Picture courtesty o' T' Launch Pad

Brief:
T' Scimitar is a Launch Pad original design that is modeled after military surface-to-air missiles. Begad! This rocket is a complex two-stager that uses a cluster o' three D motors in t' booster and a single D in t' sustainer, arrr, and includes a nifty on-board battery circuit t' ignite t' second stage. Begad! Aye aye! There are lots o' exterior details included in t' plans that allow t' builder t' create a good lookin' scale-like model.

Construction:
T' Plan Pack came in a manila envelope with a cover sheet pasted t' t' front showin' a drawin' o' t' rocket and listin' basic details such as length, diameter and recommended engines.

Inside t' envelope are two stapled sets o' instructions on standard letter-size paper. Begad! Part one contains t' written Assembly Instructions, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and refer t' t' second part containin' t' diagrams. Begad! These assembly instructions are broken down logically into discrete construction steps, and warnings and other potential gotcha's are printed in bold letterin' t' make sure you take note. Begad! Ahoy! These plans really need t' be read through and understood before pulling out t' hobby knife, shiver me timbers, me hearties, shiver me timbers, because they are detailed and nay always intuitive. At some points in t' plans alternatives are presented, and these are best decided upon before beginnin' construction. Blimey! T' last page o' this part are Launch Procedures that will help you achieve perfect launches involvin' clusters and/or staged flights.

T' assembly instructions guide you step-by-step through each phase of construction, arrr, me bucko, right down t' rollin' your own body tubes. Avast! All dimensions are given, arrr, and you can substitute commonly available commercial tubes and couplers if desired.

T' second part o' t' plans contains t' materials list, another list of the supplies and tools needed t' complete t' rocket, shiver me timbers, and many pages of excellent diagrams that correspond t' t' assembly instructions.

A common characteristic o' Launch Pad designs is they are very light for their size. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! This is accomplished by usin' Estes-weight materials, shiver me timbers, and very little (if any) over-buildin' is done. Some believe that this makes for less-than-rugged models, matey, shiver me timbers, but we have flown several o' t' Launch Pad kits and they've held up very well t' years o' use.

Another feature o' these kits and plans are t' use o' paper parts to achieve desired and interestin' profiles. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! T' Scimitar has a boat tail and air intakes formed o' heavy paper. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Shaped balsa is used t' create built-up fins, intake diffusers, matey, access panels and conduit runs. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! A method o' usin' pinheads to create 'rivets' is included for even greater detail.

Although these are 'builders' kits that require greater effort on t' part of t' modeler t' complete, ya bilge rat, t' plans give enough information t' ensure success to anyone who follows t' directions. Avast! Details such as chute templates, arrr, shock cord mountin' and even how t' attach a snap swivel t' t' chute lines are included.

An experienced modeler will be able t' modify these plans with ease t' fly as a single stage or upgrade t' engines, but care must be taken t' make sure you don't alter t' CG/CP relationship too much. Begad! Ahoy! Real military missiles are often intentionally borderline unstable, me hearties, and their modeled brethren sometimes exhibit t' same characteristics. Aye aye! We've had more than one flight where the answer was (obviously) nay 'more power' or 'bigger kick'. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I think these designs are susceptible t' wind gusts as they come off t' rod (or rail - rails are good for these rockets).

This brings up t' biggest omission in these plans - t' CP. All manufacturers should note t' CP o' their kits in t' instructions. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! If you have determined t' CP for your kits, me bucko, please send 'em t' EMRR for t' library, me hearties, so all rocketeers can benefit.

Overall, me hearties, matey, this plan pack is a good value. Avast! Buildin' it strictly accordin' to plan will teach you some new skills and methods you may nay have used before in rocketry. For those who modify most everythin' (I'm in this group), t' design is interestin' and a good startin' point for your customizations.