Brief:
An interestin' lookin' kit - single stage 29 or 24mm motors with single stage parachute recovery usin' a floatin' piston.

Modifications:
Recovery system, and motor mount, me bucko, as described below. Avast!

Construction:
One o' Missiles for Peacefull Purposes' creations - t' Raptor is a truly cool lookin' kit. Blimey! I had seen various videos and pictures o' t' rockets and when Physics o' Flight started t' make them, me hearties, I wanted one. Blimey! I had t' wait a while though, before actually gettin' one - I picked up mine at IRW 2002 from Rockets and Things and had a look through t' kit t' see if I had all t' parts. Aye aye! I was actually missin' a payload section eye bolt, arrr, ya bilge rat, one brass crimp and a motor mount adapter centerin' ring, me hearties, and started out on t' build. T' only disappointment was t' elastic shock cord, me hearties, arrr, me hearties, however this be kept, shiver me timbers, arrr, but extended t' 12'.

First up was t' motor mount (29mm inside diameter) which I made up with some two ton epoxy (the part that I least wanted t' fail). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It was all fairly simple stuff. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' main airframe be BT-60 and t' superb quality centering rings fitted a treat. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I had t' cut a notch in t' top two centerin' rings for the steel cable shock cord and made a noose with it that be fitted betwixt the middle and first centerin' ring, me bucko, matey, and then crimped. Begad! Blimey! Just for safety I epoxied the shock cord noose t' t' motor mount. Arrr! Blimey! Avast! Blimey!

Whilst t' epoxy on t' motor mount was curing, matey, shiver me timbers, I set about markin' t' tube for t' fin positions. Well, blow me down! Unfortunately t' fin markin' guide didn't meet up where it was supposed t' on t' tube, so I had t' take t' positions off another Raptor, me hearties, arrr, I did t' standard markin' on t' tube with t' door frame trick, which again proved successful and I marked on t' positions for t' cutting. Begad! Avast! I didn't get any further on t' kit at International Rocket Week but I carried on back at home on t' Monday afterwards. Begad!

For t' tube cuttin' I grabbed me Dremel and cut away happily, t' width of the cuttin' disk bein' perfect for t' gap o' t' brilliantly made CNC cut ply fins. Blimey! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I was quite pleased that t' fins were "through t' wall" as it would provide loads o' added strength - perfect for what I plan t' fly it on.. Avast! Blimey!

Before I epoxied t' motor mount I made a small modification recommended to me by Richard Parkin; I drilled a small (1.5 mm) hole for a bolt and nut t' be fixed through. Blimey! T' nut be glued on t' non-visible side o' t' hole and the bolt would be used for holdin' t' 24 mm motor adapter in place when flown in that configuration. T' modification was very easy and will almost certainly be of great use in t' future and in me opinion such an assembly should be included in t' kit for this purpose. Blimey!

T' Fins were next; these are superb quality CNC cut ply and really fit t' bill for a cool lookin' rocket that is very strong. Ya scallywag! I sanded off all bits o' shavings left by the machinin' and sanded down t' main faces, me hearties, just for a little extra finish. Avast! Arrr! I also sanded t' leadin' edge o' t' fins, for aerodynamics. Ya scallywag! I epoxied them onto the motor mount with Devcon 2 ton epoxy and also attached t' launch lug (a brass PML one rather than t' one included) with t' same stuff. Begad! T' launch lug was later filleted and then smoothed off with a car body filler and t' ends beveled t' roughly 45 degrees. Ya scallywag!

After t' fins were set I filleted t' fins with Devcon 2 ton epoxy and left them t' dry. Begad! This was t' longest part o' assembly as I clamped t' rocket into t' vice and did each set o' fillets (four at a time) so that they would not drip but be nice and smooth and nay leave me havin' t' get me hands covered in epoxy. Aye aye! Arrr! With each fin set takin' about forty five minutes t' cure, this took some time. Ya scallywag!

Next be t' Piston Ejection system. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions say t' peel t' top layer off t' piston tube and soak CA into it and spread it about. This part has t' capability t' leave you stuck quite badly t' t' tube, so I used a pair of clips used for solderin' t' hold it whilst I did this part. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Pliers would suffice. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I think that this point should be included in t' instructions. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! When the CA has dried and been sanded it gives a surprisingly shiny coat, but this does require quite some sandin' t' slide smoothly in t' main tube. Well, blow me down! I found that t' steel shock cord be too short t' position t' piston where it was suggested so I positioned it about 200 mm from t' top o' t' main tube along the elastic shock cord and secured it in place with a knot on either side of the plywood plate and secured with epoxy, shiver me timbers, and then coated t' whole plate and the parts where it touched t' piston with epoxy. Blimey! Ahoy!

I made t' 24 mm adapter as instructed but t' one centerin' rin' that I had was too small for t' 25 mm OD tube. Well, blow me down! This means that I had t' strip off the outside layer o' t' tube as in t' piston and strengthen with CA. T' ring, even with sanding, matey, me hearties, shiver me timbers, was still a tight fit but I managed t' fit it in eventually, and secured it with Devcon 2 ton epoxy. Arrr! Ya scallywag!

I also put in t' 24 mm engine hook and cut t' slot in t' large rin' for the end o' t' adapter. Begad! Arrr! I then marked on t' location for t' bolt for keeping the adapter in place by puttin' a nail in t' hole drilled for t' bolt and then lowerin' t' adapter onto it, arrr, and then drillin' on t' point made. Avast! Begad!

Before painting, any holes and irregularities in t' fillets were filled in with car body filler. Arrr! Blimey!

Finishing:
T' instructions also include a 'paintin' suggestions' page, shiver me timbers, which quite amusingly are printed in Black and white ;-) I opted for a nice metallic blue. T' rocket has no decals with it but t' amazin' and funky looks make up for that....T' ply fins do need fillin' before paintin' t' stop paint seepin' in and spoilin' t' effect

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
I've so far only flown this rocket on a D12-5, arrr, it was a slow and dramatic flight, only slightly underpowered. Ahoy! This will rock on a G, arrr, and will be flying on one shortly hopefully :-)

Recovery:
T' recovery is excellent, ya bilge rat, me bucko, t' floatin' piston chucks out t' chute brilliantly and t' lack o' t' need for waddin' is a huge plus.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5