Brief:
Super Neon is an updated 2007 re-release o' an older kit. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! It is what I would call a "fantasy" tubefin in that it has decorative stub fins supplementin' t' 6 tubefins that provide t' actual stability t' create a futuristic appearance. Avast! Ahoy! T' packagin' highlights its "Space Age Tubular Fins". Blimey! Well, arrr, so maybe they're nay "stub fins", maybe they're coolin' plates for t' hyper-leptonic fusion tube-drive impulsor units. Begad! Its rated a Skill Level 2 kit, me hearties, me hearties, and for good reason (unfortunately).

Construction:
Airframe mainly consists o' an 18" piece o' BT-50 tubin' and six 3 1/2" BT-50 motor tubes adapted as t' tubefins. Six small balsa stub fins and t' usual Estes nose cone assembly, motor mount with hook, me hearties, me hearties, and recovery system rounds out t' materials package. Begad! Ahoy! A set o' waterslide decals is included. Usual excellent quality and fit o' materials.

As a fan o' tubefins, I was very happy t' see Estes add one back t' its product line. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! I purchased t' kit at a local launch and decided t' review it. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Given t' generally draggy nature o' tubefin rockets and t' added drag contributed by t' 6 stub fins, I be very skeptical o' t' packaging's claimed "flights up t' 1000 feet!" I don't think so--certainly nay on t' largest recommended motor, a C6-5, and with t' combined drag o' both t' 6 tube fins and t' 6 conventional fins. Blimey! Begad! I kept remindin' myself that this was a "fantasy rocket", otherwise its nuts t' combine normal fins and tube fins. Avast! Comparatively speaking, a belt and suspenders doesn't hold your pants up any better, however, me biggest criticism o' this kit comes from t' poorly thought-through instructions, matey, which usually is a strong point o' Estes kits. Begad! T' construction approach was miserable, apparently cobbed together by somebody (the subcontractor in China?) who had never before built a tubefin rocket. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Rather than rely on t' tried and true self-jiggin' method that is typically used on tubefin kits, o' attachin' t' 6 tubefins in pairs with t' body tube restin' on a flat surface, Estes gives t' rocketeer instructions with a weird and overly complicated geometric line-markin' method t' locate t' individual tubefin positions on t' body tube as if they were conventional fins. Begad! Ya scallywag! This is just nuts and guaranteed t' produce misaligned tube fins if t' slightest mistake is made! After installin' t' motor mount assembly per t' Estes method, ya bilge rat, arrr, matey, I threw away these awful instructions and put me Super Neon together t' right way:

1. With body tube on a flat table top, shiver me timbers, left and right tube fins, also positioned flush with t' table, were attached simultaneously. Arrr! Blimey! I use 5-min epoxy, usin' as little as possible t' save weight and allowed t' dry.
2. To this assembly, me bucko, two more tube fins were glued in place, me hearties, on top o' t' body tube and in contact with t' previous 2 tubes.
3. After drying, t' assembly be turned over, ya bilge rat, and t' two remainin' tube fins were attached t' t' bottom o' this assembly, matey, which are also self-jigged into place by contact with t' two adjacent tubefins. Well, blow me down! No ink lines, me bucko, no measuring, shiver me timbers, no door frames needed.

I attached t' stub fins t' t' tube fins as shown in t' instruction drawings, ya bilge rat, 3mm from t' top o' t' tubes and centered. Begad! It is OK t' use t' T.L.A.R. method ("That Looks About Right") t' position t' stub fins, ya bilge rat, since Estes doesn't really say how t' do this. Avast! I can see this bein' really frustratin' t' do with Elmer's glue. Blimey! It is a snap with 5-min epoxy--just dip t' end o' t' fin in freshly-mixed epoxy, matey, let it almost set up, and then hold firmly in place perpendicular t' t' tube for a minute or so. Arrr! Crazy Glue would be another good method.

