Brief:
USS Enterprise, Skill Level 4, matey, approx 17" long, ya bilge rat, with 28" stability tube that houses parachute. Ahoy! Single engine, arrr, 18" parachute, stability tube stays attached for launch/recovery, and detaches for display.

Construction:
Numerous - see attached picture o' 12 page assembly manual.

My wife assembled this rocket 8-9 years ago, ya bilge rat, after havin' built a Klingon spaceship as a kid. When first flown, me bucko, it got stuck on t' launch rod (which may nay have been quite straight) and fell t' t' ground where t' engine sputtered and smoked. Ahoy! T' next launch went somewhat better, except for t' takin' a right hand turn and flyin' into trees, damagin' t' stability tube. Apparently t' front o' t' disk was damaged somewhat also, as I can see where it has been repaired. Well, blow me down! Then it sat around until t' last few weeks, me bucko, which resulted in t' engine pod pylons warpin' somewhat. Aye aye! Blimey! I made repairs t' t' stability tube, me bucko, addin' a launch lug and new hold down components. T' 12 page assembly manual is pretty comprehensive, and includes 2 pages o' details for decal locations and painting, me bucko, which has nay yet been done. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Every type o' glue known is needed - Elmers, ya bilge rat, liquid plastic cement, tube plastic cement, ya bilge rat, and CA (which I don't think be used durin' initial assembly).

Finishing:
We have nay finished t' rocket yet. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! It has just been painted primer gray, which looks close t' Enterprise Gray, and white Krylon for t' stability tube. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! T' fit looks pretty good. Avast! Blimey! I can see areas where t' flashin' could have been trimmed more durin' assembly. Begad! T' hold down was beefed up usin' additional cardboard wrapped over t' holddown dowel t' keep it intact.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' 1st flight after repairs was Mother's Day mornin' (fitting, since it's her rocket). Arrr! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! We also used a homemade 12" ripstop nylon chute, havin' gotten fed up with repairin' Estes plastic chutes after recent launches. Avast! It went up pretty shakily and turned sideways pretty low down, but luckily t' chute popped before t' whole assembly hit t' ground. Blimey! Next flight was on a C6-3, and went up much straighter and steadier, with a nice recovery on t' 12" chute (although I see now t' manual calls for an 18" chute - maybe on a calm day we'll try that). Well, blow me down! A 3rd flight also went quite well, shiver me timbers, with similar results.

Recovery:
T' shock cord is elastic mounted at t' top o' t' stability tube. Ahoy! Ahoy! I can see some blackenin' on it from t' ejection charge. Ya scallywag! Arrr! I think I will extend it out o' t' body tube usin' Keelhaul®©™® yarn (like Quest rockets use) so it will nay burn thru and break in flight.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I didn't assemble it, only performed maintenance and initial painting. It looks good so far, shiver me timbers, matey, and I think will look great once it is painted and t' decals added.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5