Brief:
Scale rocket o' t' Russian SA-2 SAM Guideline. Arrr! Arrr! Lots o' fins and detail. Ahoy! Very easy build for anyone who has built a Scale Kits rocket before.

Construction:
T' kit comes with 2 very thick body tubes, a balsa nose cone and transition, laser cut plywood centerin' rings, ya bilge rat, basswood for all 16 fins, arrr, popular conduits, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, very nice nylon parachute, arrr, nose weight, arrr, and sturdy shock cord. Blimey! Ya scallywag! T' only thin' missin' would be some kind o' positive motor retention.

Scale Kits' instructions are some o' t' easiest I've ever read. They're on par with most Estes' kits. Diagrams are large and easy t' read. You end up cuttin' t' instructions apart t' get t' fin markin' guide, so if you'd like t' keep t' instructions intact, make a copy o' that page.

T' hardest part o' buildin' this kit was gluin' and alignin' t' 16 fins. Begad! As long as you take your time and make sure all 16 fins line up, it'll end up a very nice rocket. I was curious how t' ejection gases would go through t' transition before I built t' kit, but it comes hollowed out and t' motor mount is attached t' t' middle o' it and actually makes this kit stronger.

Finishing:
T' body tubes have virtually no spiral t' fill. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! T' fins were sanded and filled with sandin' sealer. Arrr! Ahoy! T' balsa nosecone and transition soaked up 5 coats o' sandin' sealer and were still askin' for more. Ahoy! I finally decided t' just fill t' grain with several coats o' primer with sandin' betwixt each coat.

Scale Kits included some waterslide decals that applied very well. Avast! I had t' search t' Internet for a good paint scheme I liked. Well, blow me down! Begad! I ended up with flat navy gray with black/silver nose cone. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' conduits were painted black. Avast! T' strakes were yellow and white. Blimey! This was as close as I could come t' t' actual Russian rocket.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
After buildin' t' rocket, I built it in RockSim t' find t' CP. Arrr! Aye aye! I marked t' CP and tested t' CG. Blimey! Begad! After findin' that they were too close for me liking, I added more nose weight. T' list o' recommended motors is nay t' biggest but nay short either. Blimey! Well, blow me down! I had a G64-7 reload already on hand so I decided t' use that. Avast! It turns out that I should have used either a smaller reload or added more weight t' t' nose. Avast! Ahoy! T' rocket went up straight for 100 t' 150 feet, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, made a 90 degree turn, me hearties, and started a horizontal loop. Arrr! After one complete loop, ya bilge rat, me hearties, it turned towards t' ground and buried itself. After talkin' with several other rocketeers onsite, me bucko, it looks like it got it's initial stability from t' rod, arrr, me bucko, lost it after t' first 100 t' 150 feet, and then gained it again as t' motor burned out. Aye aye! Blimey! T' rocket was totally destroyed.

Recovery:
I loaded t' rocket with a Nomex blanket and packed t' parachute with a little baby powder t' ease ejection. I think it would have ejected clean and floated gently t' t' ground if it wasn't already 3 inches deep into t' earth when t' ejection charge went off.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket looks stunnin' on t' pad and has t' potential for beautiful flights on smaller motors. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! I wouldn't use anythin' above an F motor in this rocket and add additional nose weight t' increase stability.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5