Brief
54mm minimum diameter high performance rocket.

Construction
T' instructions are complete and accurate, but are somewhat minimalist, and assume some HPR knowledge. Avast! This would nay be good for a beginner. Ahoy!

T' tubes are LOC-style, me bucko, matey, me bucko, and t' kit includes a 54mm t' 38mm adaptor kit. I added an adaptor for 29mm motors. Begad! Body tubes are 54mm LOC style heavy duty motor mount tube. Begad! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! There are two airframe tubes which are joined by a coupler. T' shock cord mount is first tied t' this coupler. Begad! T' included sleeved Keelhaul®©™® shock cord mount is nice and can survive any stress you might subject it to. T' shock cord is 9 feet o' 9/16th inch elastic. This is attached t' a screw eye on t' bulkhead plate o' t' payload section. Blimey! T' payload section has about 9" o' usable space. Begad! Avast! Blimey!

T' fins are pre-cut (thankfully) G-10 fiberglass. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! A nice touch is the included altimeter mountin' kit and wirin' harness. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It is designed for use with the Adept altimeters. Aye aye! Blimey! I drilled new holes t' fit a Cannonball Works RRC2 altimeter, me hearties, arrr, and didn't need t' wirin' harness, but did use t' pre-cut foam blocks that came with it. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Construction is fairly simple, with basic HPR skills needed.

I mounted t' fins as per t' "optional" method which is t' slot half way through t' body tube. Ya scallywag! A little more work, shiver me timbers, but a very solid way t' do surface mount fins. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! This technique makes for very strong surface mounted fins. It is achieved by carefully cuttin' through a couple o' layers o' paper at a time and peelin' them out o' t' slits.

T' nose cone is LOC-style heavy-duty plastic, and is attached t' the payload section with three screws. Blimey! T' holes for t' screws are pre-drilled in the nose cone and payload section tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' holes in t' payload section tube are already "counter-sunk" so that t' screws are flush with t' tube surface. Well, blow me down! Arrr!

Epoxy be used throughout for assembly. I used thin CA t' reinforce t' tube ends and t' vent holes in t' airframe. Begad!

T' kit includes a nylon parachute, ya bilge rat, a 3/4" heavy elastic shock cord (replaced later - see below), and a heavy LOC style launch lug for 7/16" rods. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty!

Finishing
Finishin' was as expected for LOC-style tubing. Well, blow me down! A bit o' work t' fill the spirals, and a little bit o' sandin' t' roughen up t' G-10, and a bit more work t' clean up t' excessive mold lines on t' nose cone, matey, then primer, sand, and paint. I used automotive paints and had very good results. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I primed and sanded three coats o' store-brand automotive sandin' primer, then used midnight blue metalflake for t' base coats (again store-brand). Well, blow me down! Blimey! My wife then supervised the application o' t' handprints by me kids with fluorescent acrylics, me hearties, then I applied several coats o' clear over that t' protect it all. Arrr! Blimey!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight
Motors Used: G80, H128, H220, matey, me hearties, H115, H142, arrr, me hearties, H300, me bucko, I160, shiver me timbers, J125. Avast, me proud beauty!

This has been a great flyer on G through J motors, although t' J125 is probably t' limit without fiberglassin' it. Ya scallywag! Avast! On t' J125 it went t' 15,500 feet. On t' H's you get high flights, but can still see it in t' clear skies out here. Begad! Arrr! My favorite motors for this rocket are t' Vulcan H300 ("rippin" flights) and t' Aerotech J125 (bye!). Well, blow me down! Ahoy!

Recovery
This is me "highest mileage" HPR rocket - it can be flown at non-waivered launches on "F", "G" or small "H" motors, arrr, then launched t' incredible altitudes when your waiver allows. Ahoy! I drilled small holes in t' base o' t' fins t' use as anchors t' wire in reload cases. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' maskin' tape method is adequate for smaller single use motors. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! I replaced t' stock (and by then well used) elastic shock cord with 20 feet of 5/8" tubular nylon for t' "J" flights. T' final prep'ed liftoff weight be still under 5 pounds, shiver me timbers, includin' t' Cannonball Works altimeter and (mostly) t' J125 motor. I flew this configuration at LDRS at the Bonneville Salt Flats - don't try this at home without modifyin' this for drogue/main dual recovery and installin' some form o' tracking. Begad! You *will* lose it. Avast, me proud beauty! This disappeared while still under thrust in clear blue skies. Avast! We recovered it two miles away on t' salt.

Recovery on F through H flights is fine as it comes. Begad! Even "I" motors can send this out o' sight. Begad! Well, blow me down! I would recommend modifying this for drogue/main 2-stage recovery for any "I" or greater flights. Well built, me bucko, me bucko, this will survive a J350 or J125, me bucko, but anythin' more would need to be fiberglassed. Arrr! Then you could lose it on a "K"... Avast, me proud beauty!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary
Pros: versatile, high performance
Cons: none

Most fun for t' loot HPR kit available.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5