Brief:
This is a scale model o' t' new US anti-missile missile, me hearties, essentially it's an update o' t' older Patriot missile used in desert storm in t' 1990s. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' new missile has 108 small rocket motors t' push it into an incomin' missile when it is close--COOL! This kit is a single-stage kit that uses one long BT-60 body tube and flies on 24mm D and E size motors. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! It uses an 18" mylar parachute and a metal motor hook for retention. Avast, me proud beauty! It also includes a spacer for usin' the shorter D motors in t' motor mount. Begad! This is me fourth Rocket Pad kit and I got it on eBay. Ahoy! Arrr! It comes packed in t' standard plastic bag like most kits these days along with a big color picture o' t' completed kit on t' kit bag card.

Construction:
T' kit uses one 34" long main body tube. Arrr! T' spirals are almost not there, arrr, matey, makin' for an easy finish! T' motor tube is an 11" long piece of BT-50. Avast! There is a metal motor hook for retention, a lower centerin' rin' of laser-cut fiber, shiver me timbers, arrr, and an upper rin' o' plywood. Arrr! There are 8 pre-cut basswood fins (4 large and 4 small) that require just a little sandin' before use. Blimey! Blimey! For recovery, it uses a Keelhaul®©™® cord mounted t' t' top centerin' rin' and a 1/4" white shock cord tied to the Keelhaul®©™® cord and t' black plastic nose cone, along with an 18" mylar parachute from ASP. Ahoy! Blimey! T' kit also includes waterslide decals. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

T' instructions on this kit were fine, me bucko, however, matey, matey, I had seen on other reviews that t' instructions had some problems, which be t' case with t' first 2 RP kits I built, ya bilge rat, and that they were in t' process o' fixin' them up. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! This appears to be one o' t' post-revision kits! T' instructions included big pictures to help in assembly. This is a skill level 3 kit, so you should have built a few kits before but it be nay all that hard. Arrr! I used Elmer's wood glue for the entire construction. Avast! Assembly was like most kits, you work on t' motor mount first, startin' with t' Keelhaul®©™® cord bein' tied t' two holes in t' upper plywood centerin' rin' and you put some glue on both sides o' t' rin' where t' cord is. Blimey! Then mark t' body tube with t' enclosed fin markin' guide, shiver me timbers, matey, glue in t' motor mount in t' tube, match sand t' fins so they are all t' same, attach them, me bucko, mount t' 3/16" launch lug, put some glue fillets on t' joints, ya bilge rat, matey, assembly t' parachute, and connect up t' shock cord t' t' nose cone. Avast, me proud beauty! T' body tube on a lot o' large LPR kits have you couplin' smaller tubes together t' make a large one, but the single 34" tube in t' PAC-3 eliminates that! Also, shiver me timbers, t' nice basswood and body tube made t' kit really stand out from others I've built. Blimey! T' soft clay used for t' nose weight be pushed in per t' instructions and has held up for 5 flights with no problems.

Finishing:
I used Aero-Gloss brand sandin' sealer t' seal up t' basswood fins with a couple o' coats. Blimey! T' spirals on t' body tube were so slight, I did nay bother with fillin' them and t' paint took care o' them! I painted t' rocket with white spray paint, except for t' nose cone, which I painted black. Blimey! T' decals were a nice weight material, shiver me timbers, nay that thin decals you some time see that rip! They took about 60 seconds t' start t' slide off & went on fine. Ahoy! Aye aye! There were no problems in t' finishing, shiver me timbers, all straight forward.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' first flight was with a C11-5 on a windy day. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I did nay want t' use a larger motor till I knew what it would do, ya bilge rat, but t' flight be dead straight, like it was on a strin' t' guide it! I used some dog barf for waddin' by the way. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' wind came up bad so I waited for a better day for t' next flight. Once t' weather was more cooperative, matey, I used a D12-5 for another great flight! My brother thought that it would nay be stable since t' fins are only 1" wide, but it flies unbelievably straight! T' last flight was with an E9-8 and it went impressively high! I like t' sound o' Es and this is one stable rocket!

Recovery:
T' recovery was great. T' 18" chute brought it down at a nice rate without damage. Begad! Our field is hard with very short grass but t' rocket was fine. Well, blow me down! Some people like t' Keelhaul®©™® past t' top o' t' tube and others prefer it inside t' tube, shiver me timbers, but here it's past t' top o' t' tube and I've had no problem with it. Begad! T' recovery system works as it should. Begad! Arrr! T' end o' t' motor is just past t' end o' t' body tube so thar be no burnin' o' fins or tube.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This kit from Rocket Pad is a vast improvement over t' me first two that I got back in January 2004. This one was great and I look forward t' buildin' and flyin' more o' their kits in t' future. Avast! They are offerin' some unique kits with some very original designs that you don't see with most vendors.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5