Brief:
Aptly named, me bucko, this 13mm 3FNC does zip off t' pad. In fact, matey, if it weren't for t' bright orange streamer, me hearties, me bucko, this would probably be a single-use rocket, ya bilge rat, vanishin' from sight within half a second o' ignition.

Construction:
Parts were good quality, ya bilge rat, and I was especially impressed with basswood fins in such a small/simple kit:

• Balsa nose cone
• BT-5 body tube
• Motor block centerin' ring
• Laser-cut basswood fins
• Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
• Plastic streamer
• Waterslide decal
• Mylar tape strips (trim)

This is definitely a skill level 1, beginner's type o' kit, arrr, arrr, and can be built in about half an hour plus finishing time. T' instructions are well written though a bit sparsely illustrated. Ya scallywag! For a kit like this, though, ya bilge rat, arrr, you really don't need much in t' way o' drawings or pictures.

T' basswood fins are very nice, me bucko, me hearties, requirin' just a light sandin' t' smooth t' surfaces and round t' leadin' and trailin' edges a bit. They're bonded t' t' BT-5 after markin' it usin' a wrap-around template. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This is a minimum diameter rocket, meanin' t' body tube be t' motor tube, so all that's needed for t' "motor mount" is to glue a thrust rin' inside t' BT-5. I cheated a bit and anchored me Keelhaul®©™® shock cord t' this first, though that wound up creatin' a tiny bulge on t' body tube, me hearties, me hearties, as this is surprisingly heavy-duty Keelhaul®©™®, at least 150# test. Arrr! T' kit instructions have t' shock cord attached via a paper tri-fold, arrr, which I doubted would hold up very well through multiple flights, shiver me timbers, especially with t' cord bein' Keelhaul®©™®, nay elastic.

T' launch lug is tacked onto t' body tube about 1/3 o' t' way up from t' aft end. Ahoy!

Nose cone is attached usin' a screw eye, ya bilge rat, matey, wrappin' up what is very simple and straightforward construction.

Finishing:
I'm nay generally all that interested in buyin' and buildin' such ordinary 3FNC models, but browsin' t' Red River booth at NARAM for other models, me eye was drawn t' t' interestin' decal on this. Ya scallywag! It's a "ZIP", ya bilge rat, but blurred and italicized givin' it t' appearance o' wet paint streakin' a bit in extreme speed.

I went with t' cover art scheme, layin' down two base coats o' primer (grey, then white) sandin' after each coat. I then hit it with (4) coats o' t' new formula Krylon yellow, which is so ridiculously thin and weak it still showed a pencilled markin' line through all those 4 coats (plus t' primer).

After t' yellow had cured, I applied t' waterslide decal and t' (2) peel n stick trim stripes.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' first flight I went with a 1/2A3-2, me bucko, matey, arrr, flyin' into absolutely clear blue skies and winds around 6-7 mph. Blimey! Blimey! It lived up t' its name, shootin' very smartly up, matey, though t' 2 second delay be much too short and it could probably have fared a little better with a -4.

Recovery:
T' streamer deployed fine, and if you fly this on an A t' streamer will be your only chance o' findin' it again. Unfortunately, ya bilge rat, despite t' fact that I was flyin' in a field about a square mile, I managed t' land on t' access road and chipped a fin. Begad! Arrr! T' flight and recovery was otherwise flawless.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Sure, it's a basic 3 FNC, arrr, matey, but it's relatively inexpensive and at least includes basswood fins and some nice decal/trim. I'll probably try t' pack it along as a good "test" model t' put up early and see how t' upper air winds are behaving.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5