Brief:
For those who have outgrown t' Deuce's Wild cluster from FlisKits, arrr, this 3-motor cluster be t' big, bad cousin t' t' Deuce. With it's huge fins and giant smoke trails, me hearties, this rocket will certainly command attention at t' pad.

Construction:
T' kit includes:

• BT-55 18" body tube (upper)
• BT-60 18" body tube (lower)
• BT-20 motor tubes (3)
• Balsa nose cone
• Balsa fin stock (1/8" lower fins, 3/32" upper fins)
• Custom centerin' rin' for t' cluster mount
• 16" plastic chute
• Balsa transition
• Elastic shock cord

As is typical of FlisKits, arrr, t' instructions were clear and easy t' follow with plenty o' helpful illustrations. Blimey! This be especially important with what is a very unusual and relatively difficult cluster mountin' arrangement. T' instructions also include a nice primer on clusterin' techniques, though I suspect most customers of this kit have already mastered t' basics o' clustering.

T' clustered-motor assembly is accomplished through a neat little pyramid structure bonded t' a custom centerin' ring. Aye aye! Begad! T' 3 motor tubes are then bonded to t' pyramid, me bucko, me bucko, resultin' in 3 motors evenly spaced and angled outwards slightly from t' center. Arrr! Aye aye! This is what creates such an awesome cloud o' smoke at liftoff.

Since t' canted cluster doesn't fit completely into t' BT-60 body tube, you must use a template t' mark t' tube and cut out elliptical slots for the motor tubes. Aye aye! Even with t' template, you'll still need t' do a test fit and at least one or two trim/cleanup attempts for a perfect fit. Begad! Begad! After gluin' the cluster assembly into t' body tube, ya bilge rat, be sure t' apply very generous fillets to the seam betwixt t' body tube and t' motor tubes.

T' upper and lower fins are each sets o' 3 and both are two-piece construction, shiver me timbers, so you'll have lots o' tracing, cutting, sanding, shiver me timbers, and fillin' t' do on this project. These fins seemed huge for t' body size, but with 3 angled motors, probably necessary for complete stability. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! Fins are attached and filleted, shiver me timbers, and I stepped outside o' t' standard directions for this, bondin' an upper and lower fin at the same time, so that I could lay them on a flat surface t' cure. Begad! This keeps the upper and lower sets perfectly aligned.

T' shock cord is flat elastic attached via an Estes-style tri-fold. This is one weakness in most FlisKits and in particular with a 3-motor cluster, matey, matey, me hearties, I decided t' go with a Keelhaul®©™® cord attached t' t' cluster assembly, matey, shiver me timbers, attachin' t' elastic t' a loop on the end o' t' Keelhaul®©™®, well protected from ejection blasts.

Finishing:
After generous amounts o' diluted Fill 'n' Finish t' fill t' spirals and balsa grain, me bucko, I applied 3 coats o' Krylon primer, followed by two coats o' a white base. Begad! I then decided t' trim t' fins red, arrr, nose cone and transition blue, me hearties, matey, and usin' t' template for a "3" provided in t' kit, matey, trimmed a blue "3" on t' lower fins. Avast! T' header card in t' kit shows a very nice lookin' black & yellow paint scheme, which would probably have been easier, but I just happened t' be out o' yellow paint at t' time...

One peeve t' t' finishin' I had was with t' "3" template: I found maskin' and paintin' six 3's on t' lower fins was too time consuming, and even though I be fairly careful, matey, me hearties, I still got some bleedin' through the maskin' tape. I really think this kit needs either a water-slide decal set or at least some basic vinyl numbers t' tack on t' 3's.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' conditions were very good for first flight, arrr, ya bilge rat, flyin' on a beautiful spring day with winds around 8 MPH. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I went straight for t' max C6-5's (they were on sale at t' local Meier's, shiver me timbers, which I took as a sign from t' rocket gods). Arrr! Well, blow me down! I lit all 3, me bucko, and t' Tres scooted off t' pad in a surprisin' hurry. Avast, me proud beauty! T' three motors easily overcame t' high drag fins, and it started on a fairly straight climb.

For some reason, shiver me timbers, after climbin' about 200 feet, me hearties, it arced over t' a nearly horizontal flight path, then did a couple o' windin' loops. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I'm nay sure if this be t' wind, me bucko, a bad motor, ya bilge rat, or t' nature o' this beast, matey, but t' kids playin' soccer nearby loved it. Ahoy! Blimey! I be a bit disappointed, me hearties, as I'd had no stability problems at all with me Deuce's Wild.

T' chute deployed without a hitch, ya bilge rat, and everythin' came back in good shape, ready t' fly again. Begad! Ya scallywag! I'll be reloadin' with B's next time, me bucko, and will update the flight log below t' reflect any improvements in stability.

Recovery:
T' 16" chute is a bit small for this, and as noted earlier, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I'm no fan of tri-fold shock cord mount. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I'll be upgradin' t' 18" nylon chute for future flights, ya bilge rat, especially if it deploys on a horizontal flight path. Avast!

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a very good rocket and great concept from a top-notch company. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! O' the many outstandin' rockets I've built from Fliskits, me hearties, this was probably me first disappointment. Begad! That's nay t' say it's a bad rocket, just that I've never had a flight problem before and was eager t' see this 3-motor trail o' smoke. Hopefully, me hearties, this be just affected by a gust o' wind and will be problem-free in the future.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5