Recovery system was attached per t' instructions. Note position o' t' launch lug, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, matey, adjacent t' one o' t' triangular holes betwixt t' tune fins, so be careful nay t' slop glue betwixt t' tube fins since t' launch wire has t' pass through here.

Finishing:
I decided t' skip t' decals. Begad! I don't like decals. Avast! I planned t' paint t' Super Neon in t' colors depicted on t' package, matey, ya bilge rat, aqua and purple, usin' Testor's rattle can products. Ya scallywag! Well, me hearties, blow me down! However, initial test flights were made with t' rocket unpainted. Reason bein' that I expected t' performance on a C6-5 t' be far short o' t' claimed "up T' 1000 feet", matey, and me plan be t' measure this exactly with a micro altimeter in a payload bay that I planned t' incorporate into t' ample body tube. This was exactly t' case. Blimey! Initial test flight was clearly well under a thousand feet. Well, blow me down! It wasn't even close. So a payload bay be simply included by sawin' t' upper 6" o' body tube off and gluin' t' its bottom a bulkhead from an unused Estes nosecone. T' Estes recovery system (toy plastic parachute and Estes notorious underpants elastic shock cord) be substituted with a proper 12" Top Flight light nylon chute and a shock cord made from 3' o' thin para cord. I attached this t' t' shortened body tube with a knot through a small hole drilled in t' tube and covered with half a BIC pen cover. Aye aye! This allowed precision measurements o' altitude with different motors and drag coefficient (Cd) calculation so maximum theoretical altitude could be extrapolated. Arrr! See photos for t' now-modified "Payload" Super Neon. Arrr! Ahoy! I have rated Super Neon a generous "3" due t' poor instructions and construction method and for t' poor recovery system included with t' kit, me bucko, ya bilge rat, which after 35 years is in need o' updating.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
T' savin' grace o' Super Neon is how well it flies (although maximum performance is far less than advertised), nay how high it flies. Well, blow me down! Blimey! First flight on B-motors showed that a B6-2 was near-perfect. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Flight on a C6-5 was nowhere near 1000' without t' 20g altimeter. Ahoy! Blimey! Nor be it near 900', 800' or 700'. Flight performance on a C6-5 after finishin' and t' addition o' a PerfectFlight Alt15k microaltimeter was 456' with Cd determined t' be a whoppin' 2.2 at 135 mph. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Usin' this value o' Cd in me simulation program and correctin' for t' added weight o' t' altimeter, gives only 520' calculated for flight without t' altimeter weight. Usin' a value o' Cd calculated from t' Super Neon dimensions o' 1.76 instead o' t' experimentally determined Cd o' 2.2 gives a calculated maximum altitude on a C6-5 o' 592'. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It is very unlikely that any Super Neon with its enormous drag could fly higher than 600' on a C6-5 in me opinion. Begad! Blimey! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! That said, Super Neon is a beautiful flyer on windy days, arrr, me hearties, risin' straight up with no weathercockin' whatsoever. Begad! Blimey! Note launch rod angle in photo. This is a major advantage o' tubefins. Aye aye! Blimey! I don't know how high it flew on that day, matey, but it was high enough that it landed on t' beach only 2 feet from t' waters o' Mission Bay, me bucko, blown by t' wind. Arrr! Blimey! I didn't need that "1000 feet!" o' t' package advertisin' on that day and I'm glad I didn't have it.

Recovery:
Flight recovery was perfect on both t' original Estes chute and shock cord and on t' nylon/para cord unit I added later. Begad! It is time that Estes updated its line with somethin' better than that antiquated elastic system they've been usin' since t' 1960's. Begad! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! So I dinged t' score for that. Ahoy! T' miserable performance was balanced by t' wonderful wind resistance Super Neon displayed. Ahoy! Its t' packagin' that needs fixing. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket flies great!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
T' product execution be disappointin' due t' poor instructions and buildin' technique. Fantasy rocket concept notwithstanding, matey, me hearties, thar be no reason t' ever put conventional fins on a tubefin. It doesn't improve t' looks much, matey, and it messes up t' maximum performance.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5