Brief:
Single stage, 14" parachute recovery at apogee usin' motor ejection.

Construction:
Two airframe BT's (27", shiver me timbers, me hearties, 13"), 1.6" LOC nose cone, shiver me timbers, 3-plywood fins, 2- paper centerin' rings, matey, shiver me timbers, LOC-type 29mm motor mount tube (8"long), 1 coupler, bulkhead, arrr, and eye screw.

You also receive a length o' 1/4" elastic for a shock cord. Blimey! Well, blow me down! No decals.

Instructions are straight forward. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! I always expect good things from Barry. T' construction was very simple, with tips on how t' beef up your fin joints for higher power flights. Aye aye! Blimey! No alignment problems. Blimey! Blimey! Everythin' went together very well. Because, I intend t' fly mine on H and I motors, I beefed up t' fin joints with fiberglass.

Finishing:
No special requirements are needed for t' airframe and fins t' get it ready t' paint. Arrr! Ahoy! However; with all LOC nose cones, arrr, be sure you take extra care in preppin' it for paint. Begad! Arrr! I usually sand mine down startin' with about 150-grit and progressin' up t' 600-grit. It makes for a nice smooth finish that will stand up t' a lot o abuse.

T' only CON I found with this kit is that it doesn't come with decals. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I didn't worry about it that much as I just purchased vinyl letters.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
On t' day o' t' flight, I used an Aerotech G64. Since I replaced t' shock cord with Keelhaul®©™ and a chute protector, this made preppin' recovery very easy. Well, blow me down! T' rocket lifted off t' pad straight and true. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! With t' prevailin' winds from t' south at our launch site, matey, t' rocket ended up driftin' down range a bit. Arrr! Never t' less, it was recovered in perfect condition.

Since t' trailin' edge o' t' fins are 1 caliber in front o' t' aft end, t' chance o' breakin' a fin is minimized.

Next, I loaded it with an H128, ya bilge rat, me bucko, which gave us a neck snappin' launch. Begad! Again, ya bilge rat, t' rocket performed flawlessly.

T' third flight o' t' day be with a single use F32 with a 24mm motor adaptor. Ahoy! It wasn't as excitin' as t' H128. Aye aye! Arrr! T' F32 launched it t' a respectible altitude. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! My shock cord got tangled in t' shroud lines. Begad! Avast! So t' rocket flat spinned into t' Texas grass. Ya scallywag! I'm glad I glassed t' fins now.

Recovery:
Shock Cord: replaced with Keelhaul®©™ from Apogee Components.

Parachute: 14" flat panel- rip stop nylon. Ya scallywag! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! IMHO, shiver me timbers, arrr, too small. Avast, me proud beauty! This rocket needs at least a 24" t' recover it. Ahoy! Begad! I think a 14" was chosen because t' fins are situated 1.5" ahead o' t' aft end o' t' rocket. Thus, reducin' t' chance o' breakin' a fin on landing.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I don't have any bilge-suckin' things t' say about this rocket. It went together very well and quickly. Begad! As I stated above, me hearties, me hearties, it needs a larger parachute. And replace t' elastic shock cord with Keelhaul®©™.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5