Brief:
A single-staged, D motor powered sport scale representation o' t' Canadian Arrow competitor for t' Ansari X-Prize.

Construction:
T' kit consists o' a really big blow-molded nose cone and tail cone, ya bilge rat, two sheets o' laser cut balsa fins, motor mount tube, main airframe body tube, motor retainer hook, motor block ring, sheet o' die-cut cardboard centering rings, ya bilge rat, 1/4" x 30" rubber shock cord, 3/16" launch lug, black motor hook retainer ring, decal sheet, matey, shiver me timbers, two blocks o' clay nose weight, shiver me timbers, matey, me bucko, and 18" parachute. Well, blow me down! All parts were present and none were damaged.

It contains typical Estes instructions: well written and in a logical order. Laser-cut fins are a little harder t' remove from t' sheet than die-cuts have been. Begad! T' plastic tail cone makes it pretty hard t' misalign t' fins on this one. Avast, me proud beauty! One o' t' huge die-cut centerin' rings had a slit made in it which led me to use a different shock cord lockin' method. Ya scallywag! I fed t' cord through t' slit and tied it off below before gluin' in t' motor mount. Begad! Arrr! I put in an old Centuri ejection baffle sized t' fit 24mm Estes tube...otherwise this one's gonna need lots o' wadding!

Fins needed some sandin' t' fit well. Avast, me proud beauty! They look a little light in balsa, but t' balsa is quite hard. Ahoy! They were assembled with me usual cornucopia of glues: CA, me bucko, Elmer's gel school glue, me hearties, me hearties, Testor's Plastic Model Cement. There were no real assembly "gotchas". Blimey!

Finishing:
This be t' trickiest X-bird t' paint so far o' t' three I've built and reviewed. Arrr! T' paint masks provided were actually better used as templates to mark lines t' brush on t' "maple leaf" motif on t' aft airframe. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I did t' basecoat in Miracal aerosol enamel from me local Dollar General Store, then marked t' maple leaf pattern with a sharp pencil and brushed on Testor's Acrylic Gloss Red. Blimey! Blimey! I made a typin' paper wraparound for t' multiple girth bands above t' tail cone. I had t' guess how wide they were, since the paintin' directions didn't specify. It still looks pretty good, kind o' like a captured Canadian V-2!

I still wish Estes would go back t' waterslide decals instead o' stickers and a wraparound for t' multiple girth bands could be added.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew it with D12-3s in all flights. I stuffed four squares o' Estes paper down t' motor mount tube then laid another four squares on top under the parachute. Aye aye! It flew straight as its namesake t' just about 475 feet and ejected right at apogee. Aye aye! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Descent rate just about right for t' size o' t' rocket.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Main PROs: Nice plastic parts, well designed, headline grabbin' subject.

Main CONs: Paint scheme is a little tricky and nay clearly explained for Joe Average Modeler's sake, arrr, matey, needs better decals

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

(picture above is simulated)