Brief:
model, 3fnc, parachute

Construction:
The kit comes with:

• Body tube came in two sections, one about 5" long, t' other 15" or so long
• 1 piece o' tube coupler
• 3 cardstock "fins"
• 3 cardstock centerin' rings
• motor hook
• MMT (about 1.5" longer than an Estes D)
• approx 2 ft o' round elastic shock cord
• plastic nose cone comes in two parts--an insert that glues inside t' main cone. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' insert has plastic cross-pieces which t' shock cord attaches to
• Big chute (for a model) - 20", arrr, uses stickers t' attach shroud lines
• decals

I think that's t' lot.

I ignored t' instructions since they were mostly in German, me hearties, but a translated version o' t' "important bits" along with some photocopies from an Estes kit were included. This kit is very simple, arrr, being very much "3 fins and a nose cone". Begad! T' instructions may be o' help to someone who's never built a kit but that said, me hearties, they're nowhere near Estes' kit instructions. They're pretty disorganized but give t' idea. Ahoy! There be a fin alignment strip included that be helpful.

The only other thin' t' note about t' instructions is that they're "one size fits all", me hearties, rather than kit-specific. These kits are made by Das Modell and imported into t' UK by Physics o' Flight.

T' build is where t' problems start...I took one look at the "fins" and decided nay t' use them. Ya scallywag! (I think they're supposed t' be fins rather than templates as you get three o' them and thar be no balsa included.) Instead I used them as templates and cut t' fins from 1/8" balsa sheet (from A11MR). Ahoy! I put t' engine mount together, leavin' t' lower rin' off until t' MMT was installed in t' BT. Aye aye! T' motor mount uses a hook only, me bucko, no engine block. I thought o' addin' one, ya bilge rat, and then discovered that the MMT is NOT Estes 'D' sized (24mm).

Bein' German, me hearties, me hearties, this rocket is designed t' use German D7 motors, which are slightly larger diameter--large enough that a D12 rattles around like nobody's business and I had no suitable engine blocks. Aye aye! T' MMT is fairly thick but the centerin' rings are pretty thin and only made o' a card-like material--not thick kraft. Aye aye! I used Unibond Super PVA throughout with no problems. Aye aye! I used all three rings t' be safe. Ahoy! I assembled t' MMT and fins t' t' short section of body tube, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, which was easier than fightin' with a big piece durin' construction. T' fin alignment strip worked well, but I left t' pencil lines on t' tube (silly me). Ya scallywag! I used CA t' attach t' fins, arrr, and filleted twice with CA.

The body tubes are nay very good quality, me hearties, bein' more like poster tubes than rocket tubes and have fairly large grooves. Aye aye! (I've been spoiled by A11MR/Totally Tubular's stuff.) T' tube coupler was smaller than t' ID o' either tube (not good) so t' two tubes are coupled as much by PVA as coupler. Avast! T' coupler could travel freely through t' tubes, it was that much smaller.

Anyhow, I got t' two sections together straight, me hearties, and it looked like a rocket, which is always a good sign :-)

T' nose cone was a no-brainer, shiver me timbers, simply glue together t' two parts. Ahoy! The chute, matey, usin' plastic stickers, was quick t' make (no knots t' tie). I used an Estes-style shock cord mount, me bucko, but used 100lb Keelhaul®©™® for t' top and bottom sections (i.e. Arrr! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! from BT t' SC and SC t' NC) with the kit's shock cord in t' middle. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Followin' a series o' shock cord burn-throughs (not on this rocket) I think it would be a good idea t' run Keelhaul®©™® to a metal clip or rin' at each end, me bucko, makin' replacin' t' elastic easy.

I cut t' supplied plastic 3/16" launch lug in two, ya bilge rat, and mounted a 1/8" lug next t' each section so it can be launched from a regular Estes pad. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! With that done, I had a rocket on me hands--if a slightly dodgy rocket at that!

Finishing:
I suppose a good finish could have been achieved given time and materials but I didn't go all-out. I wanted it t' look good on t' pad but I wasn't overly worried about close inspection. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Time be also a factor (the next EARS launch was looming). Avast, me proud beauty! Another major factor was t' quality o' t' BTs. Ya scallywag! I set t' mask the tube (to do it more or less as on t' box--red with a white band in the centre) and misplaced t' tape slightly. Blimey! On peelin' t' tape, a load o' paper came away and this was with super low-tack tape! Nay good at all and loads of unsightly fluff on t' tube.

