Brief:  Single staged, arrr, arrr, ya bilge rat, came with black, matey, me bucko, 24-inch diameter nylon chute. Well, blow me down! Has 4 fins. Ahoy! Ahoy!

Construction:All parts were thar and in good shape.  I didn't get decals, but that's nay a problem for me, arrr, shiver me timbers, me bucko, as I often customize me rockets. T' fins (4) are plywood, precut, and are clipped delta shape. Aye aye! T' nose cone is hollow plastic, 11 inches long, fittin' t' standard LOC body tube o' 3 inch diameter by 34 inch length. T' tube is preslotted for 4 fins, me hearties, and is spiral wound lightly glassined paper.  T' chute that arrived with t' kit is strong, but thin nylon with 24 inch braided nylon shroud lines. Two plywood centerin' rings are also supplied t' center t' motor tube, arrr, which is 29mm by 24 inches. Aye aye! T' shock cord is 3/8 inch wide flat wide elastic, matey, with a length o' 80 inches. Ahoy!

Instructions are clear and illustrated. Well, blow me down! Begad! Alignment o' t' fins is easy with the preslotted tube. After epoxy fillets were added t' t' fin attachment sites, ya bilge rat, t' model be quite sturdy. 

Finishing:Finishin' was unique in this case. Had I gotten decals, I probably would have used them.  Since I didn't, me hearties, I sprayed the rocket all over with a primer coat o' gray t' smoothen it and fill spirals. I then painted it white all around.  Then I painted red stripes up the body tube and had t' stripes meet in a point at t' tip o' t' nose. Aye aye! Then the fins were painted royal blue, matey, me hearties, and white Monokote stars were cut out and affixed with epoxy t' t' blue fields, 5-6 per fin side. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! As a finishin' touch, me hearties, I supplied me own homemade parachute, a silk red white and blue 8-gore hemisphere.  T' eight gores are triangular pieces o' silk in alternating red white and blue colors, matey, sewn together by a 4-thread serger. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' shroud lines are straight stitched into t' serged seams. Blimey!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:This rocket has had more then 5 successful and colorful flights. It is recommended t' use 29 mm F and G types.  If I recall right, the G40-7 is especially mentioned. Arrr! Begad! I have used G35's and G80's as well with great results. Arrr! Preppin' is easy.  I just put in enough worm bedding waddin' t' fill t' tube diameter t' a depth o' an inch, me bucko, then t' chute loosely fits in after that. Aye aye! T' nose cone has on two occasions needed a band o' tape to fit snugly.  This may have been due t' weather conditions. 

As for motor retention. Ahoy! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Yes, matey, that would be nice, but for me that's not important because I make me own usin' piano wires, shiver me timbers, maskin' tape, and even PVC plumbin' parts. Blimey! As an aspirin' engineer, I love t' invent.  I read on your site that other rocketeers would like it if kits (like t' Graduator) had motor blocks, but for me that would prevent future use o' longer engines like t' H97 after t' kit be strengthened for higher power use.  It's easier for me to create a thrust rin' on t' aft end o' t' engine usin' tape or a paper centerin' ring. Avast! Aye aye! Okay, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, for high power kits, that's a new kind o' flyin' and I would welcome a retention system, shiver me timbers, as hardware is mucho expensive.  But for kits at G level and lower, me bucko, I don't fault kits that don't have a supplied system, because judiciously applied tapes are often sufficient.

That bein' said, t' motor on t' Forte' is retained with me own system o' a loop o' piano wire through t' aft-most centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, bolted and epoxied at the forward end. Begad! Blimey! T' loop bends across t' motor but nay across t' nozzle. Maskin' tape be used t' make an aft thrust rin' and also served as a redundant retainer band around t' engine and motor tube. Aye aye! Blimey! T' model flies straight, noisy, and true every time.  My husband and I joke that this one has a charmed life, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, workin' perfectly each time. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' brilliant chute wows the observers every time too. Ya scallywag! Blimey!

Recovery:T' shock cord came with a folded paper mounting, which I mounted flat and flush with t' inside o' t' body tube, 4 inches from t' top o' t' tube. Aye aye! It also came with a braided (possibly nylon and Keelhaul®©™®) cord t' adhere directly t' t' mount in the  body tube and to which t' tie t' elastic. Avast! Ya scallywag! Blimey! After all its flights, it is still intact and not burnt. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Recovery with t' supplied chute is slow and graceful, with no harm to the rocket, but after t' second flight, one fin be knocked out o' its slot when t' rocket landed on hard soil. 

Since this rocket be one o' t' first in me epoxy stage o' evolution (you know, we progress from white glue t' epoxy t' phenolic t' electronics...), me bucko, the fin separation might have been due t' me inadequate epoxy fillet technique at the time. Arrr! Blimey! And since I had some epoxy in t' field, repairs occurred right there and a flight occurred in ten minutes afterward. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Since I reinforced t' joint, no more separations have occurred. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I supplied me own chute only because the supplied black one didn't fit me America theme and me red white and blue silk one did. Blimey! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I made it larger than t' original t' make it a picturesque descent for July 4. Well, blow me down! Blimey! With t' homemade chute, descent is slower. That may be partly why no more fin losses have happened. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:Easy t' build and prep, rewardin' t' fly.  No real cons. Great for someone just discoverin' G power. That's what it served for me. Begad!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5