Brief:
T' Lil' Nuke is a mid-power rocket part o' LOC/Precision's Novice Kit series. Begad! Begad! It is single staged with a 29mm motor mount.

Construction:
T' instructions o' this kit were rather explicit. Well, blow me down! T' assembly order was logical, arrr, but as far as I can remember, matey, they did nay have any illustrations. Ahoy! T' kit came with all o' t' parts includin' an enormously thick paper body tube with lines pre-drawn t' mark t' fin locations. I was surprised t' find that this kit did nay have t' through-the-tube fin attachment method. This disappointed me because I believe that mid-power rockets need t' extra strength that a through-the-tube fin attachment method has. Aye aye! I used 30 minute epoxy throughout construction. Since I had t' epoxy t' root edges o' t' fins directly t' t' body tube, matey, me hearties, it made construction more time consuming. Avast, me proud beauty! I had t' stick one fin, and let it dry for hours before movin' on t' another fin. Avast! T' fins were slightly warped. Avast! Blimey! I also did nay like t' shock cord attachment method. However, I decided t' use it anyway trustin' LOC's design. Ahoy! T' shock cord mount consists o' nylon rope tied into a loop and epoxied against t' inside wall o' t' body tube like t' old Estes paper shock cord mounts. Blimey! Many people have had separations with this type o' shock cord mount on rockets o' this size. Good epoxy is mandatory for this type o' mount.

Finishing:
T' thick body tube that came in t' kit has spiral grooves that are deep and highly visible even with t' primer and paint. Begad! I would highly recommend fillin' these spiral grooves with Elmers Carpenters Wood Filler or somethin' similar. Ahoy! Otherwise, a normal finish will work just fine. T' kit did nay come with any decals. Ya scallywag! I tried makin' mine look pretty by paintin' it purple with yellow Monokote trim.

Construction Rating: 2 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew me Lil' Nuke on an AeroTech F22-5 reload. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! LOC doesn't recommend any reloadable motors for this kit, so I had t' make a judgement call here. Ahoy! However, I had t' put two ounces o' clay weight in t' nose so that it would be stable on this motor. Begad! A RockSim file that I made for t' thin' showed that without t' nose weight, stability would be marginal. I didn't like havin' t' add more weight t' t' model as it would lower its performance potential. Aye aye! But then again, shiver me timbers, matey, safety has t' come first. Blimey! Ya scallywag! I used a T-nut motor retention method. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' instructions tell you t' friction fit t' motor with maskin' tape, but I really do nay think that is very smart with composite motors o' this size. Ya scallywag! It required waddin' since t' rocket is too small for a motor tube that is long enough t' take a mesh baffle unit. T' F22 boosted t' rocket nicely and left a thick black smoke trail. With t' nose weight, t' boost be straight enough t' please t' crowd.

Recovery:
T' shock cord be a long elastic shock cord. It be long enough for this rather heavy rocket. Blimey! Begad! T' parachute that came in t' kit was 14" in width, certainly nay big enough for a safe recovery. In fact, me hearties, t' scuttle rate o' this rocket with a chute that small would probably be so high that it would create a recovery hazard. Arrr! Avast! I used a 24" parachute on mine, and even that did nay brin' it down slow enough t' prevent any damage. Blimey! I picked t' rocket up from t' tall grass and found that one o' t' fins had come off.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
Overall, I be nay very pleased by this kit. I thought that t' components were excellent, ya bilge rat, but t' overall design was nay adequate for t' type o' rocket it is. I do nay think that this kit would be a good first mid-power rocket because it is nay designed t' meet typical mid-power rocket standards. Blimey! I would suggest that t' followin' improvements be made. Arrr! It should have through-the-tube fins, a better shock cord attachment method, a bigger parachute, and t' rocket should be made longer so that it is more stable.

Overall Rating: 2 out o' 5