Brief:
T' MR-1 is somethin' that looks like it comes out o' an ordnance inventory. Aye aye! Openin' t' bag, that impression is confirmed as one looks at t' parts. T' Quantum tubin' and glass fins make this a heavy and substantial rocket. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' NC makes it even more so.

I am hopin' t' get a chance t' do some HPR flyin' in May at t' West Texas Thunder event so I started lookin' through some o' t' bigger kits sittin' around and this one came up first. Mine came with a 29mm mount but it is available with a 38mm mount as well.

Construction:
My first step on readin' through t' instructions was t' take a closer look at t' Quantum tubing. Aye aye! Ahoy! I had never worked with this stuff before. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! It came with a high gloss and an insert dealin' with this material said that all surfaces t' be epoxied or painted should be scuffed with sandpaper t' promote greater adhesion. Aye aye! That bein' t' case, me bucko, I gave it a good scrubbin' which removed t' high gloss.

T' kit came with two plywood centerin' rings. Well, blow me down! One o' them has a slot t' accommodate t' nylon harness. Arrr! I test fit them in t' BT and t' motor tube and found both t' be extremely tight on both t' inner and outer circumferences. I started t' sand them down. Accordin' t' t' instructions, shiver me timbers, me bucko, a bit o' tightness is desirable in t' forward rin' (the one with t' slot) but t' aft one should be loose enough t' slip off without too much trouble. Ahoy! Eventually, these criteria were met.

A mark was made on t' forward end o' t' motor tube and a band o' epoxy was run around t' circumference with a 1" gap for t' strap hole. Avast! T' rin' was then seated. Ya scallywag! When t' first bit o' epoxy had set, t' forward rin' was filleted, again leavin' a gap for t' strap.

T' aft rin' be then slipped on but nay epoxied. T' facilitate removal later, arrr, t' instructions directed that I attach 3 strips o' cellophane tape t' ring.

T' kit uses a piece o' flat nylon strap for t' recovery harness. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It is supposed t' slip through t' notch o' t' forward ring. Ya scallywag! Mine would nay and me attempts t' get it t' do so resulted in a frayed mess. I used a razor knife t' cut off t' frayin' and form an angle at t' end o' t' strap. Begad! Begad! I also used t' knife t' whittle away a bit more material and make t' slot bigger. After doin' that, I was able t' use a pair o' pliers t' pull t' strap through so that 4" were along t' motor tube. Ahoy! A bed o' epoxy be laid down and then t' strap was embedded in t' epoxy and held down with maskin' tape.

T' next step was t' install t' motor mount into t' airframe. Well, blow me down! T' instructions called for placin' a rin' o' epoxy 7 inches in from t' aft end. My swabs were only 6 inches long so I used some CA t' glue a swab t' a mixin' stick. T' lengthened swab be then marked at 7" and a rin' o' epoxy was applied. Ya scallywag! T' motor mount was shoved in, ya bilge rat, makin' sure that t' strap be offset from all fin slots. It be pushed in until t' end o' t' motor tube was flush with t' airframe.

Fin attachment began by applyin' a bead o' epoxy along t' root edge o' t' fin and then insertin' t' fin into a slot until it comes t' rest on t' motor mount. Once in place, arrr, matey, alignment be checked and t' fin was taped t' hold it in position until t' epoxy set. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! Then t' next fin was done in t' same manner as was t' third one.

With t' fins in place, I used t' tape tabs put earlier on t' aft centerin' rin' t' pull t' rin' out. Aye aye! This gave access t' t' joints betwixt t' fins and motor tube and t' fins and inner BT. Well, blow me down! Begad! Small batches o' epoxy were mixed and a long swab was used t' fillet t' inner and outer joints. Ahoy! Begad! At t' same time, t' outside o' t' BT be filleted t' t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! T' epoxy fillets were smoothed by a glove clad finger dipped in alcohol.

At this point I need t' confess up t' a blunder. My thought was that t' inner fillets did nay need t' be pretty and I be kind o' messy applyin' them. Begad! This led t' later problems in gettin' t' aft centerin' rin' back in place. Begad! I ground t' blobs down as best I could but t' rin' still wouldn't go in. Ahoy! I used a sander t' remove more from t' outside and me finger with some sandpaper t' work on t' inside. It helped but nay enough. Then I got t' bonehead idea o' forcin' it. Avast! I used a rubber headed mallet t' get it started and it did start. Arrr! It was also apparent that it be never comin' out again. Well, blow me down! I be committed. Avast! Then I got dumber. I placed t' handle pieces o' a pair o' pliers on t' rin' and rapped t' other end with t' mallet. Avast! This drove t' rin' down but also split t' wood. Ahoy! It wasn't split enough t' be removed, me bucko, shiver me timbers, but it be pretty bilge-suckin' looking. Aye aye! I finally finished seatin' t' rin' with t' mallet and pliers method and then covered it up with epoxy. It's ugly but should work. Besides, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, people have no business lookin' up t' behind o' strange rockets.

