Brief:
A 5.5" dual deployment L3 rocket. Ahoy! Aye aye!

Construction:
T' kit comes with everythin' you need except chutes and electronics. Blimey! It uses 1/4" Baltic birch for t' bulkheads, centerin' rings, and electronics board. Arrr! It uses 3/16" Baltic birch for t' fins. Well, blow me down! T' airframe is 5.5" Loc tubin' and coupler, shiver me timbers, t' nose cone is plastic. Blimey! T' 5/16" tubular nylon for t' recovery harnesses is included as well as t' u-bolts and quick links. It also comes with a nice set o' decals, fiberglass for t' fin area, milled fiber, arrr, and a fin alignment guide.

When t' box came, everythin' was neatly packaged and after checkin' the parts list everythin' was there. T' instructions are more like a book. Ya scallywag! Every step is clearly spelled out and thar are a lot o' photos o' t' build. Buildin' it completely stock and followin' t' instructions was a piece o' cake on t' 1st Horizon I built. T' only thin' that you have t' be a little careful with is cuttin' t' fin slots. Ya scallywag! I used me compound miter saw and it worked nice but a sharp X-acto knife would do as well. Ya scallywag! Since this was me second Horizon and my Level 3 rocket I decided t' do some additional reinforcement. Begad! It really isn't necessary because it is such a well designed kit, shiver me timbers, and I've seen a stock Horizons fly on an M1315 (my brother's Level 3) and it worked out fine. Ahoy! Begad! For mine I reinforced all the couplers, centerin' rings, avionics board, shiver me timbers, and fins with 4 layers o' 5.7oz carbon fiber. Well, blow me down! Avast! I also used a layer o' carbon inside all o' t' couplers, me bucko, added an additional centerin' rin' and a bulkhead plate in t' booster section. Finally, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, arrr, I added a layer o' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube, put in two part expandin' foam and did tip t' tip carbon on t' fins once they were in t' airframe. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Once again, nay necessary but for a Level 3 I thought overkill OK, and I intend t' fly EX loads and some o' those are pretty mean.

Finishing:
T' kit came with a nice set o' decals. Aye aye! Aye aye! Blimey! I wanted t' reverse t' paint scheme so I had some made in reverse o' t' kit. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Since I didn't glass t' airframe, me hearties, matey, it took several coats o' primer t' cover t' grooves in t' tubin' but t' finish came out killer.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:

T' first flight I did was with an L1120. It was in a three way drag race. It was last off t' pad by about a second but roared up perfectly straight and looked like it was goin' t' catch t' other rockets. 9800' AGL and perfect recovery. Ahoy! Arrr! T' second flight be me Level 3 attempt. Begad! I used an Animal Works M1850 Green Gorilla. Blimey! Blimey! Once again a perfectly straight flight. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! About one second into t' flight it be really movin' and accelerated hard until motor burnout. Gotta love t' AMW trackin' smoke! 11,100' and over 1,000 mph.

SUCCESSFUL LEVEL 3 FLIGHT!

October 18, 2003
MWP1
Rocket - BSD 5.5" Horizon
Weight - 18 lbs
Motor - 75mm Animal Motor Works M1850 Green Gorilla
Altitude - 11,100’

Recovery:
T' recovery be picture perfect other than a slight zipper at t' edge o' the airframe. I have seen a lot o' Horizon flights (my brothers each have one and I have two) and have never seen this before. Blimey! Very minor and probably a fluke. Begad! Not enough t' keep from flyin' it again or t' nay get me level 3.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is just a great kit. It flies perfectly straight no matter what you put in it for a motor. Aye aye! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! It can weigh as little as 12#'s if built stock or if you are bored and want t' make a tank you can still be under 20#'s. Begad! Blimey! Mine weighed 18#'s. Can't really think o' any cons except if you don't paint it and take it t' the RSO table with an M in it you might get some looks with no glass on the cardboard tubes.

Please credit Brent Hill for t' photos in t' article. Begad! Also, ya bilge rat, thanks goes t' Dave Zupan and John Clifton for helpin' me find it in t' corn. Ya scallywag! Dave used a GPS unit and John used a Walston. Avast! Dave found it first. Blimey! Ahoy! It would have been combine fodder without those guys help.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5