Brief:
T' US Rockets (USR) Banshee is a 4FNC MPR with a 29mm MMT, TTW fin attachment, large payload bay, arrr, me hearties, and streamer recovery. T' kit also includes a 29-24mm motor adapter allowin' this lightweight design t' be flown on motors rangin' from a D12 for small fields t' H motors by t' exceptionally brave. Avast! T' Banshee would make an excellent first MPR kit for someone lookin' t' make t' transition from LPR. Begad! It is also lends significant proof that many people (myself included) often overbuild our rockets.

Construction:
USR excels in communicatin' with its customers. Ahoy! Begad! I received a confirmation email within 30 minutes o' submittin' me order and then another less than 48 hours later statin' that me order had been shipped.

T' kit includes:

• 1 2:1 ogive balsa nose cone
• 2 18" x 2.25" body tubes
• 1 coupler tube
• 1 6" x 29mm MMT tube
• 1 3/32" poplar plywood bulkhead plate
• 2 3/32" poplar plywood centerin' rings
• 1 1" x 3/32" plywood disc
• 1 screw eye
• 1 tri-fold paper shock cord mount
• 1 7' x 1/4" elastic shock cord
• 4 3/32" poplar plywood fins
• 2 1/4" launch lugs
• 1 5' x 3" plastic streamer
• 1 29-24mm motor adapter kit
• Decals
• Instruction manual
• Advanced Information Report (AIR) #1 -- Motor Installation

All parts were present and in good shape. Avast! Kit is packaged in a long plastic bag with hang tag that is on par with other kits you would find in your local hobby shop. Arrr! I be particularly impressed with t' thick, me hearties, strong, ya bilge rat, and nearly spiral free glassine coated body tubes. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' nose cone is dense high quality balsa, shiver me timbers, which is unusual t' see in an MPR kit. Ya scallywag! T' fins, me hearties, me bucko, centerin' rings and bulkhead are all on t' thin side (made o' 3/32" poplar plywood) but should be sufficient for a rocket o' this design. Two o' t' fins also had knots in t' wood, makin' them a little unsightly, shiver me timbers, requirin' some extra effort to get a smooth fin surface durin' t' finishin' process. Avast! All documentation included with t' kit contains a lot o' useful information, me hearties, especially t' AIR document explainin' how t' prep motors for rockets that do nay have thrust rings. Avast! That seems t' be a common point o' confusion for someone new t' MPR/HPR rockets. Instructions are thorough, easy t' follow, and include pertinent data such as CP, ya bilge rat, Cd, matey, and motor recommendations.

Before beginnin' t' build o' t' Banshee, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I contacted U.S. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Rockets (USR) to find out any recommendations and/or advice they might have regardin' what kind o' adhesive t' use along with seein' if thar were any potential "gotchas" while markin' and slottin' t' tubes (which you have t' do yourself), me bucko, arrr, gettin' a smooth finish on t' balsa nose cone, me bucko, or paintin' the Banshee. Aye aye! Blimey! There weren't any gotchas t' report, but USR did encourage t' use of aliphatic resin (yellow wood glue) in place o' epoxy. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' recommendation was backed up by a link t' http://www.rocketmaterials.org/, where thar be test data comparin' different popular adhesives used in rocket construction.

T' first order o' business is t' glue t' centerin' rings onto t' MMT tube followed by gluin' t' MMT into t' body tube. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! Next, shiver me timbers, t' body tubes come unmarked and have t' be slotted for t' fins. Begad! Blimey! That might seem like a daunting task, however, arrr, it is made easy if you remember 2 rules: 1) Measure twice; cut once, and 2) Use a new blade and take your time. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I had only used white glue, CA, matey, and epoxy previously but was willin' t' give USR's recommendation a shot. Usin' Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Glue along with roughin' up t' glassine covered tubes with 220 grit sandpaper, me hearties, I found t' wood glue t' be as easy t' apply (and clean up!) as white glue while rivalin' t' strength o' wood-wood and wood-paper joints that epoxy is capable of. T' thin fins made me nervous when I first opened t' kit, matey, but they were held firmly in place and have almost zero flex after bein' attached t' t' MMT tube followed by wood glue fillets. Aye aye! Blimey! I chose t' glue t' coupler into t' payload tube but t' nose cone is held in place by friction fit. Avast! Blimey! (T' Banshee could also be easily built with a zipperless design thanks t' t' generous payload tube.) Even with some minor editorial issues in t' instruction manual, t' build offered no surprises until I was comin' down t' home stretch. Begad! Blimey! T' kit includes a 29-24mm motor adapter, me hearties, which consists o' 2 short pieces o' tubing--one fittin' inside the other and then both slide inside t' 29mm MMT tube when ready for action, however, this step was left out o' t' instruction manual. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I fired off an email off t' USR, who replied in a pleasantly short turnaround time with the appropriate information for me t' continue t' build.

T' recovery system is simple and contributes little weight t' t' rocket. A self-tappin' screw eye (the kind designed for screwin' into wood and having no nut) goes though t' bulkhead and a small wood disc (glued onto the bulkhead), me bucko, shiver me timbers, providin' plenty o' strength from havin' it ripped out under a rough ejection. Begad! A generously long (7') piece o' tough elastic is tied on t' t' screw eye. Ahoy! T' other end o' t' elastic is attached t' t' booster body tube with a heavier stock version o' t' Estes tri-fold paper mount. Arrr! While some may frown on this seemingly dated method, I think that it falls under the if-it-ain't-broke-why-fix-it? mind set. Avast! I also feel that t' 5' long streamer is a good choice for recovery. Ahoy! Even with a small chute, arrr, t' rocket is so light that it would be vulnerable t' drifting.