Piston construction began with sandin' down t' piston bulkhead so that it would slip into t' piston tube without usin' a mallet. Aye aye! Avast! This did nay take too long with a belt sander. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! T' nylon strap attached t' t' motor mount was then fished through t' provided slot, ya bilge rat, passed through a D ring, and then passed back through t' slot and snugged up. Begad! Ahoy! Epoxy was then used t' bond t' strap in place.

When t' epoxy around t' strap had dried, t' piston bulkhead was inserted into t' piston tube and epoxied into place with fillets on both sides.

T' transition section still needed t' be put together. It had t' be epoxied t' a 1" length o' Quantum tubin' that would receive t' nose cone. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I scuffed up t' plastic with sandpaper and t' epoxied it into place.

T' transition be slid onto t' BT down t' t' fins. Arrr! Arrr! Blimey! T' strap from t' nose cone be then pushed down into t' BT on top o' t' inserted piston and t' nose cone settled around t' top o' t' BT as far down as it would go. Avast, me proud beauty! T' transition was then moved up until it housed t' lower end o' t' cone and a line was marked on t' BT and t' transition slid back down. Begad! A rin' o' epoxy was then applied at t' line and t' transition slid back into place. Avast! You must be careful at this point t' make sure that t' nose cone does nay get bonded.

All that was left, arrr, matey, except for t' lug, arrr, was t' attach t' strap from t' nose cone t' t' top o' t' piston.

Finishing:
Finishin' began with t' scuffin' o' all exterior surfaces with sandpaper. Begad! Ahoy! I started with 220# and then went t' 400# because I didn't like some o' t' gouges.

Then it be into t' booth for t' first o' 2 coats o' Kilz. Well, blow me down! Blimey! When it came out a few days later, ya bilge rat, matey, t' Kilz be lightly sanded and I masked off t' part o' t' rocket from t' transition aft.

I am nay overly fond o' flat paints so I decided t' go this somethin' similar too, shiver me timbers, but nay like t' "publicity photo". Blimey! Begad! I proceeded t' give t' forward section a coatin' o' flaky metallic silver. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! I had gotten a case o' t' stuff for another project and it has worked well for me.

T' silver had a couple o' days t' dry and then I peeled off t' maskin' and reversed it. T' bottom o' t' rocket be then sprayed with a glossy, dark green. Blimey! I don't know where I got t' can from. Blimey! I didn't even know that Valspar made rattle cans.

When t' green had dried, me hearties, matey, t' maskin' was peeled off and t' results inspected. Ahoy! Ahoy! I was satisfied and needed only t' get t' work on t' lug.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
T' first flight o' t' MR-1 be a comic tragedy o' errors. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! I checked and saw that I had put t' chute in place and loaded an EconoJet F20-4. Ahoy! Blimey! It came with a Copperhead igniter, me bucko, o' course, but I had never had too much trouble with those...until today. It didn't even tickle t' motor.

I replaced t' igniter with a First Fire and got ignition, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, after a fashion. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' motor chuffed for a while but then decided t' go with t' flow and t' rocket took off describin' a parabola. Blimey! Blimey! At this point, arrr, we all knew that trouble was brewin' but I kept hopin' that, shiver me timbers, arrr, somehow, t' chute would eject. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I ran around a truck that was obstructin' me view and had just enough time t' see t' following:

1. T' ejection charge fired about 10 feet off t' ground.
2. T' chute was in t' tube but had nay been tied into t' harness (It flutters nicely, me bucko, by t' way)
3. T' rocket takes a core sample.

Some o' t' excitement can be seen here on video.

Things got stranger after that. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' first really strange thin' is that t' rocket had no damage. Ya scallywag! That made me think it be indestructible and ready it for another flight.

This time I loaded a G38-4J. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! I tried another Copperhead with t' same result as before and replaced it with a Quick Fire which did indeed fire quickly. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! T' rocket flew well, matey, shiver me timbers, me bucko, went up, me bucko, sounded good, ya bilge rat, t' piston deployed t' chute just t' way it be supposed t' and t' rocket came driftin' down. Begad! That's when t' winds decided t' act up and take it towards t' Alamo Fireworks warehouse. Avast! Begad! Ignorin' me pleas, it landed on t' wrong side o' t' fence.

Several o' us saw it land gently. Blimey! I decided t' go on Monday t' reclaim t' rocket. Ya scallywag! Alamo has always been very good about that. At t' end o' t' day though, me hearties, another club member was drivin' off and noticed their gate be open. Blimey! He retrieved his own rocket and me MR-1.

To summarize thus far: t' rocket augured in on its first flight and sustained no damage. Avast! Blimey! Now it had landed gently t' way it is supposed t' and it popped a fin. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! A video o' t' second flight can be seen here.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I like this strange little rocket. Well, blow me down! Begad! It will be fixed and fly again.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5