| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Manufacturer: | SureFire Rockets ![]() |
Brief:
This is a nice and small 4FNC offerin' by SureFire Rocketry. T' recovery system is a bright yellow streamer. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It comes bagged, matey, me hearties, and is a Level 1 kit.
Construction:
This rocket came with one body tube, a one piece nosecone, ya bilge rat, standard 18mm engine block, me hearties, with metal engine hook, shiver me timbers, a simple rubber shockcord and mount, and a bright yellow streamer.
This was an extremely easy build. Begad! Begad! T' instructions were clear and very easy t' follow. Avast! It is your simple, basic, 4FNC rocket.
What surprised me was that t' fins, matey, shiver me timbers, although they were made o' balsa, were nay die-cut. Avast! Blimey! They were already cut out and wrapped in an elastic band. Begad! Ahoy! Blimey! When I saw this, matey, I expected them t' be dinged up on t' edges, but they were perfect. Avast, me proud beauty! All through t' instructions, ya bilge rat, SureFire kept sayin' how, me bucko, matey, unlike other manufacturers, they supplied their fins already cut out.
It did come with t' rubber shockcord and paper mount, ya bilge rat, Estes-style. I was nay thrilled with this at all. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Next one I make gets t' Keelhaul®©™.
PRO: Easy build, ya bilge rat, simple instructions, matey, matey, matey, pre-cutout fins.
CON: Estes-style shockcord. Well, blow me down! Minus 1/2 point for t' cord.
Finishing:
Finishin' was simple. Standard sandin' o' t' fins. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' body tube spirals were barely noticeable, and did nay need any filling. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! After a white primer coat and sanding, I shot 2 coats o' black. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' applied t' 4 color water slide decals, ya bilge rat, which were nice against t' black o' t' rocket itself.
PRO: Easy t' finish, nay noticeable spiral, good decals.
COn: None
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
We used an Estes A8-3 engine for t' first and only flight. Arrr! used 3 sheets o' wadding, shiver me timbers, and set her on t' pad. Well, blow me down! There was a slight delay, arrr, ya bilge rat, but it zoomed off o' t' pad. Avast, me proud beauty! It went about 400 feet with this motor. Arrr! T' ejection charge blew about 1 second after apogee.
PRO: Very nice fast flight.
CON: None
Recovery:
She came down almost straight. Begad! However, it was windy, and a gust caught her about 150 feet from t' ground, ya bilge rat, and took her into a tree about 20 feet from t' ground. Ahoy! Aye aye! I tried t' get it back, but t' tree is surrounded by about 25 feet o' pricker bushes, ya bilge rat, and me legs were all cut up. Ya scallywag! Begad! Just bad luck that we didn't get it back. Arrr! Blimey! I may try t' get it in another day or so with this big pole I have at home.
PRO: Almost straight up and down flight.
CON: Lousy Estes-style shockcord, me bucko, and just plain bad luck hittin' t' tree.
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
This is a very nice Level 1 rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I was very nicely surprised by t' pre-cut fins, but t' shockcord bothered me. Aye aye! Ahoy! I would suggest a Keelhaul®©™ shockcord rig. Arrr! Blimey! And you can't beat t' cost at under $ 5.00.
Otherwise, a very nice rocket, shiver me timbers, arrr, and one I will definitely buy more of.
Overall Rating: 4 ½ out 5
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