Construction

When Giant Leap says "Almost Ready T' Fly" they mean it. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey!  If anythin' this rocket may be a bit too easy t' assemble, but as a quick entry t' HPR this does t' job. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey!  T' actual time spent workin' on t' kit be very short, most o' t' construction time be waitin' for epoxy or paint t' dry.

T' instructions are clear, matey, me bucko, shiver me timbers, includin' cautions around t' tricky parts and advisin' what types o' epoxy t' use for t' different parts.  There be one part o' t' instructions (for a T-Bolt ordered mid-2013 and another mid-2014) that were a bit out o' date, ya bilge rat, they replaced t' old shock cord mount (what they seemed t' call a "super mount" which was a coupler tube with pre-cut all-thread inserted) with a cylindrical metal piece with a hole through t' center for an eye bolt and nut (what they call t' "Hardpoint Anchor", sold separately on their site). Ya scallywag! Blimey!  So t' instructions include applyin' epoxy t' t' all-thread so it doesn't cut t' shock cord, shiver me timbers, but that's nay a problem with t' eye bolt.  It left me a bit confused since I wasn't familiar with t' term all-thread so I was lookin' for somethin' I didn't have in me kit. Begad! Blimey!  But installin' t' Hardpoint into t' rocket is basically t' same, matey, and attachin' t' shock cord t' t' eye bolt is easier than reachin' in t' access t' buried all-thread I'd imagine.  T' shock cord included loops at both ends that looked very solid.  T' kit instructions for attachin' at t' super mount end was obviously wrong, but t' instructions for t' eye hook end could easily apply t' both ends.  T' instructions suggest tyin' t' cord t' t' eye bolt and usin' a dap o' epoxy, I fed t' loop ends through t' eye hooks and then fed t' entire shock cord through t' loop and didn't bother with any glue.

To assemble you basically glue on t' retainer and fin can (JB Weld and 30 min epoxy recommended, me hearties, me bucko, respectively), shiver me timbers, attach t' shock cord t' t' Hardpoint and epoxy it in (they recommend 30 min epoxy, I used JB Weld here also, ya bilge rat, and they provide a "glue stick" t' reach inside t' tube t' apply t' epoxy), slide on t' chute protector and attach t' other eye bolt for t' nosecone attachment. Ahoy!  All 3 GLR kits I've tried now (2 T-Bolts and 1 Firestorm 54) didn't have t' hole in t' nosecone properly sized for t' eye bolt provided, me hearties, so I've needed t' re-drill t' hole t' make it a bit bigger (but nay too big t' keep a good bite on t' plastic). Aye aye!  Easy t' do obviously, but a drill and drill bit aren't in their list o' required parts. Avast!  Tie a loop in t' shock cord and attach t' t' parachute with t' provided Quick-link. Avast!  Epoxy on t' rail guides with their spacers (two sets o' epoxying, JB Weld again), shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, drill t' vent holes and it's ready t' go.

It doesn't get any easier than t' single-piece fin canister, shiver me timbers, matey, matey, o' course without gainin' any skills about attachin' fins t' a rocket.  As a minimum diameter rocket it does add t' t' rocket's outer diameter at t' bottom, ya bilge rat, arrr, surely addin' a bit o' extra drag, and it's a pretty solid chunk o' plastic so it's reasonably heavy. Ya scallywag! Avast!  In this kit GLR drills some large holes on t' tube portion t' reduce t' weight, me hearties, makin' what they call t' "High-Performance" Fin Can. Begad!  But t' single-piece fin can avoids havin' t' worry about alignment, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, arrr, fillets, me hearties, etc. Begad! Begad!  Perfect for someone just gettin' started.