats. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I followed t' paint scheme on the header card. Begad! I then sprayed t' fins and nose cone with gloss enamel.

After t' yellow paint was completely dry, me bucko, I masked off t' fins and sprayed t' body with gloss red enamel. Avast! Wow!!! I could nay believe how much paint this would require. Begad! T' can was about 3/4 full when I started and was just about empty when I finished.

After t' red paint be completely dry, me hearties, I applied t' water slide decals without incident, matey, let them dry overnight and applied clear spray enamel to protect them.

PROs: Easy t' finish, me bucko, stock paint scheme be easy t' duplicate.

CONs: Required a LOT o' paint but I'm nay sure this could be considered a CON due t' t' rocket's size.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended motors for this rocket are three Estes C6-5 motors. Aye aye! I had received an email from Tom o' RocketHead recommendin' against t' use o' B6-4s as it would result in a low and potentially heart stoppin' flight. T' three motors are friction fit into place and waddin' is required t' protect the parachute.

For t' first flight, I loaded t' rocket up with three C6-5s installed with ignitors and then packed some dog barf type waddin' t' protect t' chute.

I loaded t' rocket onto t' pad with a 1/4" rod. I also used a Thrustline 3 motor clip whip t' insure simultaneous motor ignition.

At launch, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, all three motors lit with no problems and t' rocket took off with some minor wobblin' at first since it was a bit windy, me hearties, ya bilge rat, but then it straightened out nicely and continued up t' about 700 feet or so, me bucko, arched over and deployed t' chute without incident.

PROs: Flies great

CONs: None that I can think o' here.

Recovery:
T' 18" parachute appeared t' be t' right size and brought t' rocket down safely. Avast! After landing, it was unfortunately dragged through t' grass by the wind. As a result, I noticed an area where t' fin peeled away from the body tube but was easily fixed with some CA. I then touched up t' paint and it looks almost new again.

Due t' t' size o' t' fins, this rocket will almost likely suffer fin damage at some point. Blimey! Since t' fins are 1/16" ply, me bucko, it will most likely to be t' type o' damage mentioned.

PROs: Correct size parachute, recovered nicely.

CONs: Fin damage will most likely be an issue with this rocket.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I really liked this kit and think it will made a great addition t' anyone's fleet for $24.95 direct from RocketHead Rockets. Blimey! T' only thin' I didn't particularly care for was t' motor mount assembly and t' fins may or may not prove t' be an issue. Begad! Maybe large epoxy fillets might prevent this.

Main PROs: Nice finished appearance and flight performance, high quality parts used throughout, reasonable price.

Main CONs: Minor motor mount assembly and fin issues. Aye aye! Arrr! Nothin' major though.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5