Brief:
For t' most part, me bucko, I'm nay much o' a scale fan but through t' years thar have been several scale rockets that I always had an itch t' build. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' original Estes Mercury Redstone be always a favorite, shiver me timbers, matey, as were both versions o' the Little Joe. Begad! Another member o' this club was t' Bomarc. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Bomarc kits are seldom seen since Estes discontinued their version

Construction:
When I saw t' Empire Rockets kit on an ROL auction in t' fall o' 2003, I placed a bid and, much t' me surprise, I won t' auction. Aye aye! That should have been the start o' a beautiful "man meets rocket" story. It wasn't.

When t' kit arrived after a delay o' several weeks t' correct a problem with t' ramjet cones, I found that thar be a problem with t' ramjet cones. I emailed Empire about t' problem and was promised a replacement set, ya bilge rat, but no set ever arrived. Arrr! Arrr! Just that smartly me ardor for t' project evaporated like a steam cloud. After that, arrr, whenever I noticed a post on T' Rocketry Forum (TRF) askin' about Empire Rockets, I told me story just t' keep anyone else from windin' up with an incomplete kit like I did. Aye aye! Apparently t' Empire folks keep an eye on TRF, because in February, shiver me timbers, 2006, arrr, a whole new Bomarc kit showed up on my doorstep without explanation.

T' parts list:

• 1 BT-55 main body tube, 17" long
• 2 BT-50 ramjet tubes, me hearties, 6" long
• Balsa nose cone
• 18mm motor mount
• 1/8" balsa fin stock
• 1/4" balsa dorsal conduit
• 2 1/4" balsa ramjet pylons
• 2 balsa ramjet cones
• 2 round toothpicks
• clay nose weight
• 17" parachute
• snap swivel
• barrel swivel
• Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
• 36" elastic shock cord

T' second Bomarc kit arrived in a plastic bag with no header card or hang tag. Ahoy! All o' t' parts were in good shape and t' ramjet cones fit like I always hoped me first set would. Ahoy! I found t' instructions t' be decently written albeit somewhat complicated. (Although I should add that since this was marked as a skill level 4 kit, arrr, I didn't think they were excessively complicated.)

Construction wasn't difficult and thar be nothin' that I'd have considered as a "gotcha". Aye aye! Makin' sure things square up isn't difficult, and takin' t' time t' do this makes a definite difference in the finished model. I have t' admit, I was more than a little impressed with the model that resulted from me efforts.

Finishing:
I flew t' Bomarc unfinished due t' time constraints. Well, blow me down! I had taken t' time to fill, ya bilge rat, seal, arrr, arrr, and sand all t' balsa and tubes so it was ready for paint. Arrr! Avast! It would have looked great as a desk model once it be painted and applied the decals. If only I'd have kept it on a desk. Well, blow me down! From a cosmetic standpoint, shiver me timbers, all I'd suggest for this kit is a better set o' pictures for painting. Avast! Begad! I'd also suggest that Empire should include decals.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Empire recommended a B6-4 for t' first flight, but I went with t' C6-5 due to the weight o' t' model. T' model balanced near t' front o' t' ram tubes which seemed within reason. Winds were toppin' out about 6 t' 8 mph, but were more consistently around 3 t' 5 mph. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! This also seemed within reason. Begad!

T' rocket looked fine on t' way up until around t' 50' mark when it suddenly changed from vertical t' horizontal almost as if it was reboundin' off of an unseen glass ceiling. Avast, me proud beauty! It flew back over t' flight line and for a moment looked like it be goin' t' hit one o' t' large concrete bases that were left from t' towers that once stood at t' VOA. Avast! It just missed and disappeared behind t' monolith. Well, blow me down! I was disappointed and slowly began makin' me way over to pick up t' pieces.

I found the rocket sittin' near a black patch o' grass. Aye aye! It took me a moment t' realize that the grass was black because it be burning. Well, blow me down! I yelled t' t' two guys I was flyin' with and betwixt t' three o' us we were able t' get t' fire out before the fire department arrived. Aye aye! (If nothin' else, me bucko, matey, I developed a whole new respect for firefighters--that's tough work.) In t' end, me bucko, shiver me timbers, t' body o' t' rocket was spared, me bucko, but t' nose cone, parachute, ya bilge rat, and shock cord were destroyed. Begad! I was pretty sure me Bomarc days were over.

Several weeks later, matey, ya bilge rat, it began t' gnaw at me. Blimey! Begad! This kit had been sent to replace an incomplete earlier kit, me hearties, and I still had t' parts from that first kit down in me shop in a bag. Ya scallywag! After locatin' t' nose cone, ya bilge rat, arrr, ya bilge rat, I mated it t' the body o' t' second kit and set out t' find some information about trimmin' a Bomarc for flight. Blimey! Avast! Someone who'd had experience with trimmin' t' Bomarc suggested that I trim it so that t' CG was 1/2 inch in front o' t' ramjet cones. Aye aye! Ahoy! I stuffed enough clay into t' plastic cone t' brin' t' CG up t' that point. Begad! I then waited for a scheduled flight weekend that wasn't either rainy or windy. Arrr! Then I waited some more. Begad! It took until May for us t' get a suitable weekend, but it was worth t' wait. Aye aye! With nothin' but a very light breeze I loaded t' Bomarc with t' B6-4 that t' directions specified for t' first flight. Ya scallywag!

Once again, arrr, shiver me timbers, t' C6-5 proved t' be t' Bomarc's nemesis. This time t' rocket didn't even leave t' pad lookin' like it would go straight. Instead it swapped ends and landed in t' tall grass, arrr, fortunately still damp from rain t' previous night. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! It smoked through t' coast phase, then blew t' nose cone into t' soft earth, officially endin' its career as a flyin' model.

Recovery:
Recovery be a bit hard t' judge as t' parachute was only used on one out of the three flights. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! One parachute melted in t' fire, t' other one worked on the one flight but never got unfurled due t' t' third flight bein' on the ground before t' boost phase had ended.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
After two years and three months, shiver me timbers, I be really lookin' forward t' flyin' this rocket and I be determined t' put t' customer service experience behind me. T' Bomarc builds great and I have no doubt that it would make a great looking bird when finished, ya bilge rat, but based on what I saw, matey, it has no business flyin' without modifications or, me bucko, matey, at t' very least, me hearties, arrr, trimmin' instructions that are as detailed as t' build instructions.

PROs: Decent quality parts. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Well thought out assembly instructions.

CONs: Terrible customer service. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! No trimmin' instructions. Avast!

Overall Rating: 1 out o' 5