This is me second Sunward kit, t' first bein' a more complicated rocket, me hearties, t' Phoenix, shiver me timbers, and now t' CFX-3. Arrr! Blimey! This one is nay complicated and is Sunward's simple 4 Fins and a Nose Cone (4FNC) entry level rocket. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! They promote this one for schools by sellin' it in bulk.

This rocket is called t' CFX-3. Blimey! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Nay sure what it means. Begad! Blimey! But it also says, me bucko, ya bilge rat, "the formula for fun". Arrr! It uses Sunward's typical canopy-type nose cone, flies on 18mm motors, and recovers on an 18" parachute. Ya scallywag! Sunward rates t' kit a skill level 2 and calls it a "great beginners kit".

T' rocket kit includes an 18" main body tube that is 1.35" in diameter. This tube is sturdy and is 1/32" thick. Well, blow me down! It also includes t' 18mm motor mount that is made up o' t' motor tube, matey, two large paper centerin' rings, a thrust rin' and an L-screw motor retainer. Aye aye! There are four laser-cut balsa fins, cardstock fin-tabs and t' canopy-type plastic nose cone. Avast! T' recovery system includes an 18" parachute, which needs assembly, and 32" o' ¼" flat-elastic shock cord. Lastly, along with instructions, thar are some peel-n-stick decals.

CONSTRUCTION:

T' instructions are printed on 7 pages o' 8½ x 11" paper. Begad! They include illustrations for every step. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! They are written in English and French. Begad! Well, blow me down! They also include instructions t' perform a swing-test. Blimey! A Fin Markin' Guide and t' 3-Fold Paper Mount are built into t' instruction pages, which are cut out when needed. Aye aye! Arrr! With this second kit, matey, I feel that Sunward has a good standard for instructions bein' thorough and easy t' follow. Arrr!

Since t' built o' this 4FNC rocket is so straightforward, me hearties, matey, I'm only goin' t' outline a couple o' areas o' concern and interest.

Again, because this is now me second Sunward kit, shiver me timbers, I have t' comment on t' motor mount. Begad! Begad! It is made up o' t' 18mm motor tube and two very large paper centerin' rings. As opposed t' Kelo's build o' t' Desert Storm (pictured t' t' right), me hearties, Sunward now provides centerin' rings with pre-drilled holes for t' L-screw. T' fit o' one o' me centerin' rings was loose on t' motor mount tube. Avast! T' motor mount also includes a thrust ring. Aye aye! I have come t' really like this motor mount.

Next t' tube is marked with t' markin' guide and t' fins are prepared t' be attached. Avast! T' fin tabs are cut out o' a provided template made o' card stock. These are then glued t' t' left and right sides o' t' each balsa fin. Ahoy! My fin tabs were a little longer than t' fins, so I trimmed them all before attachin' them t' t' fins (you can see where I trimmed them in t' picture at t' bottom edge o' t' fin). Once t' fin tabs are attached and dry, they are spread (like wings) and t' fins are attached t' t' body tube. Begad! Avast! Usin' t' technique with wood (or white) glue, me bucko, shiver me timbers, allows t' fins t' stay in place really fast. Begad! No alignment jig needed with this technique!

T' bare elastic band is attached t' t' body tube usin' a 3-fold paper method. It is then tied t' t' nose cone. T' parachute is assembled (cut t' shroud lines into 3 equal parts, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, cut out t' parachute, shiver me timbers, attach stick-on round reinforcements, matey, tie t' shroud lines t' t' 'chute) and then attached t' t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! I choose t' cut out t' center o' t' parachute t' make a large spill hole. I did this because I felt and 18" parachute for this size o' rocket was too large. Arrr! I also added a swivel t' attach t' parachute t' t' nose cone.

I finished t' rocket by first usin' several coats o' Plasti-Kote Primer. Ya scallywag! I followed t' exact advice from Sunward (note this is nay in their instructions): "It is particularly important that t' nose cones be THOROUGHLY sanded with extra-fine grit sand paper before painting. Ya scallywag! T' cones are made o' High Density Polyethylene, matey, which tends t' be waxy. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Sandin' this off before paintin' assures that t' paint doesn't peel." I then painted t' entire rocket with some Krylon Gloss Black. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! After drying, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I masked off t' canopy and painted t' nose cone with Walmart White (usin' very, very light coats so as nay t' react with t' Krylon). Blimey! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I then used Book Covers, etc. Prismatic Gold Book Cover. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! After that I applied t' CFX-3 Flame decal, matey, me hearties, t' checkerboard sticker and t' BCN-YA (be seein' you) sticker. I think it made for a nice lookin' rocket.

Overall, shiver me timbers, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4 ½ points. Aye aye! Arrr! It is an easy rocket t' build but I'm disappointed in t' fin tabs nay fittin' properly. Avast, me proud beauty! Yes, it be easily fixed, me bucko, so ultimately, me hearties, it was no problem.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Sunward recommends t' B4-4 (first flight), B6-4, matey, C6-5 or t' C6-7.

My CFX-3's finished weight was 2.9 ounces. Begad! I have created a RockSIM t' give you an idea o' altitudes. Begad! Sunward indicates flights t' 700 feet.

WARNING: My RockSIM is created in 7.01. Avast, me proud beauty! It crashes when goin' into 3D mode because o' that canopy I created on t' nose cone.

Flight preparation requires wadding. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! This size o' tube took 5 sheets o' Estes waddin' t' feel comfortable. Well, blow me down! Begad! After that a motor is installed and t' L-screw is turned t' hold t' motor in place. Avast! I have been very pleased with this type o' motor retention. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I now have 9 flights (4 on t' CFX-3 and 5 on t' Phoenix) and have nay had a single problem with retention.

My first flight be on an A8-3. Blimey! It was straight and stable and low altitude.

I then moved t' B6-4. It too be a very nice flight bein' straight off t' pad with ejection occurrin' just after apogee. Ahoy! I'm glad I cut t' center out o' t' parachute. Begad! Well, me hearties, blow me down! This provides for a very stable (not swingin' back and forth) and good descent rate for this rocket. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! I'd encourage Sunward t' add that t' their instructions.

Next flight, ya bilge rat, followin' t' progression, shiver me timbers, arrr, was on a C6-5. Blimey! Ahoy! This flight was much higher and interestingly t' 5 second delay was good. Avast! I had thought perhaps a 7 would be needed.

So how about this bare elastic shock cord? I expressed concern durin' me Phoenix review about t' 3-fold paper mount and bare elastic shock cord. Well, I'm pleased t' say with 9 flights on t' two models, it is holdin' up very well. Ahoy! Perhaps even better than t' cloth covered elastic. Begad! Arrr! Maybe we're on t' somethin' here. Don't skimp on t' waddin' though.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, matey, arrr, I would rate this rocket 4 ½ points. T' parachute is too big for this rocket. Arrr! Everythin' else is perfect.

I give t' rocket an OVERALL ratin' o' 4 ½ points. Aye aye! This is a good 4FNC rocket for t' beginners graduatin' up from an Estes E2X kit. Well, blow me down! T' canopy nose cone sets it apart from other standard xFNC kits and it has some nice decals as well.