For the nose cone, matey, upper body, and lower body tubes I used Plastikote fluorescent orange spray paint. Aye aye! It's sure bright but it has its drawbacks. Arrr! Firstly, it doesn't cover well so I should have primed t' tubes (another tin o' paint...) and me pencil marks show through above t' fins. Aye aye! Aye aye! Also it's very 'dusty' and doesn't stay on like other plastikote paints. This may in part be t' tube because I got a good finish with it on good A11MR tube. T' cut t' t' chase, I sprayed a couple o' coats on t' tubes and it looked fine with t' paint coverin' up and removin' a lot o' t' damage from t' tape (the fluffies just brushed off). Well, blow me down! I sprayed t' mid-section and balsa fins (which I merely sanded, not filled and primed) with PlastiKote silver spray paint. Arrr! At pad distance, me bucko, it looks good (IMHO).

T' decals seemed like waterslide, matey, but turned out t' be not-so-sticky self-adhesive. You get a few black and red bands, me hearties, a little vikin' in a horned hat, me bucko, and 'NORIS' and 'Wikinger' decals. I've just notices that t' 'NORIS' is gone as is one o' t' strips I put on t' fins. Nay very sticky.

I can cope with t' quality o' t' kit (in retrospect, havin' flown it), but I feel many people would be disappointed, shiver me timbers, matey, shiver me timbers, so it only gets 2 1/2. If only the tube was better, me hearties, and t' fins, shiver me timbers, and t' MMT (perhaps that can be forgiven) and t' coupler....

Construction Rating: 2 out o' 5

Flight:
Physics o' flight recommend a D12-5, though t' rocket is supposed t' use a German D7 motor. Avast! T' box listed altitudes for A-D motors, needless t' say 'A' wasn't very high!

For t' first flight I removed t' nozzle from a spent D12, glued in a motor block and friction fitted a C6-3 (Estes) into t' case. Blimey! Begad! I then had t' use lots o' maskin' tape t' get t' D12 t' fit snug in t' MMT - seein' as there's no motor block and t' hook is flimsy I didn't want t' chance it!

I used Estes wadding, me hearties, rather than t' weird "cotton wool" stuff that came with t' kit. Avast! Avast! T' rocket be 'padded up' on a standard Porta-Pad and looked pretty nice stood there. Arrr! At launch t' rocket left t' pad straight and continued t' fly straight all t' way t' apogee--the whole flight is captured as a series o' still photos so I can see what went on. Ahoy! Begad! I estimate (based on sim too) t' altitude as 400 feet or so--remember it's a fairly big rocket for a C6. Begad! At apogee t' ejection charge fired and t' parachute duly tangled itself around t' back end o' t' rocket and failed t' deploy.

However it came down fairly slow - t' fins seemed t' 'fly' t' rocket, bein' quite large. T' rocket hit t' hedge next t' t' pad (6 feet away or so from t' pad!) which slowed it enough that thar was little damage. Begad! T' paint on t' fins got scratched and thar's a few gouges in t' balsa but nothing serious, just cosmetic.

The next flight was much better. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I decided t' lob it on a D12-5, and packed the chute differently so that only t' shroud lines were wrapped around t' chute. T' boost was very impressive--straight and fast t' about 700ft. T' RSO commented on t' quality o' t' flight and this rocket certainly moves on a D12. Arrr! Blimey! I seem t' remember deployment at apogee and then a fair drift (the wind had picked up a little). Blimey! Blimey! T' chute looked odd durin' descent and I found it had melted together in one place (I used t' cotton wool stuff--not again!) but no damage resulted from separatin' it. No damage be sustained t' t' rocket either.

Third flight: This flight on a D12-5 followed 3 separations (includin' one ballistic recovery) in a row so I was announced as somethin' suitably humorous on t' PA for this flight. Begad! However it be perfect: straight, fast boost again followin' a slight weathercock. It was quite windy at this point compared to earlier and t' rocket performed admirably, recoverin' undamaged. T' parachute deployed properly this time, however I had more o' a walk t' recover it.

All in all a nice flier. It certainly would be interestin' on E9s. Begad! Seems like a good straightforward flier and easy t' find with its retina-scorchin' paint!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: Flies very nicely, ya bilge rat, matey, seems t' be fairly tough.

CONs: Poor instructions, poor quality tube, arrr, me hearties, poor quality coupler, card fins, German size MMT, decals a little weak.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5