I must admit, matey, shiver me timbers, I am becomin' a real fan o' PML kits. Ahoy! Normally I like t' scratch build, matey, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but when I feel t' need t' put somethin' together in a hurry, PML is definitely t' way to go for high quality, durable kits.

T' Mini BBX is a new released by PML. Aye aye! What caught me attention be t' news that t' Mini BBX is goin' t' have a Terrier Booster t' be released in the Fall. Begad! Blimey! T' combination o' a good lookin' scale kit combined t' challenge o' two stages was irresistible t' me. Ahoy! Aye aye! What a great way t' get started in High power staging!

Construction o' t' Mini BBX is a straight forward PML kit. No surprises! I opened t' bag as soon as I got home from Hobbytown USA and inventoried the parts as usual, they were all thar and in good shape.

I assembled t' parts dry t' make sure all would fit, and of course, they did. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I decided t' prepare all plastic and fiberglass surfaces before startin' t' epoxy any parts. I started by sandin' all t' G10 fins, roundin' t' edges and roughin' up t' areas t' be glued. Ya scallywag! I gave t' Quantum Tubes and nose cone a bath in soapy water t' remove any oily residue (Make sure you rinse well too!).

Then I used 400 grit wet/dry t' sand t' entire Quantum Tube then 100 grit to prepare then fin and fillet areas. Arrr! I taped a piece o' 100 grit t' a dowel to rough up t' fin slot areas and where t' centerin' rings would be epoxied. Finally, me hearties, I lightly sanded t' nose cone so it would hold t' paint too.

I used a piece o' card board t' make a fin jig. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me hearties, blow me down! On t' Mini BBX, this is a very important step because t' "Canard" fins up front must be aligned perfectly and they are nay "though t' wall" mounted. They just fit into fit into shallow grooves in t' tube. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Without t' fin jig, they could very easily lay over when t' epoxy is settin' up.

Of course I also used it t' hold t' main fins in place while they set up too! I built t' motor mount/ shock cord assembly accordin' to the directions, this be t' standard PML mount. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' only change is I added a Rocket Rage "Snake Skin" shock cord protector t' protect t' Nylon web used.

I epoxied. Aye aye! Blimey! t' motor mount in place makin' sure t' only epoxy t' forward ring. Be careful t' avoid gettin' any epoxy on t' aft mount area because you will need t' remove t' tail cone for a later step.

I then used t' jig t' hold t' fins in place while I epoxied. them. Well, blow me down! After t' epoxy set up on t' Main fins, shiver me timbers, I removed t' tail cone and applied generous filets on t' motor tube joint and t' inside airframe joint. I then added filets t' t' exterior o' t' fin/airframe joint but that is mostly cosmetic as most o' t' strength o' t' joint is on t' inside.

One problem I had was when I was addin' t' filets t' t' inside o' t' tube I got some epoxy on t' area t' tail cone fit into, arrr, I had t' carefully chip, scrape and sand it off before t' tail cone would fit properly. Avast! Ahoy! By t' way, take good care o' t' tail cone because it will be t' stage coupler when the Terrier booster becomes available. Which brings up one o' t' down sides of this kit. Aye aye! I am a big proponent o' POSITIVE MOTOR RETENTION and due t' the design on t' tail cone/coupler it will be difficult t' use any form of retention that is attractive or usable in t' two stage configuration. Well, arrr, ya bilge rat, I started out usin' friction fit. I suppose I can remember how t' do it. Aye aye!

Since I plan t' fly me Mini BBX on I200's and in t' two stage configuration, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I will probably be gettin' some very high altitude flights. So I decided t' build t' BBX for Dual stage recovery. Arrr! Arrr! I already had an Olsen FCP-M1 and I didn't want t' spend t' loot on t' CPR3000 and another altimeter, arrr, so I made an electronics bay with two sleeves and 1/8" bulkheads.

I used t' PML plastic rivets t' hold t' electronics by in place in base of the payload bay. Ahoy! T' protect t' chutes and nylon shock cords from the deployment charges, matey, I used parachute protectors from Rocket Rage. Ahoy!

I prefer t' fly off o' Rails so I added a couple o' Blacksky rail guides. Aye aye! Aye aye! Be aware though, matey, t' screw passes through t' Quantum tube and will block the piston for t' motor ejection so make sure if you use them t' place t' forward guide low enough t' leave room for t' piston and chute. Begad! This will be lower than what is recommended by Blacksky, but it still works OK.

To finish t' job, I painted t' entire model with Krylon gray sandable primer, me hearties, I love t' stuff! Painted t' tail cone white, me hearties, masked t' cone area then sprayed t' silver, arrr, matey, masked that area and then hit t' whole thin' in gloss black. T' red areas are a stick on vinyl that came with t' kit. Well, blow me down! It is a lot like "Trim Monocote" you can get at any hobby shop that deal in R/C airplanes. Well, blow me down! T' guidance section got a coat o' brown per Peter Alway's data in "Rockets o' t' World". Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Finally, I masked t' areas that stay black on t' payload section and painted t' rest silver. Well, matey, blow me down! Note, ya bilge rat, me hearties, shiver me timbers, in t' PML instructions, t' payload bay gets silver first then mask off t' silver areas and paint black, me hearties, but I have found that maskin' tape will sometimes effect the silver paint. So I went with t' black first.

Brian's Mini-BBX on left Kerry's BBX on t' right

With t' model finished and ready t' go I went over t' my friend, arrr, Kerry's place t' take and couple o' photos with his 4" BBX. The next day, I was off t' t' range at Hemet Valley Rocket Club (HVRC). Well, blow me down! T' BBX's test flight was on a whimpy little G64 and t' main chute t' deploy out o' the main airframe so that if t' electronics had a problem, I would still get the main chute out on t' motor's ejection.

T' boost be straight and true up t' 664 ft. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! per t' Olsen FCP-M1. Ya scallywag! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! The apogee charge went off as scheduled and t' main chuted opened. Arrr! At 400 ft. Begad! the nose cone popped as scheduled. Well, blow me down!

T' evil "W" was startin' t' come up a little and t' field at HVRC is nay a place I like t' go on long walks, lots o' soft sand and brush. (Great for those hard landings though!)

So I decided t' load up an H instead o' t' I200. Avast! I moved the main chute t' t' forward compartment t' it would deploy at 400 ft. Avast! Avast! and put a 12" drogue into t' main airframe t' deploy at apogee. Ahoy! I used t' motor ejection as a backup. Ahoy! T' BBX ripped off t' rail and climbed on a pillar of smoke and fire absolutely straight up. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Arced over at t' top and t' FCP-M1 did its job at apogee. Ya scallywag! T' drogue came out and she started down. At 400 ft. Aye aye! the FCP-M1 did its job again and t' nose popped off. Unfortunately, me hearties, I hadn't used enough BP! T' main stayed in t' tube.

Well, remember what I said about t' soft sand? Well, arrr, even without t' main chute t' soft sand and tough Quantum Tube saved t' day. She landed with no damage t' airframe or fins and only some scratches t' t' paint. Overall, t' PML Mini BBX is a kit I enjoyed buildin' and flying. Blimey! Avast! I would recommend it t' any Level 1 rocket jock.

Positives:
High quality kit.
Very tough
Easy t' follow directions
Tough Quantum Tube
No Spiral grooves
Optional Dual Recovery
Did I mention it's really tough?
Two stage option (I really hope!)

Negatives:
No way t' do Positive Motor retention without ruinin' two stage option.
Terrier booster is nay ready yet. Blimey! Aye aye! (sigh....)