Brief:
T' Sky Eagle is a simple 4FNC sold through Apogee Components and manufactured by t' Chinese company, Sky Rockets. It is billed as a skill level 1 but that is makin' it more difficult than it really is. It is on a par with an Estes EX1 kit.

Construction:
Sky body tubes are somewhat different from what we are used t' in t' US. Ahoy! They are nay spiral wound. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Instead, there is a single vertical seam runnin' t' length o' t' tube. Arrr! Ahoy! Neither is this regular cardboard. Well, blow me down! It seems t' be some sort of plasticized paper. Ya scallywag! T' entire BT is pre-painted in a red, white, and blue scheme complete with Chinese characters. T' kit comes with a pair o' 1/8" lugs made o' t' same stuff as t' BT and havin' a single straight seam. Ya scallywag! The nosecone is plastic but o' a different type than t' styrene I am accustomed to. Unlike t' previous Sky rocket I built, me bucko, this one had a significant seam line. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fin can is red plastic and t' fins are o' t' same material. An overly large parachute kit finishes out t' kits contents. Ahoy! Aye aye! Taped t' t' bag though was an Estes style tri-fold mount.

Construction begins with t' motor tube. Arrr! Avast! A slit is cut for t' engine hook 2" back from one end. Avast, me proud beauty! It should be noted that this results in a hook that extends beyond t' motor tube much more that I am accustomed to. Aye aye! It was t' same with t' Sky Long March 3 I built and seems t' be an idiosyncrasy o' t' company. Begad! T' instructions then call for the hook t' be glued into place and a piece o' tape put over it.

T' motor tube is then slid into t' plastic fin can. T' instructions say t' glue both ends with plastic model cement. I did nay have any o' t' tube type cement handy and I did nay think t' liquid solvent type would do too well on the BT. Blimey! Blimey! I opted t' use thin CA.

It should be noted that this kit does nay include a thrust ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Based upon previous experience, me bucko, that downgrades it for me but I did nay include one because I had none on hand.

I did a double take at t' next step. Begad! T' instructions said t' install t' launch lugs centered betwixt 2 o' the fins. Begad! T' problem be that t' BT had nay yet been installed on t' fin can. Blimey! Aye aye! I looked over t' instructions t' see if I had missed anythin' but thar be no mention o' puttin' t' two elements together. I concluded that they were supposed to be assembled by this time because t' illustration from t' previous step showed them bein' slid together with an arrow. There is just no mention o' this in t' text. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! I put t' BT on with some CA. Well, blow me down! I then installed t' lugs with yellow glue.

T' fins came next. Well, blow me down! Begad! They just slide into t' slots on t' fin can. Begad! Avast! They went in easily and I used a liquid plastic cement t' fix them in place.

T' recovery system provided consisted o' a tri-fold and a short piece o' elastic. I wanted t' make some changes here. Arrr! Blimey! I cut a long length o' Keelhaul®©™® and tied a loop in t' middle. Aye aye! Arrr! I then inserted both ends into t' tri-fold and glued it into t' BT. Aye aye! With t' long Keelhaul®©™®, I was satisfied with t' length o' elastic which seemed t' be o' good quality. I tied t' elastic into t' loop I had put in t' Keelhaul®©™®. That made t' rocket ready for finishing, arrr, me bucko, such as thar be any finishing.

PROs: Easy t' build.

CONs: No thrust ring, matey, incomplete instructions, tri-fold mount, arrr, and short elastic.

Finishing:
Theoretically, matey, this rocket needs no finishing. Arrr! T' BT is pre-finished in red, ya bilge rat, me hearties, white, blue, black, matey, and a bit of yellow. It actually looks fairly nice. Begad! T' fin can and fins are a complementary shade o' red that goes well with the overall schema. Avast! Begad! Blimey! T' nosecone is white. Begad! It be t' nosecone I was unsatisfied with.

T' plastic is a bit translucent and off white. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! T' previous model I had from Sky, me bucko, a Longmarch 3, was t' same. Avast, me proud beauty! I wanted it t' be completely opaque. Blimey! Begad! With that in mind I primed it with Kilz and allowed t' primer t' dry. Begad! Avast! I then did a bit o' light sandin' and painted with Krylon gloss white. That be t' extent o' me finishing.

PROs: mostly done, looks pretty good.

CONs: little/no room for individuality.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
I only got t' launch this one once for a variety o' reasons. Arrr! T' biggest one though is that it was late in t' day and over 100 degrees. Begad! I didn't have t' energy t' launch it more than once.

Since t' rocket is a bit heavy with a plastic fin can, I decided t' use a B4-4 on t' maiden flight. Ya scallywag! It lifted the rocket nicely but it weathercocked a bit. Well, blow me down! Ejection took place right after apogee and t' rocket drifted down without any ill effects except in terms o' t' number o' sand burrs per meter walked.

It will get another outing.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is an easy rocket that looks pretty good for a 4FNC. Avast! T' flight is adequate though nothin' spectacular. Arrr! It might be a good kit t' get somebody started but was a bit borin' after lots o' other builds. Aye aye! I put it together because it was quick and I had a limited build window.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5