T' Venus Probe is an unusual Estes kit t' build and fly. There are two pieces t' t' completed rocket - a booster and a three-legged lander, ya bilge rat, me hearties, complete with an alien on top.

This is NOT an easy rocket t' build, arrr, matey, and should only be built if you have built several rockets already.

INSTRUCTIONS:
T' Venus Probe's instructions, at first glance, ya bilge rat, seem t' be complete and well illustrated. Aye aye! But, when you read them, you find that they are numbered strangely. Ya scallywag! T' assemblies have numbered sections, but these are nay consecutive through t' entire instructions.  For example, shiver me timbers, me bucko, t' lander has steps 1,2,3 and so on; t' booster has steps 1,2,3 etc. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' pages are nay numbered, so it is easy t' get confused.

Instruction sheets should always have every single step numbered consecutively from beginnin' t' end. Blimey! Arrr! Estes does this with most o' their kits, ya bilge rat, so they should know better.

T' usual tools were needed, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, includin' plastic cement for t' lander. Begad! Wax paper is needed t' lay t' fins on while they are drying.

EASE OF BUILD:
Again, ya bilge rat, this is nay an easy kit t' build. Ya scallywag! T' fins come in sections, shiver me timbers, so they have t' be glued together and put on wax paper t' dry. Avast! Ahoy! This is nay as easy as it sounds, shiver me timbers, as they must be lined up precisely.

T' lander stage is also somewhat complicated, matey, as t' landin' legs must be assembled from many small pieces o' dowel and plastic.

An assembly hint: Make sure t' alien's back is directly in line with one o' t' lander legs. Aye aye! T' alien's back is where t' parachute is attached, and it does nay make a three-point landing, t' front side o' t' alien lands first. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! You want two legs t' cushion t' blow and stabilize t' landing, so make sure thar be only one landin' leg behind t' alien's back.

All t' parts were in me kit and alignment was very good.

QUALITY:
This kit is a sturdy one. Aye aye! I have never had any problems with t' lander or t' booster unit, arrr, me bucko, despite several launches and many hard landings. Another reviewer indicated a problem with their body tubing, me bucko, me hearties, but t' body tubes on me Venus Probe are still in fine condition.

T' only possible weak link be t' BT-20 body tube which connects t' top tube and t' bottom tube o' t' booster. Blimey! Blimey! Again, me bucko, I have had no problems with this. But, you could strengthen this tube by makin' "coolin' fins" that extend t' length o' t' body tube.

Decals are excellent and help improve t' look o' t' model. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! This model looks great with t' recommended black and white paint job, arrr, which is easy t' do by maskin' t' model.

T' only complaint I have in this area is that Estes recommends that t' alien be painted fluorescent green. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Everybody knows that REAL aliens are gray, so I painted mine accordingly, shiver me timbers, matey, with gloss black eyes.

FLYING:
My Venus Probe is a veteran o' several flights, shiver me timbers, includin' some hard landings. Blimey! Aye aye! T' alien has landed on his head, ya bilge rat, with no other apparent damage than a possible headache. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! T' booster has lawn-darted, matey, shiver me timbers, collectin' a 3" core sample for t' alien t' brin' back t' his home planet. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! But this is a sturdy rocket and has survived all o' these Roswell-type landings, without any alien autopsies t' date.

Before I built me Venus Probe, me bucko, I noticed that other people had lackluster performance with their Venus Probes and t' recommended Estes C6-3 engine. Ya scallywag! I do nay recommend this engine combination, me bucko, it barely gets t' alien high enough t' eject. Begad! Avast! There are two different ways t' solve this problem: One is t' use Aerotech 18mm engines, ya bilge rat, which will give your Probe more power. T' other is t' re-fit t' Probe with a 24mm engine mount and use Estes D12-3 motors in it.  I chose this method, as D12-3's are less expensive than Aerotech D's.

I designed me own "D" motor mount and used t' existin' body tubes, but if you need plans for a "D" motor Venus Probe, they can be found in t' September/October 1997 issue o' Sport Rocketry, on page 19. Begad! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! My Venus Probe flies magnificently on "D" motors, powerin' up t' a respectable height and puttin' on a crowd-pleasin' show. Begad! I recommend usin' "D" motors in t' Venus Probe.

Recovery is tricky with t' Venus Probe. Arrr! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' upper body tube is nay very large for two parachutes. Ahoy! I had several chute failures until I figured out t' solution: don't use any 18" chutes.  I use a 12" chute for t' booster and an 8" chute for t' lander.  These are dusted heavily with talcum powder before flight, matey, me bucko, t' prevent sticking.  Since I started usin' smaller chutes, me hearties, I have had successful landings.

RATING:
T' Venus Probe would have gotten 5 points from me, matey, except for two problems, arrr, matey, t' instructions and t' underpowered motor mount. Begad! Blimey! It also appears that Estes rates this as a Skill Level 1 kit, which would be an error. Begad! Blimey! This kit is at least a Skill Level 2.

I rate this rocket at 3 ½ points.

I recommend t' Venus Probe t' anyone who wants an exotic, me bucko, X-Files kind o' rocket. Blimey! Begad! It is a real crowd-pleaser, me hearties, and fun t' build and fly.