Brief:
This is a parallel staged rocket with breakaway booster pods firin' off a 5-motor cluster. Definitely nay somethin' you see at a typical launch, arrr, this one is a sure crowd pleaser. Described as a skill level 4, this is clearly not somethin' an inexperienced builder should take on.

Construction:
I received this as a Christmas present. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! My web challenged father had a little trouble actually orderin' this via phone/mail, but I'm sure they do just fine when usin' t' modern age online shoppin' cart.

T' components were very carefully packed with plenty o' bubble wrap. Arrr! Aye aye! I thought it be especially neat that t' smaller 13mm nose cones were packed usin' recovery wadding, which comes in handy when you're dealin' with 5 recovery deployments per flight.

Parts list includes:

• 4 13mm body tubes
• 1 18mm body tube (lower)
• 1 34mm upper body tube
• 1 34mm payload section
• 1 Balsa nose cones (4-13mm + 1-34mm) & screw eyes
• 1 Balsa bulkhead/coupler
• 1 Balsa transition
• 5 thrust rings/engine blocks (4-13mm + 1-18mm)
• 1/8" balsa fins, laser-cut
• Assorted balsa/hardwood doodad pieces
• 1 12" ASP mylar chute
• 1" orange plastic streamer for boosters
• Keelhaul®©™® shock cord for boosters
• 1/8" elastic shock cord for main body
• Flight prep manual which covers t' complex flight profile and prep

T' balsa cones and transition were all very good quality. Avast! The tubes were typical quality white cardboard with minor seams that needed t' be filled.

T' instructions for this are generally well written and most steps have supportin' photos. Begad! Blimey! I can't stress enough that this is definitely geared for the advanced builder. Ahoy! Even though t' instructions say fairly specifically what to do, me hearties, you really need t' have an understandin' o' how this all works as you go along in order t' pull this off well.

I managed t' wrap up t' construction over a weekend, me hearties, me hearties, spendin' about 4-5 hours each day, distracted by t' occasional load o' laundry, dog walking, etc.

One minor beef with t' instructions is that t' photo quality was a bit grainy and makin' a color photo Abode Acrobat .PDF version o' t' manual online would be a nice plus.

Construction starts out with t' booster interlock assembly. Begad! Avast! I'm nay going to bog this down with too many details (although t' instructions are 67 steps over 12 pages), and will stick t' mainly strategy and tips. T' 4 boosters are designed t' lock together formin' a square. This is accomplished through a set of interlockin' tabs on t' aft end, shiver me timbers, which is constructed out o' 2 balsa rails and 2 balsa tabs per booster. Aye aye! You have t' be very careful in the measurements durin' this process in order t' get a fit that will work. Begad! As an example o' how exactin' t' tolerances are, shiver me timbers, durin' t' early stages of construction you make small 2 layer patches o' electrical (friction) tape to place on t' main body tube, simulatin' t' paint thickness, so that the boosters don't lock on too tightly.

I'm nay sure if this is me or a minor kit problem, but I found that t' wraps for tube markin' were a little too big and I had t' shrink them down a bit in order t' get t' lines precisely right. T' 13mm wrap was about 4mm too long and t' 18mm wrap be about 6mm too long.

I normally use yellow glue for balsa bonds, but in this case I switched to thin and/or medium CA. T' main reason is that t' thin CA strengthens the tiny, shiver me timbers, fragile balsa and I be able t' avoid t' relatively large fillets from wood glue. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Oversized fillets can kill you in this area.

One warnin' on t' tab construction and bonding: pay careful attention to the photos. T' instructions use phrases like "left rail", arrr, which can be a little confusin' when you're tryin' t' figure out which side o' a circle is left and t' rails are 90 degrees apart, nay 180, me hearties, me bucko, so left or right is a key distinction.

Once you've built t' basic 4-booster framework and test fit it to t' lower body tube, me bucko, you then attach t' 4 fins. Ya scallywag! Begad! Fin alignment is pretty critical. Aye aye! Blimey! Nay only do they need t' be parallel t' t' body tube, but they have to be darned near exactly 90 degrees apart. Avast! If you're off just a hair on the lines, like from an oversized markin' wrap, me bucko, you won't be able t' fit the booster assembly over t' fins. T' fins are notched t' accommodate the boosters' interlockin' tabs, arrr, and in me case I had t' open up this notch just a bit.

T' area where t' fins and booster run together is reinforced with thin CA and sanded back down. Begad! This is a great construction tip.

