Brief:
This is a father/son dual build. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Up t' this point, arrr, me hearties, I've been helpin' him build his rockets. Begad! Arrr! We started with me doin' most o' t' building, me hearties, me hearties, and him as an extra pair o' hands. Ya scallywag! Over t' course o' 3-4 builds, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, he's been doin' more and more, and t' roles are reversin' where I'm becomin' t' extra hands. I found a couple o' Firebirds for relatively cheap, and so we're buildin' these in parallel. Begad! This will be his first purely solo build, matey, and we'll be comparin' t' results o' our two builds. After this, ya bilge rat, he'll be movin' on t' buildin' his L1 cert rocket... Ahoy! if I think he's ready.

T' Firebird is a fairly basic single stage Estes offering. Nothin' dramatic or fancy, here, just a solid design with classic lines.

Construction:
Dad: This is a basic 4FNC rocket. Blimey! Begad! Plastic nose cone, pre-cut fins, some flimsy paper centerin' rings and t' usual too short shock cord and plastic chute. T' body tube is a good length o' BT-55 1.325" tubing, arrr, while t' motor tube be t' cheap blue 18mm tube. For standard 18mm motors, me hearties, everythin' is sufficiently strong. Avast! Begad! For t' 18mm Aerotech D reloads, ya bilge rat, thar could be some extra stress that could test some o' these parts.

Son: Yeah, yeah...what he said. Aye aye! What's with t' wimpy 18mm motor mount? That's got t' go. I'm goin' t' raid t' parts closet. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Let's see. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! 24mm motor mount, shiver me timbers, some BT50-55 centerin' rings t' replace t' cheapy paper stuff. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! OK. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! I'm good t' go. Let's get building.

Dad: Once again, shiver me timbers, this is pretty basic Estes fare. Ahoy! Aye aye! Anyone who's build a typical Estes rocket in t' last couple decades won't have an issue here. Ahoy! Avast! There are a couple minor changes that I make t' all Estes kits.

Namely t' recovery section.

I always toss t' 3-fold concept. Arrr! Blimey! I notched t' upper centerin' ring, and slipped a length o' Keelhaul®©™ through. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I knotted t' end t' prevent it comin' back through t' notch, shiver me timbers, and put a dab o' epoxy t' hold it in. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Normally, I would tie t' Keelhaul®©™® in a loop around t' motor tube, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but since these fins are through t' wall, t' loop would interfere with t' fin tangs.

Speakin' o' which, matey, I wonder why Estes went with through t' wall fins for this kit and only an 18mm mount. Begad! For all t' Estes 18mm motors, TTW fins is way overkill. Aye aye! O' course, me bucko, it does make fin alignment much easier.

Son: Well, matey, me hearties, shiver me timbers, he taught me, shiver me timbers, so, yeah, me hearties, I'm tossin' t' 3-fold as well. Begad! Since I'm doin' t' 24mm thing, I get t' choose me engine tube size, arrr, so I went with a longer tube, me bucko, and a third centerin' ring. Avast! T' first 2 rings sandwich t' fin tangs as normal. I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube, and put t' third rin' on top. Aye aye! Hah! Mines stronger.

While I was at it, I cut t' top o' t' engine hook off so it doesn't go into t' motor tube. Blimey! I also left off t' motor block. Avast! T' down side is I'll need t' use tape t' make "thrust rings" on t' bottom o' Estes engines t' keep them from goin' through t' rocket. Avast! T' up side is that I can use any 24mm motor includin' t' upcomin' Aerotech 24/120 and t' CTI Pro 24 cases. Begad! Ya scallywag! Bigger, ya bilge rat, faster, higher! I can't wait t' put a 24mm G motor and watch it rip! Dad's shakin' his head while I'm typin' this. Avast! Says I'll never get it back. Maybe, shiver me timbers, but it's fun. Begad! Aye aye! Besides, I don't pay for t' motors. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! (Dad: He may start buyin' them if he loses them like this)

Finishing:
Dad: Decals are typical o' Estes in this era. Avast! Blimey! That means peel and stick. Arrr! Blimey! I really don't like them. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I much prefer water slide. Blimey! Blimey! That said, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, as per me usual superstitious approach, me bucko, I won't actually paint and decal t' rocket until after t' first few flights. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Why? Because I've found that t' odds o' me losin' a rocket increase exponentially with t' amount o' time I spend on it prior t' it's first flight. If I build a rocket in 2 hours t' night before a launch, me bucko, arrr, it's comin' back. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Every time I've spent 2-3 months doin' a painstakin' job o' buildin' and finishing, me hearties, arrr, somethin' bad has happened.

As for t' pre-paint finish work, me bucko, it's all typical. Sand and seal t' fins. Aye aye! Begad! Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Avast! Fill t' spirals in t' tube. T' spirals actually aren't too bad, and t' tube is white. If you go with t' factory color scheme (white) you could probably get away without filling.

Son: I'm done building, let's go fly. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! Seriously. Begad! Yeah, I could take some time t' make it look good, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! Let's fly. Begad! I want t' get started on me cert rocket. Ahoy! Aye aye! Blimey! I'll take more time on that one.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Dad: For all our rockets larger than 1" diameter, shiver me timbers, we keep a supply o' Nomex t' avoid usin' wadding. Aye aye! Blimey! Waddin' can be easier in t' smaller rockets, but t' larger ones just take too much. Aye aye! Blimey! Besides, reuseable Nomex is more eco friendly.

Other prep is standard. Well, blow me down! Begad! Yes, shiver me timbers, thar's a lot o' this review that just says "it's standard issue." That's because this is a pretty standard rocket. Ahoy! Steppin' into high power, me hearties, many o' t' rockets are pretty "standard" as well. Ahoy! Arrr! Just stronger materials. Begad! At a certain point, me hearties, me hearties, arrr, you can't do anythin' too fancy with high power motors, because t' motors will just shred t' rocket from t' high thrust.

Son: What he said. Ya scallywag! I'm gettin' tired o' typing. I haven't flown mine yet. Weather hasn't been good enough.

Recovery:
Dad: My turn t' say it. What he said. We haven't flown either rocket yet as t' weather hasn't cooperated. Arrr! My expectation is that, shiver me timbers, like everythin' about this kit, shiver me timbers, it will be typical Estes. Avast! T' chute is too big, and it will float, so we'll probably fly with a streamer or smaller chute. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! As we get a chance t' fly these, me bucko, I'll be postin' t' flight logs, and updatin' t' review through t' flight log comments. Well, blow me down! Actual flight is just t' last validation o' t' build in this case. Blimey! T' primary goal be t' give him a solo build t' validate he has t' skills necessary t' attempt his cert build.

Son: So, arrr, do I pass? When can I start on t' Matrix?

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5