Brief:
T' Avalear be t' 2008 NEMROC 2008 commemorative kit. T' design features two main fins that have finlets attached. T' kit named after Glen Avalear, ya bilge rat, a long time friend o' Jim Flis that unfortunately passed away.

Construction:
T' kit includes a nice balsa nose cone, matey, shiver me timbers, arrr, and a nice sheet o' balsa for t' fins. Begad! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! Also included is a Keelhaul®©™® shock cord and a nice plastic parachute. Well, blow me down! All components are nice quality.

T' instructions for t' Avalear are very well written with clear illustrations. Begad! Assembly order is typical with no surprises. Avast! T' kit includes a thick paper template for t' fins. Ahoy! T' templates are used t' transfer fin shapes over to the balsa. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Once t' fins are cut out and final sanded t' your preference, it's time t' glue them t' t' main body tube. T' kit includes a nice jig t' assist with alignment. T' remainder o' t' construction is very typical with no gotcha's. Blimey! Begad! Overall t' assembly is very simple and should present no problems.

Finishing:
I sealed t' balsa nose cone and fins with two coats o' Minwax Poly®. I then brush on a coat o' thinned lightweight filler on t' balsa and body spirals. Well, blow me down! After sanding, I usually spray two coats o' primer sandin' betwixt coats. Ya scallywag! Next up be two sprayed coats o' Krylon™ for t' color. Well, blow me down! Once dry, I used some Monocote™ trimsheets t' add t' stripes.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
First flight was with a A8-3. Blimey! This motor provided a nice straight boost with a slightly early ejection. Ahoy! It left the pad in a hurry and I was surprised at how much altitude t' A8-3 produced. Ya scallywag! T' second and third flight used a B6-4. Again perfectly straight boost, with ejection just about perfect. Begad! T' B6-4 provides some serious altitude and it gets goin' quickly. Begad! My recommendation while usin' a C motor would be t' have some good deadlights on it. All three flights were in about 5mph winds.

All three flights were perfect and each recovery produced no damage t' t' rocket. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' 12" chute brings it down slowly so a spill hole might be a welcomed addition. With t' fin layout it looks really neat in t' air.

Recovery:
T' kit includes a Keelhaul®©™® shock cord that attaches t' t' motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! A piece o' 1/8 elastic is tied t' t' Keelhaul®©™® and attaches t' t' nose cone. Avast, me proud beauty! Overall length o' t' shock cord is more than suffcient. Ahoy! Aye aye! Flight recovery on t' first three flights were without issue, resultin' in no damage.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' kit be typical FlisKits™ quality, and I found no issues while buildin' t' rocket. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I liked havin' t' cut t' fins out since it adds some steps to an otherwise easy kit t' build. Blimey! Blimey! T' jig that you assemble t' help in alignin' t' fins proved t' be very helpful. Overall it's a great rocket with a neat fin layout that proves t' be more than you normal lookin' design. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I think Glen Avalear would be more than proud!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5