I had often looked at this kit and wondered how those twin parachutes would work. Begad! Well, blow me down! I found out one day when a friend launched his and had only one chute deployed. Ahoy! Begad! T' recovery be a little hard on t' rocket and broke one o' t' pods off t' side o' t' rocket. Arrr! Readin' t' other reviews, I have learned that this be t' rule and nay t' exception for this rocket. I determined that me rocket would nay suffer that same fate, me bucko, me hearties, but what t' do?

Eventually I decided t' build this kit as a standard pop-the-nose-off style recovery rocket. Avast! This requires little modification t' t' kit. First t' vent tubes are nay used, matey, me bucko, arrr, throw them into your spare parts box. Aye aye! Second find a suitable tube coupler and put it inside t' main body tube where t' vent holes are t' cover them. Ahoy! Blimey! T' side pods then are attached t' t' rocket t' cover these holes so fillin' them is nay an issue. Ahoy! Begad! T' vent holes in t' side pods can be glued against t' body tube or facin' away from t' body tube. Blimey! I decided t' place them away from t' main body tube t' see if they would cause a whistle as t' rocket flew, matey, and in t' remote possibility if I wanted t' continue t' modification t' parallel stage or cluster t' rocket. If I were t' do that I would come up with a more secure way t' attach t' side pods t' t' main body tube, I think that requires a more secure mountin' method than a strip o' glue betwixt t' tubes, but I digress...

T' nose cone o' t' kit is then attached in t' normal way, ya bilge rat, do nay glue it at this point as t' instructions say or you will have a "lawn dart" instead o' a rocket. Use one o' t' shock cord mounts and t' provided shock cord in t' normal fashion. Begad! Swap out t' two 12" parachutes for a single larger one, me hearties, 15" or 18" with a spill hole.

T' first flight was usin' a B6-4 Estes motor with an 18" parachute with a very large spill hole. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' launch be good and straight, ya bilge rat, once t' motor burned out you could hear a whistle that faded as t' rocket slowed down and coasted t' apogee. Begad! Begad! Just after apogee t' ejection charge blew t' nose cone off and in t' process severed t' shock cord. Avast, me proud beauty! T' booster section fell harmlessly t' t' soft grass o' t' field and t' nose cone floated down on a tangled parachute. Avast! After recoverin' t' pieces it was noted that t' parachute was burned and t' shock cord be scorched. Begad! Obviously thar wasn't enough waddin' in t' rocket. Also a smaller parachute would be easier t' pack into t' body tube.

T' second flight be also on a B6-4. T' shock cord was tied back together and a 12" parachute was used. Begad! Blimey! This time t' parachute did nay get caught and t' recovery was perfect.

As much as I liked t' aft ejection o' t' parachutes on this model, t' troubles that I have seen with this method caused me t' change this model t' a more conventional recovery technique. With this modification done, thar be only t' normal recovery problems that we are well prepared for. Ya scallywag! This model lends itself t' many possible modifications and improvements, arrr, nay t' mention that this kit is a scratch-builder's delight with it's assortment o' body tubes and nose cones.