Brief:

This is a 1/3 scale replica o' t' famous soundin' rocket from t' 1950s and 1960s.

You can download their assembly instructions from this page.

Construction:

It comes with:-

• 34" long 54mm motor mount
• two centerin' rings
• pre-cut, me hearties, beveled TTW fins
• fibreglass nose cone
• pre-fibreglassed main body tube. Ahoy!
• but like all t' Polecat kits, no parachute.

If built exactly like t' instructions this kit could end up weighin' just 5.5 lbs (without parachute), me build was a bit heavier :-) since it came in at 11.6lbs with parachute and cold smoke canister (more on that later).

There is no provision for motor retension (another common Polecat theme), I chose t' use t' GiantLeap SlimeLine screw type, shiver me timbers, arrr, a bit pricey but I'm hooked on 'em.

T' reduce t' damage risk from a zipper; I added a second attachment point to t' upper centerin' rin' and a "FireBall" also from GiantLeap.

I mounted t' motor mount a bit farther forward than t' instructions say to, me hearties, this was t' ensure that t' retainer was still inside. Ya scallywag! That way t' rocket will stand up by itself.

I also added some weight t' t' nose, usin' lead shot and epoxy. I wanted to safely be able t' fly t' biggest 54mm motors in this rocket. But, me bucko, because of a slip while pourin' t' lead shot into t' epoxy, me hearties, I got more than wanted, but decided t' leave it. Begad! In hindsight I should have poured some out :-)

Finishing:

There are no decals or info on detailin' t' Nike Smoke (another common Polecat theme). Begad! Blimey! I used t' excellant Peter Alway "Rockets O' The World" book t' get sizin' and placment data and then printed decals for the letterin' on me printer (works great) and then drew t' other details with a "Sharpie" and a colored pencil :-)

T' "4" ratin' is mostly because o' this. Ya scallywag! Blimey! For a $200 scale kit (which is a good deal) it should at least contain t' scale data, matey, indicating size and location for t' markin' that make it a scale model, arrr, me bucko, arrr, preferably the decals would have been included. Blimey! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! Otherwise, me bucko, ya bilge rat, this is a solid and quick build. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Blimey!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:

First flight be on a CTI K660 at FITS 2004 in Mansfield Washington. This is a 54mm, arrr, 6 grain motor. Avast!

T' Cesaroni folks certainly know how t' make things easy! There were just 4 parts t' t' motor (includin' t' case and aft closure!

Clean-up was a "snap"! Compare that t' 17-18 parts for an Aerotech.

RockSim said 7569 feet and on a fairly windy day and a launch angle into the wind it made it t' 7037 ft, max airspeed = 835f/s

Time t' Apogee 21.5 seconds, total flight time be 5 mins 41 seconds with the Main at Apogee deployment.

Recovery:

Mentioned above be t' use o' t' "FireBall", which was attached to about 24ft o' tubular nylon, then a 6' chute. Avast! Begad! Yep, main at Apogee, matey, why you ask? I wanted a long lingerin' descent. Ahoy! Avast! Some time ago I found some orange "cold smoke" canisters, me bucko, that are designed t' be used as emergency beacons in t' water. Well, blow me down! I got four o' them (3 more ready t' use!). I tied t' can up in 1/8" Keelhaul®©™® thread and epoxied t' knots t' create a cage around t' canister, then attached t' pull strin' t' t' nose cone. At deployment t' rin' was pulled and orange smoke started t' pour out. Begad! No one at t' launch knew (I should have told t' Launch Director and will next time), matey, so after I confirmed that it was "by design" and that it was "cold smoke", everyone enjoyed (especially me) t' skywritin' that happened for over 5 mins. Aye aye! Arrr! as t' rocket lazily descended. Avast! T' smoke stopped about 10 seconds after landing, and of course I knew exactly where it was!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:

PoleCat Aerospace, formerly SkunkWorks Rocketry, arrr, formerly Peenemunde West, makes some GREAT kits! I have their "Woket" which I modified t' be a "Wizocket" (looks like Disney's Wizards hat), me hearties, ya bilge rat, their 10" V2 (workin' on that now for me L3) and their 10" Saturn V (workin' on that now too).

T' main Pro's for this kit are:-

• This is a fairly easy and straightforward build.
• It makes a GREAT lookin' rocket when finished as t' original.
• And as you can tell you can build it "your way".

My biggest concern (some like this, I know) is that thar be no scale data included. Well, blow me down! Which means you have some research and fidllin' t' do t' get it to look it's best. Otherwise this would be a "5"

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5