Brief:
For those who have outgrown t' Deuce's Wild cluster from FlisKits, me bucko, this 3-motor cluster be t' big, shiver me timbers, matey, me hearties, bad cousin t' t' Deuce. With it's huge fins and giant smoke trails, shiver me timbers, this rocket will certainly command attention at t' pad.

Construction:
T' kit includes:

• BT-55 18" body tube (upper)
• BT-60 18" body tube (lower)
• BT-20 motor tubes (3)
• Balsa nose cone
• Balsa fin stock (1/8" lower fins, 3/32" upper fins)
• Custom centerin' rin' for t' cluster mount
• 16" plastic chute
• Balsa transition
• Elastic shock cord

As is typical of FlisKits, t' instructions were clear and easy t' follow with plenty o' helpful illustrations. Arrr! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! This was especially important with what is a very unusual and relatively difficult cluster mountin' arrangement. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' instructions also include a nice primer on clusterin' techniques, shiver me timbers, me hearties, though I suspect most customers of this kit have already mastered t' basics o' clustering.

T' clustered-motor assembly is accomplished through a neat little pyramid structure bonded t' a custom centerin' ring. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' 3 motor tubes are then bonded to t' pyramid, me hearties, resultin' in 3 motors evenly spaced and angled outwards slightly from t' center. Ya scallywag! This is what creates such an awesome cloud o' smoke at liftoff.

Since t' canted cluster doesn't fit completely into t' BT-60 body tube, you must use a template t' mark t' tube and cut out elliptical slots for the motor tubes. Begad! Avast! Even with t' template, matey, you'll still need t' do a test fit and at least one or two trim/cleanup attempts for a perfect fit. After gluin' the cluster assembly into t' body tube, be sure t' apply very generous fillets to the seam betwixt t' body tube and t' motor tubes.

T' upper and lower fins are each sets o' 3 and both are two-piece construction, me hearties, so you'll have lots o' tracing, cutting, me hearties, sanding, shiver me timbers, and fillin' t' do on this project. These fins seemed huge for t' body size, me bucko, me hearties, but with 3 angled motors, me bucko, probably necessary for complete stability. Avast! Fins are attached and filleted, and I stepped outside o' t' standard directions for this, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, bondin' an upper and lower fin at the same time, arrr, so that I could lay them on a flat surface t' cure. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! This keeps the upper and lower sets perfectly aligned.

T' shock cord is flat elastic attached via an Estes-style tri-fold. Aye aye! Arrr! This is one weakness in most FlisKits and in particular with a 3-motor cluster, me hearties, I decided t' go with a Keelhaul®©™® cord attached t' t' cluster assembly, attachin' t' elastic t' a loop on the end o' t' Keelhaul®©™®, well protected from ejection blasts.

Finishing:
After generous amounts o' diluted Fill 'n' Finish t' fill t' spirals and balsa grain, I applied 3 coats o' Krylon primer, ya bilge rat, me bucko, followed by two coats o' a white base. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I then decided t' trim t' fins red, me hearties, nose cone and transition blue, shiver me timbers, and usin' t' template for a "3" provided in t' kit, me hearties, trimmed a blue "3" on t' lower fins. Ya scallywag! T' header card in t' kit shows a very nice lookin' black & yellow paint scheme, which would probably have been easier, but I just happened t' be out o' yellow paint at t' time...

One peeve t' t' finishin' I had be with t' "3" template: I found maskin' and paintin' six 3's on t' lower fins was too time consuming, and even though I was fairly careful, I still got some bleedin' through the maskin' tape. Ahoy! I really think this kit needs either a water-slide decal set or at least some basic vinyl numbers t' tack on t' 3's.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' conditions were very good for first flight, shiver me timbers, arrr, matey, flyin' on a beautiful spring day with winds around 8 MPH. Begad! I went straight for t' max C6-5's (they were on sale at t' local Meier's, arrr, which I took as a sign from t' rocket gods). Arrr! I lit all 3, and t' Tres scooted off t' pad in a surprisin' hurry. Avast! Ahoy! T' three motors easily overcame t' high drag fins, and it started on a fairly straight climb.

For some reason, after climbin' about 200 feet, it arced over t' a nearly horizontal flight path, then did a couple o' windin' loops. Ahoy! I'm nay sure if this be t' wind, shiver me timbers, a bad motor, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me bucko, or t' nature o' this beast, but t' kids playin' soccer nearby loved it. I was a bit disappointed, as I'd had no stability problems at all with me Deuce's Wild.

T' chute deployed without a hitch, matey, and everythin' came back in good shape, ready t' fly again. Avast! Ahoy! I'll be reloadin' with B's next time, matey, and will update the flight log below t' reflect any improvements in stability.

Recovery:
T' 16" chute is a bit small for this, and as noted earlier, shiver me timbers, I'm no fan of tri-fold shock cord mount. Avast, me proud beauty! I'll be upgradin' t' 18" nylon chute for future flights, ya bilge rat, arrr, especially if it deploys on a horizontal flight path.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a very good rocket and great concept from a top-notch company. Aye aye! O' the many outstandin' rockets I've built from Fliskits, this was probably me first disappointment. That's nay t' say it's a bad rocket, just that I've never had a flight problem before and be eager t' see this 3-motor trail o' smoke. Hopefully, this be just affected by a gust o' wind and will be problem-free in the future.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5