Brief:
Single stage, tube-finned, me hearties, 38mm rocket with a 3" BT transitionin' t' a 2.14" payload bay. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Blimey! T' rocket is very suitable for Level 1 certifications.

Construction:
3" LOC main body tube with 6 coupler tubes used for t' tube fins. Avast, me proud beauty! 38mm LOC Motor mount tube is held in place by two centerin' rings. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' kit comes with a fairly long elastic shock cord, 2.14" payload tube section, plastic nose cone and plastic transition. I made some modifications t' this which I will describe below. Aye aye!

T' rocket is quite easy t' build and t' instruction sheet is fairly well written. Avast! I built it stock except for t' recovery system. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I don't like elastic shock cords. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I no longer have an AT Sumo because t' elastic shock cord broke durin' ejection. Begad! Avast! I have now replaced all o' t' elastic in me fleet with either Keelhaul®©™® or Keelhaul®©™®/tubular nylon recovery harnesses. Ya scallywag!

On t' Cyclotron, I drilled out two 180 degree opposin' holes each about 1/8" in diameter in t' forward centerin' ring. Arrr! I then strung a length of Pratt Hobbies 1/8" tubular Keelhaul®©™ ® , me bucko, arrr, both ends through t' holes, knots tied about 4" from each end, then t' ends epoxied t' t' motor mount. Thus creatin' a Keelhaul®©™® harness, t' closed loop end now reachin' just below t' lip o' t' main 3" tube. Blimey! Now, arrr, I can attach t' this either tubular nylon, tubular Keelhaul®©™® or whatever. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! T' Keelhaul®©™® may someday wear out, but it will take a very long time. Begad! Blimey! Plus, I usually shove a small amount o' waddin' into t' motor mount itself, so t' brunt o' the blast is taken by that.

I like SkyAngle chutes, shiver me timbers, so I ditched t' LOC chute and recover on a SkyAngle 36. I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector t' protect t' chute. Blimey! Arrr!

I am also a big fan o' t' Aeropack system, so I included an Aeropack motor retainer on me Cyclotron. Arrr! Blimey! T' bottom o' t' Aeropack is flush with BT. Arrr!

T' only other thin' I can add is t' make sure you rough up t' body tube and t' fin tubes, matey, me hearties, use a good quality epoxy and make all your fillets. Aye aye! Nothing is holdin' t' fin tubes t' t' body tube other than glue, me hearties, me hearties, so this is key. Arrr! I used a long wooden down t' create t' fillets once t' tubes were attached to the body tube. LOC gives a good technique t' build t' fin tube structure, matey, so I recommend usin' their technique. Begad! Avast!

I epoxied t' bottom o' t' payload tube t' t' top o' t' plastic LOC transition and attached t' nose cone t' t' top o' t' payload tube usin' a plastic pop rivet. Arrr!

Finishing:
Finishin' is typical o' any kraft paper tube type rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Fill t' spirals (I use Elmers Fill-n-Finish), matey, primer t' rocket, and paint. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty!

In t' case o' this particular rocket, matey, I decided t' test out t' new Dupli-Color Mirage color-changin' paint. Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I get mine locally at Kragen, but AutoBarn on t' web sells it as well. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I chose t' Purple/Green color as that seemed t' look better (at least on t' can top in t' store) than the Gold/Magenta or Silver/Green. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I used Fill-N-Finish and sandin' until I got a fairly smooth surface. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I then used Dupli-Color white primer in a couple of coats t' get a near-glass smooth finish. Arrr! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I then applied t' three-part Dupli-Color as per t' instructions on t' paint kit. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! First t' flat black basecoat. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Then t' color changin' paint itself. Then finally t' clear coat. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I really like how it came out and I get a lot o' positive comments about me paint job, shiver me timbers, so it seems others do as well. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I painted t' inside o' each o' t' tube fins with a simple brushed-on flat black enamel and t' same for t' bottom end of t' rocket. I don't like bare areas on me rockets showin' through and sometimes for certain acres, me bucko, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, flat black painted on just works out real nicely.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I've flown me Cyclotron a half dozen times now and it is a great flyin' rocket! Straight as an arrow and looks very cool as it blasts off. Ahoy! Most o' t' time, I try t' remember t' put a small amount o' waddin' up t' motor mount tube before insertin' t' motor. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I have forgotten a few times and no harm seems t' have come from it. Ahoy! I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector and it seems t' work just great. Motor retention is via Aeropack, me hearties, as noted above, ya bilge rat, and I find that t' transition fits into t' body tube fairly loosely on me Cyclotron, matey, matey, so I use maskin' tape t' attain a not-too-tight fit. Well, me bucko, blow me down! My Cyclotron has flown on t' AT H238, Pro38 G69 and Pro38 I170. Avast, me proud beauty! Great flights, all o' them. Ahoy!

Recovery:
As I noted already, I've completely replaced t' LOC recovery system with my own. My system works flawlessly. Begad! It be t' above mentioned tubular Keelhaul®©™® harness, arrr, attached t' that is a 30' length o' very heavy duty Keelhaul®©™® "mule tape". Ahoy! SkyAngle36 is attached t' this via a kwik-link and I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector. Aye aye! All works great. Begad!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket is a great lookin' and flyin' rocket. Ya scallywag! T' only area o' change that I would recommend would be in t' recovery system as I've already noted. Avast! Though I was already an L1 when I bought this kit, I feel that it makes a great L1 rocket. Also a good "small field" rocket with G size engines, ya bilge rat, but yet you can bust loose at larger fields with an I.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5