Brief:
T' Launch Pad Alarm is a single staged rocket that is modeled after an interceptin' missile used by t' U.S. Ahoy! government.

Construction:
Two body tubes came with this kit, matey, shiver me timbers, but I wasn't too impressed with them. Begad! Blimey! Instead o' t' solid tubes I was expecting, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I got Estes type tubes instead, matey, but they turned out okay and they really made this kit light. There are two sets o' fins with one set very high up on t' rocket, makin' it have very unique style. T' fins themselves were balsa wood, shiver me timbers, me bucko, so I decided t' experiment on them, me bucko, me hearties, makin' them as strong as possible. Arrr! Blimey! T' shock cord be about two feet long, shiver me timbers, so I replaced it with a 6-foot long 1/4" elastic. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' nose cone was interesting. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! It was a decent nose cone, but t' kit called for me t' add on a paper tip t' make it pointy. Aye aye! I eventually decided t' nay put it on. This kit came with 3/16" launch lugs but I upgraded them t' 1/4" lugs.

A mylar parachute came with t' kit and I was skeptical about t' strength o' it, ya bilge rat, but after its first flight I was satisfied with t' material. It works okay, shiver me timbers, no problems so far.

T' kit's instructions were decent, me hearties, but they assumed you knew how t' do many things, like what glue t' use, where t' put t' launch lugs, and how t' align t' fins. Arrr! Blimey! Besides that, I thought that this was a fun and challengin' build. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' boat tail assembly be a little tricky, but t' only real problem I had was t' motor tube. Arrr! Blimey! I thought that I be set back way too far into t' body tube, me hearties, so I moved it forward about an inch so it be only 1/2" away from t' bottom.

To strengthen t' fins and t' paper boat tail, I took drywall tape and cut out t' shapes o' t' fins from it. Arrr! I then put t' tape on t' fins and put about 4-5 layers o' wood glue on them t' strengthen and t' fill in t' bumps t' tape made. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' fins and t' boattail turned out very strong, ya bilge rat, almost like plastic. Well, blow me down! T' wood glue also took well t' paint.

T' only problem about t' paper boat tail was that it be slightly too big for t' tube, matey, so it overlapped t' body tube a little when I glued it in. Well, blow me down! Begad! I filled in t' space made betwixt t' boat tail and t' tube with wood glue. Avast, me proud beauty! However, arrr, this made a bump that if I put t' launch lugs on t' rocket, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, this bump would get in t' way o' t' launch rod. Aye aye! So I put pieces o' balsa under t' launch lugs t' raise them over t' bump.

Finishing:
Finishin' be okay, me bucko, but I had t' try a little harder t' get a rough enough surface on t' wood glue coated fins t' paint them. Avast! After that, matey, everythin' went smoothly.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
I have only had one flight so far, and it didn't go so well. Aye aye! Ever since t' beginning, I thought that thar wasn't enough nose weight t' keep t' rocket stable. When I launched it with an E11, it went sideways. Ahoy! Begad! It thought it was goin' t' crash, but once t' motor burned out, arrr, t' fins made t' rocket get lift and t' rocket started t' glide back upwards! I got very lucky that it didn't go straight down. Well, blow me down! I have recently found with RockSim that I need about 1.5 t' 2 ounces o' nose weight.

Recovery:
T' kit said t' do t' Estes type o' shock cord mount, but I thought it needed somethin' stronger. Arrr! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! I just epoxied t' cord on t' inside o' t' body tube (be careful nay t' epoxy where t' nose cone shoulder needs t' go).

T' recovery after me first flight, matey, even though it wasn't a great flight, matey, was fine. I found no dents or scratches on t' boat tail. Since I used t' drywall/wood glue method on t' boat tail, ya bilge rat, it made it much stronger.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket definitely looks cool and it's fun but challengin' tryin' t' put together t' boat tail. Ahoy! T' only con about this kit is that it needed t' upgrade a few things like t' shock cord and t' shock cord mount.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5