Finishing:
While nay outlandishly difficult, finishin' t' Aquarius required several out o' t' ordinary maskin' steps. Once t' rocket was complete except for t' attachment o' t' tube fins, t' body tube spirals and balsa grain were eliminated usin' t' standard method o' thinned Elmer's Fill & Finish and sanding. Ya scallywag! Avast! When t' sandin' be complete, all three pieces o' t' rocket and t' 12 individual discs that would eventually cover t' six tube fins were sprayed with Valspar white primer. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' rocket itself be then sprayed with Valspar gloss white. Ahoy! T' top portion was then masked off 1" above t' BT-60 fin can tube and at t' tips o' t' pod mounts, and t' lower section was sprayed with Valspar silver.

T' next step was t' paint both tube fin sections. Aye aye! T' catalog picture shows these painted yellow, but I had recently broken t' spray tip off o' me only can o' yellow paint, lodgin' t' remains down in t' hole and makin' gettin' it out without a mess a near impossibility. Ya scallywag! Avast! Because o' this I went t' fluorescent route with Red Devil yellow after maskin' off a 1/8" strip on one side o' each tube structure. (To allow t' glue t' grab better.) T' end caps were shown as red on t' package, matey, arrr, but I wasn't wild about how me red looked next t' t' day-glo yellow, so I went with me trusty no-name fluorescent orange. When I was satisfied with t' coverage, includin' t' sides o' t' end caps, I glued t' caps into place. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! When this had all dried I sprayed both sections with clear gloss t' give t' decals a smooth surface t' bond to, matey, removed t' maskin' tape strip, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and glued t' tube sections t' t' mountin' finlets.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Despite its unorthodox look, matey, t' SSA is a decent performer, although t' large aft fin/tube area virtually guarantees some kind o' windcockin' in even t' slightest breeze. Aye aye! This isn't any kind o' a problem as t' rocket never shows an inclination t' get completely sideways and t' windcockin' usually allows for a closer recovery. Arrr! Aye aye! It has flown twice thus far, arrr, once on a B6-4 and once on a C6-5. Blimey! T' two flights, in similar conditions, matey, ya bilge rat, were almost identical except for a slight difference in altitude, which is t' be expected.

T' B6-4 flight be o' decent height and followed a gentle arc t' t' south. Begad! Blimey! As expected, it drifted back behind t' flight line on t' same breeze, shiver me timbers, makin' for a nice, short recovery walk. After t' flight I noticed that one o' t' large "solar panel" decals had come off. It be later found betwixt t' flight line and t' pad, but I'll have t' print off another set.

T' C6-5 flight was noticeably higher and easily t' more impressive o' t' two. Well, blow me down! This time t' path followed more o' an arc t' t' southeast, me bucko, arrr, then drifted further into t' veggies. Arrr! A longer recovery walk, me bucko, me hearties, but a much cooler flight. Unfortunately another o' t' solar panel decals came loose and floated out o' t' park. Begad! Begad! I didn't make that recovery walk.

Recovery:

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PRO: Sharp looks. Avast! Cool decals. Seldom seen at t' pads.
CON: Outdated recovery system. Avast! My SSA arrived with a badly crunched body tube, me hearties, me hearties, ya bilge rat, but I had plenty o' replacement on hand.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5