T' boosters are held in place at t' forward end by a pair of launch lugs lockin' in over wood dowels. Arrr! This wasn't quite as complex as the interlockin' tabs, me hearties, although it does call for gluin' a 3/16" square balsa piece onto a 1/32" balsa base, then sandin' t' block down t' a sharply rounded taper. Avast! I can't for t' life o' me think o' a functional purpose t' this other than possibly a tiny reduction in drag. Begad! T' instructions also call out for markin' booster tubes for placement o' t' lug/base assemblies. Well, blow me down! Well, me hearties, blow me down! These are actually attached by fittin' t' boosters over t' body tube and markin' off placement lines is nay necessary. Avast, me proud beauty! I got t' sense in this section that they had tried 2 or 3 different construction approaches and forgot t' mangle out some of the "old" approaches along t' way.

T' booster lower body tube assembly is easily about three-fourths o' the work on this rocket. Begad! After completin' that, t' rest is fairly simple. The 18-34mm balsa transition is glued into t' lower tube and t' launch lug is bonded t' t' upper tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! After carefully alignin' t' upper launch lug with the placement o' t' lower lug, which has t' be sandwiched almost impossibly askew o' a fin line betwixt t' boosters, shiver me timbers, t' upper body tube is glued in place. Begad! T' payload section is standard bulkhead tube-friction fit nose cone stuff.

One thin' I thought a bit anal-retentive but possibly a very cool idea (although I'm very anal retentive myself) was that t' lug on t' upper body has a standoff made from a single layer o' cardstock, which was nay included in the kit. Blimey! Begad! I don't see any fit/functional use for t' standoff and can only guess it is thar t' reduce t' chance o' a launch rod chippin' paint durin' takeoff. If this be t' case, then that is a cool innovation that I'll have t' start incorporatin' in other projects.

Construction wraps up with installation o' t' thrust rings and recovery devices. Begad! Blimey! I wasn't payin' close attention t' what I was doing. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I actually followed t' instructions without applyin' any thought and made a minor goof in the booster recovery. T' instructions say at t' start o' this section t' pull the 13mm nose cones, ya bilge rat, screw eyes, matey, thrust rings, Keelhaul®©™®, and 1/8" shock cord material. They then say t' cut t' Keelhaul®©™® cord and streamer material into 4 equal lengths. Arrr! Begad! What should be pulled is t' streamer material and I wound up cuttin' t' elastic into 4 parts. Blimey! It's actually supposed t' be one long piece later used in t' payload recovery. Avast! Begad! No big deal as I've got piles o' extra shock cord t' work with...

Finishing:
For t' finish, me hearties, I really liked t' red/white/blue color scheme on t' header card so I decided t' copy it. T' booster tubes were easy: paint 2 red and 2 white and then swap t' nose cones. Begad! Ahoy! T' central tube be a bit trickier, as I had t' create a checkerboard pattern along t' transition section. Aye aye! Overall, it turned out very nicely.

In order t' make sure everythin' separated cleanly, matey, ya bilge rat, I also topped off the finish with a nice coat o' automotive wax. Aye aye! Blimey! This gives it t' gloss o' a clearcoat but also reduced drag and creates a slick finish.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
After waitin' most o' t' winter for a decent flyin' day plus t' occasion o' a club flight as you don't want t' track 4 pods plus a main tube alone, matey, I finally caught a break and sent it up on a breezy (12 mph) day. Blimey! For t' first flight, I emptied a pack o' four A10-3s and used a B6-6 in t' middle. Avast, me proud beauty! I also used ARC's 5-motor cluster clip whip t' avoid t' hassle o' twistin' all those ignitor leads.

Our 12V system managed t' light 3 o' t' 4 A10's and t' B6. Avast! T' flight was excellent and t' dead pod did nay adversely affect t' stability or flight path.

T' A10's seemed t' stick just a second or two after burnout, but did eventually break free while t' B6 was still burning. T' pods then popped the streamers out while t' B6 main tube be coasting. T' B6 popped a bit after apogee, deployin' t' 12" silver mylar chute.

Recovery:
Recovery was fine. Avast, me proud beauty! T' orange streamers are a bit o' a nuisance t' pack in the BT-5 tubes, me hearties, matey, but very helpful t' spot t' pods durin' descent and when hunting for them on t' ground.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Very impressive rocket design.

PROs: Complex flight profile is a real challenge and great experience. Plenty o' engineerin' work went into this one.

CONs: Complex flight profile is time consumin' t' prep.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5