Brief:
Scale rocket o' t' Russian SA-2 SAM Guideline. Begad! Lots o' fins and detail. Avast! Very easy build for anyone who has built a Scale Kits rocket before.

Construction:
T' kit comes with 2 very thick body tubes, a balsa nose cone and transition, laser cut plywood centerin' rings, matey, me hearties, basswood for all 16 fins, popular conduits, shiver me timbers, very nice nylon parachute, nose weight, me bucko, matey, and sturdy shock cord. Begad! T' only thin' missin' would be some kind o' positive motor retention.

Scale Kits' instructions are some o' t' easiest I've ever read. Avast, me proud beauty! They're on par with most Estes' kits. Well, blow me down! Diagrams are large and easy t' read. Begad! Blimey! You end up cuttin' t' instructions apart t' get t' fin markin' guide, shiver me timbers, so if you'd like t' keep t' instructions intact, me hearties, me bucko, make a copy o' that page.

T' hardest part o' buildin' this kit be gluin' and alignin' t' 16 fins. Aye aye! Blimey! As long as you take your time and make sure all 16 fins line up, shiver me timbers, it'll end up a very nice rocket. I was curious how t' ejection gases would go through t' transition before I built t' kit, shiver me timbers, but it comes hollowed out and t' motor mount is attached t' t' middle o' it and actually makes this kit stronger.

Finishing:
T' body tubes have virtually no spiral t' fill. Well, blow me down! T' fins were sanded and filled with sandin' sealer. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' balsa nosecone and transition soaked up 5 coats o' sandin' sealer and were still askin' for more. Avast! Avast! Blimey! I finally decided t' just fill t' grain with several coats o' primer with sandin' betwixt each coat.

Scale Kits included some waterslide decals that applied very well. Aye aye! Arrr! I had t' search t' Internet for a good paint scheme I liked. I ended up with flat navy gray with black/silver nose cone. Begad! Begad! T' conduits were painted black. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' strakes were yellow and white. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! This be as close as I could come t' t' actual Russian rocket.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
After buildin' t' rocket, arrr, I built it in RockSim t' find t' CP. I marked t' CP and tested t' CG. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! After findin' that they were too close for me liking, I added more nose weight. Avast! T' list o' recommended motors is nay t' biggest but nay short either. Avast, me proud beauty! I had a G64-7 reload already on hand so I decided t' use that. Avast, me proud beauty! It turns out that I should have used either a smaller reload or added more weight t' t' nose. Blimey! T' rocket went up straight for 100 t' 150 feet, me bucko, made a 90 degree turn, and started a horizontal loop. Well, blow me down! After one complete loop, it turned towards t' ground and buried itself. After talkin' with several other rocketeers onsite, matey, me bucko, it looks like it got it's initial stability from t' rod, me hearties, lost it after t' first 100 t' 150 feet, arrr, and then gained it again as t' motor burned out. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket was totally destroyed.

Recovery:
I loaded t' rocket with a Nomex blanket and packed t' parachute with a little baby powder t' ease ejection. Avast! Ahoy! I think it would have ejected clean and floated gently t' t' ground if it wasn't already 3 inches deep into t' earth when t' ejection charge went off.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket looks stunnin' on t' pad and has t' potential for beautiful flights on smaller motors. Aye aye! I wouldn't use anythin' above an F motor in this rocket and add additional nose weight t' increase stability.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5