I made 2 minor modifications t' t' kit: 1) installin' rail buttons in place o' t' launch lugs and 2) drillin' small vent holes in both t' payload and booster tubes t' relieve air pressure (preventin' premature separation) durin' high altitude flights. Aye aye! T' launch lugs are made o' t' same material that come with Estes rockets, just bigger. Ya scallywag! Although certainly more susceptible to damage than brass or heavy paper lugs, I think they would still work sufficiently with t' overall lightweight design o' t' Banshee kit.

Motor retention, as covered in t' included AIR #1 document, matey, is provided by maskin' tape. Blimey! Seein' how I pretty much stick t' single use F and G motors, which is what I planned on flyin' t' Banshee with, and have had plenty of success with t' friction fit method, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I did nay find it a problem (nor a disappointment) that a mechanical retention system be included with t' kit. Also, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, t' 29-24mm motor adapter included requires that it be held in place by friction fit when used.

Finishing:
I started with Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish for sealin' t' nose cone and fins, matey, shiver me timbers, laid down a couple o' coats o' Krylon primer, and sanded everythin' smooth with 320 grit sandpaper. Aye aye! Begad! Touched up any missed rough spots with F'n'F again before another round o' primer coats and sandin' with 400 grit. Begad! T' entire rocket was then painted Krylon orange, wet sanded, and then another coat o' orange before bein' masked off for t' Krylon cherry red accents. Blimey! After t' paint cured, matey, I used an old T-shirt t' buff t' entire rocket t' a mirror-like shine and smooth out any paint dam ridges with 3M Rubbin' Compound. Then I attached t' shock cord (tied it onto t' eye bolt and glued t' tri-fold paper mount inside the booster tube). Avast! Lastly, shiver me timbers, t' rail buttons were screwed into place after puttin' a couple drops o' CA in each o' t' mountin' holes. Begad! T' kit does come with a pair of decals that say "US ROCKETS Banshee", matey, ya bilge rat, but I chose nay t' use them because t' backin' paper has a matte finish. I'm sure that a couple coats of clear would resolve that issue but clear coatin' is nay a normal part o' my finishin' process.

Also, shiver me timbers, t' coupler had a pretty loose fit initially, however, arrr, I chose to paint t' coupler. Arrr! T' paint provided enough bulk so that I actually had t' wet sand t' coupler for a smooth and proper fit into t' booster tube without any tape.

Ultimately, ya bilge rat, t' spirals were all but gone and t' balsa nose cone had a flawlessly smooth finish. Ahoy! T' final product be a rocket that screamed "rocket god sacrifice".

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
First flight was on an AeroTech SU F50-9T. A handful o' dog barf waddin' was dropped in t' protect t' shock cord, matey, shiver me timbers, streamer and beeper before settin' it up on t' rail. Avast! RockSim projected peak altitude o' just under 2200ft, so I thought it a good time t' use me new beeper (a slightly modified Radio Shack personal "security system") t' aid in locatin' t' rocket. However with the overall light mass o' t' rocket (10oz without motor and beeper), arrr, me bucko, me bucko, I decided to pull t' pin on t' beeper and have it goin' off while t' rocket sat ready to go on t' pad.

After a (at t' time seemingly endless) strin' o' continuity issues--not to mention bein' annoyed by t' beeper squealing--we had ignition. Arrr! T' Banshee s-c-r-e-a-m-e-d off t' pad. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I can say with good confidence that it came within a couple percent o' t' RockSim estimate and got thar in a hurry. Avast! There was only a slight amount o' weathercockin' but it came in t' latter part o' the coastin' phase.

Recovery:
T' streamer included with t' kit is a 3"x60" piece o' plastic. Begad! I knew with t' light mass o' t' Banshee I did nay want t' switch t' a chute but somethin' told me this streamer was a little on t' small side. EMRR's Streamer Size Calculator showed that I needed t' upgrade t' a 5"x96" streamer. Aye aye! I happened t' have a plastic disposable tablecloth (less than $2 at your local party supply store and a huge choice o' colors), which also be a perfect material match for t' stock streamer. Begad! Tyin' a swivel onto one end o' t' streamer, ya bilge rat, me bucko, matey, I attached it t' a small loop I tied in t' shock cord.

Ejection best I could tell came right at apogee. Begad! In fact, matey, I was able t' see the Banshee with its neon green streamer for a few seconds before I could hear the beeper. Avast! Begad! T' plastic streamer brought it almost straight down with very little drift. Ya scallywag! Avast! All in all, me hearties, it landed within a hundred yards o' t' pad. Well, blow me down! Nay bad considerin' t' altitude it'd just gone! T' field was soggy but t' Banshee managed t' find a small dry-ish patch and I walked right out t' retrieve it. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I found everythin' intact--and thar wasn't even a scratch or din' in t' balsa nose cone!!! Only problem be it took me forever t' fish t' beeper pin out of my pocket t' shut t' darn thin' off!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' US Rockets Banshee may nay come with all o' t' so-called "modern niceties" (like Keelhaul®©™® shock cord, mechanical motor retention, heavier wood components, me bucko, etc.) but I learned that with solid construction, ya bilge rat, finishing, & flight prep techniques, a solid rocket can be built t' last and probably outperform comparable kits that so many folks tend t' (unnecessarily) overbuild.

It should easily fly on as little as a D12, up t' take any H (for the extremely brave/crazy/stupid/insane) that you can put in it. Begad! Blimey! 'Banshee' is indeed an excellent name for this rocket.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5