Brief:

T' Pioneer is a single-staged model rocket aimed at educational groups. Begad!

Construction:

T' Pratt Pioneer Kit Contains:-

• 1 nice white glassine coated body tube
• 3 pre-cut hard balsa fins
• 1 plastic nose cone. Ya scallywag! This is very well-made with minimal moldin' flash.
• 1 motor mount tube
• 1 paper thrust ring
• 2 paper centerin' rings
• 1 launch lug
• 1 square o' Nomex heatshield
• 1 long piece o' Keelhaul®©™ string(shock cord)
• 1 fin jig (paper base and centerin' ring)
• 1 plastic streamer

T' Pioneer does nay include a clip; for me class Thrustline Aerospace standard clips were added t' each kit. Instructions are geared toward first-time builders. Well, blow me down! Everythin' is clear and concise. Aye aye! Blimey!

A novel approach is used t' fin attachment- a paper template with a circle and three radiatin' lines has a centerin' rin' glued into t' center. Begad! Begad! Blimey! This forms t' fin jig. Avast! Arrr! Blimey! Then, it is taped t' t' work table by tapin' over t' lines with clear tape.

T' body tube is slipped upright over t' centerin' ring, and t' lines are used as guides t' attach t' fins. This gives t' builder freedom t' move on to other parts while t' fins dry! Blimey!

T' motor mount is assembled in normal fashion, with one exception bein' shock cord attachment. Aye aye! Avast! T' Keelhaul®©™® strin' is tied t' t' front o' t' motor mount tube through a hole. Begad! Begad! Blimey! T' thrust rin' prevents it from bein' torn out by t' force o' ejection. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Blimey!

There be one "gotcha" with me batch o' Pioneers- t' outside diameter o' t' motor mount tubes be too big t' fit into t' centerin' rings. Rather than attemptin' t' peel away t' inside o' t' centerin' rings t' make them fit, arrr, I simply replaced them with some Totally Tubular MMT's that I keep handy. Arrr! As these are standard MMT's and shorter than t' Pratt items, matey, I used the "lariat loop" method t' retain t' shock cord. Ahoy! A notch be cut into the outside o' t' front centerin' ring, arrr, and t' cord tied around t' tube. Arrr! Blimey! It was then glued in place. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! T' notch allowed it t' pass t' centerin' ring without puttin' a crease in t' tube. Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey!

T' rest o' construction is extremely easy and goes quickly. A couple o' my students crushed their tubes (happens with every group), but t' tubes didn't crinkle up. Avast, me proud beauty! Hallelujah!!! I don't know what's in this paper, but we should be usin' it t' build t' Space Shuttle!

Finishing:

Finishin' couldn't be easier. T' white glassine tube readily accepts paint and ink, and t' kits come with a good "Pioneer" logo sticker and a pretty nice roll pattern. Avast! T' only part that really needs colorin' are the balsa fins. My students decorated theirs with paint pens and markers. Begad! The rockets look sharp with t' stock black, arrr, white, and yellow colors.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:

I've only got a single flight on t' Pioneer. Ahoy! Arrr! Blimey! It's just been too cold t' put in a lot o' time flying. After me students have their sprin' launch, me hearties, I'll post an update.

Prep is simple, me hearties, matey, just tape or clip in t' motor, slip t' Nomex® square into t' tube, me hearties, and roll up t' streamer and push it onto t' Nomex®. T' remainin' shock cord is slipped in and t' nose cone installed. That's it! Add your ignitor and rack it.

My Pioneer be flown with a Quest A6-4. Ahoy! It took off fairly smartly on a very slightly curved trajectory. Altitude be decent; it looked t' be about 3-400' to me "calibrated eyeball". This is impressive performer for sure. Aye aye!

Recovery:

T' shock cord was attached as described. Ahoy! T' Nomex® square has a hole in t' center that slips down over t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and will nest down on top o' t' motor mount. Aye aye! T' streamer is a 2" wide by 18" piece o' yellow caution tape! It has a loop welded in one end which slides over t' shock cord. Great way t' dodge t' typical attachment hassles, shiver me timbers, and it works like a charm. T' other end o' t' shock cord ties t' a very nicely molded loop in t' nose cone. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye!

T' rocket had curved over t' just about horizontal at apogee; ejection went flawlessly. Arrr! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' wide streamer unfurled pretty well and recovers t' rocket at a decent speed. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! There be no apparent damage t' t' rocket on recovery other than a lot o' soot on t' shock cord, me bucko, streamer, and t' Nomex®. It remains t' be seen how this stuff will stand up t' repeated ejection charges, shiver me timbers, but so far, so good!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

T' only "cons" are t' motor tube fit (admittedly easy t' rectify) and t' lack o' a motor hook. Avast, me proud beauty! Some may view this as a plus- less weight and expense!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5