Brief:
This is sure a strange rocket. Ya scallywag! It is 7.5' tall and uses a balloon for t' body o' t' rocket! Fins and an engine mount are attached t' t' balloon which uses an 11' parachute for recovery. Avast! Avast! It flies only on a D12-3 engine. T' whole thin' weighs about 10 ozs.

It costs $19.97 at Walmart and that includes a launch pad and controller! Blimey! T' launch pad is just a plastic stake that you stick in t' ground with a three piece rod that screws together (almost like t' Aerotech Mantis rod but slightly smaller diameter) and a large 10.5" blast deflector. T' controller is a standard Electron Beam.

I don't think t' rod is very good and it bent a lot with t' weight o' t' rocket and with a small breeze.

Construction:
T' huge body is one large silver mylar type balloon, similar t' t' silvery party balloons that have become popular in recent years. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! T' fins and motor mount are attached t' a plastic sub-structure which t' bottom o' t' balloon fits in. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! T' plastic structure is glued together usin' airplane glue. T' balloon is inserted into t' structure and taped t' it.

At t' top o' t' rocket (actually 18" down) be t' nose rin' and it houses t' weights which are required t' properly set t' CG. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' rin' is already pre-assembled and is held in place by tape. Begad! Blimey! T' plastic fin/motor mount assembly takes about an hour t' put together and most o' that time is waitin' for t' glue t' dry.

T' fins consist o' a plastic frame and a sheet o' mylar glued t' it. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fins are already assembled.

T' motor mount is plastic and houses a D12-3. Begad! Begad! There is a retainin' plastic cap that holds t' motor in place. Arrr! At t' top o' t' motor mount is a right angle plastic pipe and a cardboard tube which sticks out about 3" from t' side o' t' rocket. Arrr! T' waddin' and parachute are stuff in there. T' motor mount/right angle tube/cardboard tube assembly is already put together for you along with t' chute. From t' nose rin' up on top is attached a fishin' line which drapes down along t' outside o' t' rocket and is attached t' t' chute.

Estes gives you a straw t' blow up t' balloon. Aye aye! I used helium instead o' air which has been stated on t' Newsgroups t' lighten up t' rocket by 2 ozs. It blows up fast. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! But after 2 days it was gettin' limp as t' air was leakin' out o' it.

T' launch lugs are attached t' t' balloon usin' tape. Arrr! T' tape is supplied.

T' instructions are typical Estes with pictures and words in English and French. Arrr! Begad! T' whole thin' goes together really fast. There is one thin' t' look out for. Arrr! You are instructed t' insert these 3 plastic rin' supports into t' body rin' usin' one drop o' glue. Well, blow me down! Be careful here. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! If you use too much glue and clog up t' rectangular opening, shiver me timbers, you won't be able t' insert t' fin assembly tabs later on.

Also, one other point which isn't clear is they say position t' nose rin' 18" from t' tip o' t' rocket. Begad! Begad! But it isn't clear if you measure 18" t' t' top or bottom o' t' nose ring. Aye aye! T' rin' itself is about 1". Aye aye! I don't think it is critical.

T' whole assembled rocket is kind o' flimsy with a lot o' flex in t' large fins.

Finishing:
There are no decals supplied and no paintin' is required. Begad! You just assemble t' rocket and fly!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' only recommended engine is a D12-3 which puts it up about 300'. There is a plastic cap which twists on t' motor tube t' hold t' engine in. Arrr! Estes recommends tappin' t' launch rod 19" up from t' blast deflector. They don't say why but it is t' position t' rocket high enough off t' pad. Begad! There be a light breeze and with t' flimsy launch rod and t' large surface area o' t' rocket, t' rocket was very tilted on t' pad. Begad! Begad! It was impossible for me t' get t' rocket t' stand up straight! That 3 piece rod bents a lot! But because it was still safely aimed and because o' t' large field, matey, I flew it anyway.

Recovery:
On t' first flight it went straight up, slowly, arrr, arched over and finally t' chute came out. Blimey! Blimey! Although t' 11" chute seems small, it brought it down what looked like a good landin' on grass. Begad! T' fins, which hit first, really flexed a lot and I thought maybe were broken. Well, blow me down! When I got t' t' rocket, me bucko, me bucko, all fins were fine but t' rocket was almost deflated. T' top part o' t' rocket, me hearties, me bucko, when it hit t' ground, got 3 small cuts in t' balloon which smartly let t' air out. Aye aye! Nay havin' any scotch tape t' repair, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I had t' call it quits. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! I believe many people will have problems with t' balloon contactin' t' ground and gettin' small cuts. Aye aye! Perhaps a larger chute would help.

On t' second flight I removed t' tape wrapped on t' rod at 19" because I felt it be holdin' t' rocket too far up on t' rod, arrr, causin' t' rod t' bend even more than what it could handle. Ahoy! And I still could nay get t' rocket aimed t' way I wanted because o' t' bendin' rod and wind. Begad! Removin' t' tape be a mistake. Avast! Begad! Because on t' second flight with t' engine almost sittin' on t' deflector, t' engine blast deflected off t' deflector and hit AND MELTED t' balloon. Aye aye! Even before t' rocket clear t' rod, t' rocket was deflated enough t' make it go out o' control and crash right near t' pad. Aye aye! I have a video o' it on me site (click button above or below) on t' rocket video page. Ya scallywag! Attached you see a picture o' t' bottom o' t' rocket with t' melted holes.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket gets a lot o' attention where ever it goes. Begad! Its 7.5' tall and is bright silver. Begad! It comes with a launch pad and controller for $19.97 at Walmart. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! If you are like me and fly high power rockets and engines, flyin' a 7.5' balloon rocket from Estes is more or less just for fun and ha ha's. Avast! It is nay a serious rocket but then again, it doesn't suppose t' be.

Pro: Its big, its cheap, shiver me timbers, it flies good, shiver me timbers, it draws a crowd. It goes together very quickly. Ahoy! Blimey! It goes only about 300' so you can fly it almost anywhere. Begad! It comes with a launch pad and controller.

Con: It rips easy and t' launch rod is too flexible.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5