Brief:
Ol'SaltRockets is a company recently started by Chris Michielsen, ya bilge rat, specializin' in somewhat unusual designs and specialty gear generally nay found elsewhere. Aye aye! I had looked over their line when Jonrocket.com first started carryin' them and had planned on addin' a few goodies t' me Christmas wish list, but was pleasantly surprised when a small care package arrived o' Odd'l goodies t' review.

T' Break-Away kit is an ordinary lookin' 3-fin design, matey, at least until recovery time. Aye aye! It's intended t' break into several pieces and tumble safely down, much like t' Estes Wacky Wiggler, though this design features good old fashioned kraft tubes and balsa throughout.

Construction:
My first impression when lookin' at t' kit and components was that this could pass for a Semroc kit--similar artwork, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, sealed up in a plastic bag, excellent quality parts. Well, blow me down! T' fins were laser cut, tubes had nice crisp and straight edges, everythin' top notch. Well, blow me down! Parts include:

• Balsa nose cone
• (3) laser cut balsa fins
• 5 ST-10 body tubes (2.5")
• 5 TC-10 couplers
• 1 ST-10 body tube (4")
• BT-20 motor tube
• Wound centerin' rings
• Metal motor hook
• Motor block
• Keelhaul®©™ shock cord
• Plastic lug connectors
• 1/8" launch lug

T' instructions on this are fairly good, again reminiscent o' Semroc, with about 20 steps printed across 3 folded 8.5x11 pages, me bucko, me bucko, with check boxes as you go. Blimey! Most steps feature computer drawings. Begad! This could probably be classified as a skill level 1 kit, me bucko, matey, though I'd rate it a 2 for now as some o' t' steps are a bit confusin' and previous experience helps get through them.

T' motor mount assembly is pretty standard--a BT-20 tube, pre-slotted for t' metal clip, with a pair o' wound centerin' rings and a centerin' rin' motor block. Blimey! T' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord is anchored t' t' forward end o' t' motor hook, held snugly in place by t' centerin' ring. Well, blow me down! I found t' fit o' t' centerin' rings t' be perfect--no need t' sand or peel away any paper tryin' t' coerce them down t' tube over t' metal clip.

T' body tube construction is where you need t' start payin' attention t' t' directions. Blimey! There are (6) total body tubes and 5 couplers. Begad! T' couplers are t' go in what will be t' forward end o' t' longer body tube and all but one o' t' short tubes. Arrr! Begad! T' coupler-less tube winds up bein' t' one t' nose cone will go into, me hearties, just nay yet. Blimey! Normally couplers are inserted about halfway into t' tube, shiver me timbers, but in this case they only go in 1/4" deep, matey, matey, so be very careful t' make sure they're straight and aligned, shiver me timbers, since they can wobble a bit only bein' in so far.

T' next stage is where I think t' directions got a little hinky on me. Begad! Well, blow me down! There are (5) clear plastic lug-like pieces, shiver me timbers, me hearties, which wind up bein' used t' anchor t' Keelhaul®©™ into each piece individually. Avast! Avast! T' instructions initially say they will be glued into each o' t' couplers. Begad! OK, 5 pieces, 5 couplers, me bucko, I can handle that. Arrr! T' instructions then say "glue t' last coupler in 5/8" in from one end o' t' nose cone tube (the one without t' coupler)". Blimey! Problem. Begad! Avast! 5 pieces can't glue into 6 tubes, so I either have t' glue one into each coupler piece (one o' which be t' longer 4" aft body tube) or glue one into t' nose tube and short one o' t' others. Begad! Gluin' 5/8" back in t' nose tube, though, ya bilge rat, won't allow t' nose cone shoulder and one o' those couplers hangin' mostly out o' t' other tubes t' both fit.

I made t' executive decision t' leave t' plastic lug out o' t' aft 4" body tube, arrr, since t' Keelhaul®©™ be already anchored in thar via t' motor mount, CA'd t' plastic lug-like pieces in each o' t' short body tube pieces includin' t' coupler-less nose section, and trimmed about 3/8" off t' nose cone shoulder so it would fit.

Next up was fin mounting, shiver me timbers, marked usin' a template pattern sheet.

T' final construction step(s) involve threadin' t' Keelhaul®©™ cord through t' lug-like pieces inside t' body tubes, then tyin' knots around them t' hold t' body tube sections about 4" apart when tumbling. Avast! There's a very good illustration showin' how t' knot and placement work, so as long as you're careful t' feed from t' aft end o' t' tubes, everythin' is easy. Aye aye! Begad! Once everything's tied together, ya bilge rat, t' nose cone is glued t' t' open front end o' t' coupler-less body tube.

After finishin' everythin' up, I had t' naggin' feelin' that thar ought t' be a screw eye attachment t' t' nose cone rather than countin' on t' plastic lug-like piece t' hold its grip durin' ejection. I decided t' go with t' "stock" build, shiver me timbers, me hearties, though, since this was for review purposes.

Finishing:
T' cover art illustrates a neat hodge podge o' colors, matey, matey, one for each o' t' individual tubes, ya bilge rat, and I decided t' go along a similar route usin' various cans o' Krylon that don't get much use in me typical sport rocket use. I started with two coats o' gray primer, arrr, sandin' between, then went for t' various leftover colors in t' scheme. That turned out t' be a pretty bad idea. I've had some trouble with Krylon compatibility betwixt old and new, but generally figured new would work OK over old primer, me bucko, and old Krylon would certainly work over old primer. Ahoy! Nay so--I had a crinkled mess. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Rather than spend another week or so sandin' and reworkin' it, I bailed and went with decal wraps o' various colors I'd picked up from Aerospace Speciality Products. Aye aye! That wound up bein' quick, easy, and looked great.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' first flight, me hearties, I took advantage o' a calm day and went for t' max C6-5. It zipped fairly smartly and dead straight, ya bilge rat, matey, though as it started t' top 1000 feet I realized flyin' this on a C, with no trackin' powder, was possibly a mistake. I could barely track t' smoke trail from t' delay against t' overcast sky, ya bilge rat, matey, and knew thar would be no chute or streamer t' pick up. Avast! I be just able t' spot it as it broke apart at ejection.

Recovery:
T' recovery is dirt simple--everythin' pops apart into individual pieces, tethered together by t' Keelhaul®©™, tumblin' safely down. Arrr! Aye aye! Mine worked fine, arrr, though one coupler be a bit too tight (paint bled), me hearties, me bucko, so two sections remained together. Avast, me proud beauty! I found t' complete rocket in fine shape a gruelin' 75 foot walk away from t' pad.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
While t' design does tend t' look like a basic 3FNC, t' recovery method certainly makes this a bit unusual. Pros are t' incredibly simple flight prep (no waddin' or chute/streamer t' prepare), good flyer, and quality components. Aye aye! T' main con would be t' confusin' and poorly worded instructions, though after a few exchanges with Chris, me hearties, it looks like they've been redone. I'll just chalk it up t' t' perils o' bein' a guinea pig.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5