Brief:
This is BSD's 38mm version o' their 3" Sprint. Well, blow me down! It is called t' Canadian Sprint due t' it's 38mm motor mount which is perfect for usin' Cesaroni Pro38 reloads since they are easy t' get in Canada. Begad! It's a single staged high power rocket that uses parachute recovery. Arrr! This rocket is named t' "Texan Sprint". Avast! T' name "Sprint" is based on t' vintage Estes Astron Sprint from t' late 60's and early 70's as it is a very large upscale o' that sport model which had elliptical fins. Avast, me proud beauty! This rocket, me hearties, however, shiver me timbers, me bucko, me bucko, does nay have the correct shaped nose cone or boat-tail, shiver me timbers, so it only vaguely resembles the original "Sprint". Avast, me proud beauty!

Construction:
I ordered this kit directly from BSD's website and it arrived in record time. Seemed like only a few days later and here it was. Ahoy! I be impressed with the price o' only $60 with free shipping. Avast! Well, blow me down!

Everythin' be in perfect order when it arrived. Aye aye! T' instructions looked superb yet I only used them for t' motor mount and retention. Aye aye! There was a component checklist where someone had checked off all parts with a pen t' make sure t' kit be complete. Blimey! That was nice attention t' detail. Begad! Begad! T' decals look great however bein' down here in Texas I decided t' opt out o' t' Canadian theme. Aye aye!

This rocket was quite simple t' build. Aye aye! Aye aye! Blimey! T' area which took t' longest was cuttin' t' fin slots in t' body tube. T' instructions state t' use a very sharp new X-Acto blade and that did in fact make t' process painless. Begad! The entire build took less than 4 hours over a period o' a few days. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' plywood through-the-wall fins are excellent quality as well as all o' t' components included. Arrr! Blimey! T' finished rocket feels very strong and looks nice. Begad!

I ran into one small problem. T' kit included 4 small black plastic rivets to secure t' nose cone onto t' payload bay however thar were no instructions regardin' how t' install them. Aye aye! Blimey! T' instructions included with t' kit listed a phone number for support which I called several times over a two day period yet it was an answerin' machine and me call was never returned. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Finally a Texas club member Ed Medina located t' instructions and posted them for me on a group email list. Well, blow me down! Blimey!

Finishing:
I decided t' go with a retro look and covered t' whole rocket with a full can of white primer. I then used gloss white for t' main airframe, and John Deere yellow for t' nose cone and payload bay. Aye aye! Blimey! T' white and yellow combination does in fact make it look like a very large version o' t' vintage Estes original Sprint in it's original paint scheme. T' nose cone never cared for paint from the start. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' primer seemed t' go on rough and some o' t' yellow paint came off in t' car on t' way home. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I tested this rocket before paint on September 6, me hearties, 2004, on a CTI Pro38 G69 at Rushin' Park in Katy, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, Texas with t' Challenger 498 club. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! It did fine and landed about 300 feet north o' t' pad. Begad! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! After t' test flight I felt good about usin' it t' cert on an H. Begad! Blimey!

I used this rocket for me Tripoli Level 1 Certification at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, shiver me timbers, Texas on September 18, 2004, durin' t' NHRC's 2004 Wacky Wockets/V2 Contest. Ahoy! It be me first flight o' t' day and I had selected a Cesaroni Pro38 H153. I set t' delay t' about 10 seconds and fully prepped the rocket in t' presence o' me Tripoli Prefect Mr. Well, blow me down! Dan DeHart. My first H powered bird ripped off t' pad just beautifully with a very stable flight to about 2000 feet and landed very gently in t' grass about 200 feet from the pad. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' flight and recovery were an absolute success and I am now TRA L1. Begad!

Recovery:
T' 10 second delay seemed t' be about perfect and t' 30" chute that came with t' rocket be also perfect. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I also liked t' 10 foot long heavy duty elastic shock cord. Begad! Blimey! I have no complaints about t' recovery system. Arrr! Blimey! It is high quality, ya bilge rat, simple, and does t' job. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a fine quality rocket kit for a great price. Avast, me proud beauty! I am very pleased with it and I love t' way it looks and performs. Since t' vintage Estes Astron Sprint was t' first high performance rocket I ever built back in t' 70's, it seemed that a really large Sprint was a great choice for me L1. Ahoy! I don't really care for t' Canadian theme as t' only difference in this and BSD's other 3" Sprint be t' 38mm motor mount. Ya scallywag! I wanted t' 38mm version t' be able t' use CTI Pro38 reloads which are also easy t' get in Texas. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Blimey! And since everythin' is bigger in Texas, me hearties, I think this rocket should be available as t' "Texas Sprint" as I have named mine.

One final thin' that I found t' be quite annoyin' is that t' motor retention that comes with t' kit appears t' have allen wrench hex shaped indention but no allen wrench will fit in them. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! They are nay American standard nor metric. Gettin' them tight with a pair o' pliers be very tedious (it took me about 10 minutes). I wanted t' fly it at least three times on H motors, shiver me timbers, but with t' heat index bein' well over 100 and t' retention bein' such a pain I decided to save future flights for another day as I plan on flyin' it quite a bit more. Overall I am very pleased with it and I do recommend it for anyone considering goin' for their Level 1 certification. Arrr! Blimey! It's nay very expensive, flies beautifully, arrr, and gets t' job done.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

I am very grateful t' t' Houston clubs o' which I am a member, matey, Challenger498, NHRA and NHRC for t' education and excellent fields that are available in t' Houston area. Avast! When I decided t' join t' clubs a few years ago it was with aspirations o' learnin' about high powered rocketry and reachin' certification levels. Begad! T' Houston clubs and people who run them are outstandin' and I have them t' thank for t' education that has resulted in me highest achievement in rocketry t' date.