Brief:

T' Pioneer is a single-staged model rocket aimed at educational groups. Avast, me proud beauty!

Construction:

T' Pratt Pioneer Kit Contains:-

• 1 nice white glassine coated body tube
• 3 pre-cut hard balsa fins
• 1 plastic nose cone. Arrr! Begad! This is very well-made with minimal moldin' flash. Blimey!
• 1 motor mount tube
• 1 paper thrust ring
• 2 paper centerin' rings
• 1 launch lug
• 1 square o' Nomex heatshield
• 1 long piece o' Keelhaul®©™ string(shock cord)
• 1 fin jig (paper base and centerin' ring)
• 1 plastic streamer

T' Pioneer does nay include a clip; for me class Thrustline Aerospace standard clips were added t' each kit. Instructions are geared toward first-time builders. Everythin' is clear and concise. Avast!

A novel approach is used t' fin attachment- a paper template with a circle and three radiatin' lines has a centerin' rin' glued into t' center. Ya scallywag! This forms t' fin jig. Then, it is taped t' t' work table by tapin' over t' lines with clear tape.

T' body tube is slipped upright over t' centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, arrr, and t' lines are used as guides t' attach t' fins. Aye aye! Blimey! This gives t' builder freedom t' move on to other parts while t' fins dry! Blimey!

T' motor mount is assembled in normal fashion, with one exception bein' shock cord attachment. Blimey! Begad! T' Keelhaul®©™® strin' is tied t' t' front o' t' motor mount tube through a hole. T' thrust rin' prevents it from bein' torn out by t' force o' ejection. Arrr!

There was one "gotcha" with me batch o' Pioneers- t' outside diameter o' t' motor mount tubes be too big t' fit into t' centerin' rings. Rather than attemptin' t' peel away t' inside o' t' centerin' rings t' make them fit, I simply replaced them with some Totally Tubular MMT's that I keep handy. As these are standard MMT's and shorter than t' Pratt items, ya bilge rat, I used the "lariat loop" method t' retain t' shock cord. Well, me hearties, blow me down! A notch was cut into the outside o' t' front centerin' ring, matey, matey, and t' cord tied around t' tube. Avast, me proud beauty! It was then glued in place. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' notch allowed it t' pass t' centerin' ring without puttin' a crease in t' tube. Aye aye! Begad!

T' rest o' construction is extremely easy and goes quickly. A couple o' my students crushed their tubes (happens with every group), me hearties, but t' tubes didn't crinkle up. Hallelujah!!! I don't know what's in this paper, but we should be usin' it t' build t' Space Shuttle!

Finishing:

Finishin' couldn't be easier. Begad! T' white glassine tube readily accepts paint and ink, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and t' kits come with a good "Pioneer" logo sticker and a pretty nice roll pattern. T' only part that really needs colorin' are the balsa fins. Aye aye! Begad! My students decorated theirs with paint pens and markers. Avast, me proud beauty! The rockets look sharp with t' stock black, white, shiver me timbers, and yellow colors.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:

I've only got a single flight on t' Pioneer. Avast, me proud beauty! It's just been too cold t' put in a lot o' time flying. Begad! After me students have their sprin' launch, me bucko, I'll post an update.

Prep is simple, just tape or clip in t' motor, slip t' Nomex® square into t' tube, arrr, and roll up t' streamer and push it onto t' Nomex®. T' remainin' shock cord is slipped in and t' nose cone installed. Well, me hearties, blow me down! That's it! Add your ignitor and rack it. Aye aye! Aye aye!

My Pioneer was flown with a Quest A6-4. Blimey! Blimey! It took off fairly smartly on a very slightly curved trajectory. Altitude was decent; it looked t' be about 3-400' to me "calibrated eyeball". Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This is impressive performer for sure.

Recovery:

T' shock cord be attached as described. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' Nomex® square has a hole in t' center that slips down over t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord, and will nest down on top o' t' motor mount. T' streamer is a 2" wide by 18" piece o' yellow caution tape! It has a loop welded in one end which slides over t' shock cord. Ya scallywag! Great way t' dodge t' typical attachment hassles, me hearties, and it works like a charm. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' other end o' t' shock cord ties t' a very nicely molded loop in t' nose cone.

T' rocket had curved over t' just about horizontal at apogee; ejection went flawlessly. Begad! Avast! T' wide streamer unfurled pretty well and recovers t' rocket at a decent speed. Ya scallywag! There was no apparent damage t' t' rocket on recovery other than a lot o' soot on t' shock cord, me bucko, streamer, shiver me timbers, and t' Nomex®. It remains t' be seen how this stuff will stand up t' repeated ejection charges, ya bilge rat, but so far, so good!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

T' only "cons" are t' motor tube fit (admittedly easy t' rectify) and t' lack o' a motor hook. Some may view this as a plus- less weight and expense!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5