Brief:
T' Space Ark Jr. Blimey! is a downscale o' Pemberton Technology's midpower rocket. Aye aye! Arrr! Layne Pemberton offers a lot o' really cool retro-futuristic designs. Avast! He's also a nice guy whose instruction booklets are well known for their humorous off-beat writin' style. Blimey!

Construction:
T' package arrived with all necessary parts in good condition, shiver me timbers, me bucko, except that t' balsa nose cone had a couple small dings. After readin' a back-story about t' Ruskie commies, Martians, ya bilge rat, and gung-ho American heroes, it was time t' start the build.

First came insertion o' lead ballast in t' nose cone, ya bilge rat, and some general sandin' and filling. Arrr! Avast! T' fins are cut from stock balsa usin' paper fin patterns. Aye aye! Avast! I had some difficulty because t' instructions referred t' various fins with names like "wing" and "horizontal stabilizer", shiver me timbers, but t' patterns/figures had no labels identifying which be which. Avast, me proud beauty! By process o' elimination, shiver me timbers, I eventually figured it out.

To attach t' fins, alignment lines must be drawn on t' tailcone. Ahoy! This be a very tricky process. Begad! Arrr! The installation be made more difficult by t' approach o' through-the-tail-cone fin installation. Ahoy! It would have been much easier and surely sufficiently strong t' surface mount t' wings with an appropriate shape cut along t' root edges. Also, shiver me timbers, t' fin tabs weren't slanted, which was also a bit confusing.

T' extra-long Keelhaul®©™® shock cord be glued t' t' outside surface o' t' motor mount tube, and this assembly was pushed/glued in t' tail cone. Avast! Aye aye! Because t' cord lay against t' exterior o' t' motor tube, I found it impossible t' insert t' tube into the tail cone. Avast! Avast! I had t' cut a trough inside t' tail cone t' make room for t' cord. Avast! It was still a snug fit. Arrr! Ahoy!

T' rest o' t' assembly, includin' t' remainin' fins, arrr, was straightforward with one exception. Well, me bucko, blow me down! I was confused about how far back along t' airframe t' mount t' wings. Arrr! Aye aye! I guesstimated it from t' picture and adjusted slightly further back for safety. Ahoy! I skipped t' fin-tip pods because these sorts o' things tend t' snap off so easily.

Finishing:
Finishin' was mostly straighforward. Blimey! I fill and sand before assembly, matey, so all that remained was touchup and then painting. With this retro-futuristic design, arrr, me bucko, metallic paint is a great way t' go, so I chose silver. Ya scallywag! T' only tricky part is gettin' t' spray into t' crevices above t' crossbar.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
My problems occurred durin' t' flight, shiver me timbers, which was unstable. I was a bit rushed so I smartly looked at t' recommended motors (B6-2 through E18) and chose a B6-4 because it be what I had. Rather than wrap t' 18mm motor in duct tape (as recommended) for friction fittin' (the only option), me hearties, I used a spend 24mm casin' as a motor adapter. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! This works well and should be lighter than a large quantity o' duct tape.

I failed t' notice two instruction points about flying. Blimey! T' instructions clearly said t' strin' test t' rocket before flying. Aye aye! Also, in t' middle o' construction step three, away from t' sections on flight prep, launch, arrr, me bucko, and recommended motors is a sentence that says that a 48in rod is required for B motors.

Clearly it is me fault for nay followin' t' instructions, arrr, but I have a couple comments. Arrr! Well, blow me down! First, he strin' test recommendation is sensible, me hearties, but I think it is reasonable t' believe that any commercially marketed model kit would have the CG/CP relationship sufficiently above minimum safety margins that modest variations in construction techniques by various builders should nay cause problems for recommended motors. Avast! Begad! Why flirt so close t' edge? Perhaps I placed the wings too far forward.

Second, I would suggest that t' comment about 48in rods be moved t' t' recommended motor section; it is easy to overlook in t' construction section. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Blimey! Actually, I would omit B motors from t' recommended list altogether since most LPR Estes motor fliers might nay have a 48in rod on hand and might nay understand t' importance o' t' extra rod length. Begad! Blimey! I understand it, ya bilge rat, but I didn't notice t' advice.

Anyway, me hearties, t' rocket became unstable after leavin' t' rod, doin' t' typical "bumblebee" flight pattern. Upon crashing, t' aft portion o' t' rudder broke. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Repair is possible.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Because o' me experience, it is unfair t' judge flight performance for this rocket. Blimey! I have rated it on me expected performance, me bucko, knowin' about PemTech's other kits. Aye aye! Quality o' parts be fine, construction be mostly straighforward with a few difficulties, style be fantastic, and I expect that flight should be good.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5