Brief:
T' Madcow Rocketry Batray is a new 2.2 inch diameter MPR kit with bat win' shaped fins. It can be flown on a wide variety o' motors, both BP and AP (composite) 24mm and 29mm. It will fly on anythin' from an Estes D12 up through SU and RMS F class motors. Arrr! Each flight returns safely with an 18 inch nylon chute.

Construction:
This kit came neatly packaged in a thick plastic bag and included t' followin' components:

• 1 body tube
• 1 balsa nose cone
• 2 centerin' rings
• 1 motor mount tube 29mm
• 3 laser cut ply fins
• 1 nose cone eye bolt, washer and bulkhead
• 2 nuts
• 1 Keelhaul®©™ and nylon shock cord
• 1 Nomex pad
• 1 18 inch nylon parachute
• 2 1/4 inch launch lugs
• 1 vinyl name decal

Madcow's instructions are excellent. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! They are in a very logical order and have excellent illustrations showin' how each step is t' be completed.

As for t' build, I would rate this a mid skill level 1. Avast, me proud beauty! Anyone that can build a regular low power kit would have no trouble with this kit. Aye aye! Madcow's intentions are t' get those who are interested into MPR easily and quickly.

Although 5 minute epoxy is recommended for construction, I used me regular 30 minute Pacer Z-poxy for construction.

I started t' construction by addin' two blind nuts t' t' aft centerin' rin' as a means o' positive motor retention (PMR).

I then attached t' centerin' rings t' t' motor tube as instructed. Well, blow me down! Avast! You will notice a notched ring. Aye aye! Avast! This one has t' go up front as this will route t' shock cord up through t' body tube.

I attached t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord next and then tied t' nylon cord into place.

After t' motor mount as completely dry, I mixed up a good quantity o' 30 minute epoxy and pushed it into place. Begad! You need t' make sure t' shock cord is nay in line with a fin slot or you might have a problem attachin' that fin later on.

T' next step, shiver me timbers, once t' MMT epoxy has cured, me hearties, is t' draw a straight line in betwixt two fin slots. Begad! This is for t' two launch lugs that will be attached later.

At this time, me hearties, I mixed up another batch o' epoxy and attached t' three fins while checkin' for proper alignment. Well, blow me down! After t' fins were dry, arrr, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I applied fillets t' t' fin/BT joints for additional strength.

I then attached t' two lugs and applied fillets. Avast, me proud beauty! As that was drying, arrr, I went ahead and assembled t' NC bulkhead assembly. Blimey! Ahoy! Once that be cured, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I mounted it t' t' base o' t' NC as instructed.

This wrapped up t' construction and I sanded t' NC and also cut and sanded away some small epoxy lumps t' prepare t' model for finishing.

PROs: Builds quick and easily.

CONs: None really.

Finishing:
I started by makin' sure everythin' was smooth and I sprayed t' model with Krylon gray primer, sanded, and sprayed on another coat o' primer and sanded again.

I then painted t' model with three light coats o' Krylon Semi-flat black. Ya scallywag! Blimey! After t' black paint be dry, I masked off t' body and sprayed t' fins with some Plasti-Kote metallic Pewter paint.

After everythin' be dry, matey, I then applied t' name decal. Blimey! I did initially have a bit o' a challenge tryin' t' get t' letters t' stick t' t' top strip but once I accomplished that, arrr, t' decal went on nice and easily.

If you have never used vinyl decals before, you are in for a treat. Blimey! They are easy t' use and look great.

I then attached t' Nomex pad and parachute and tied t' shock cord t' t' NC t' finish t' model.

When this rocket is finished, it looks sharp. Begad! Especially with t' Pewter paint job on t' fins.

PROs: Easy and quick finishing, just a simple two color paint job. Ahoy! Blimey! No complicated maskin' here.

CONs: None that I can think of.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended motors for this kit are:

Because o' t' Nomex® pad, no waddin' is really required but I did use some dog barf waddin' t' protect t' Keelhaul®©™® cord.

For me first flight, matey, I friction fit a 24mm adapter and Estes D12-3. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' 5 second delay seemed a bit long t' me.

T' rocket lifted off rather slowly but flew straight t' maybe 400-500 feet and t' 3 second delay popped t' chute out right at apogee.

My second flight was on an Estes E9-4. Ahoy! This also is a great motor for this kit but I would only recommend it for calm or nearly calm conditions since t' boost off t' pad be slower than t' D12. Arrr! However, shiver me timbers, since this flight be on a calm day, me bucko, t' nice 3 second burn o' t' E9 gave me a nice straight flight t' maybe 800 feet.

On t' third flight, I loaded up one o' me favorite motors for a kit this size: t' AeroTech E23-5T reload. Avast! Aye aye! I used a screw and clip t' retain t' motor casing. Ahoy! This motor gave t' Batray a swift kick off t' pad up t' maybe 850-900 feet. Begad! This is typical o' t' small Blue Thunder loads.

PROs: Flies great on a wide variety o' motors.

CONs: None.

Recovery:
This rocket uses an 18 inch nylon chute for recovery and it turned out t' be t' perfect size as none o' me flights wandered that far from t' pad and t' rocket landed softly each time.

I also have nay noticed any wear and tear on t' shock cord, Nomex® pad, matey, shiver me timbers, or t' chute.

PROs: Recovers very nicely on t' provided chute.

CONs: None at all.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Madcow Rocketry has certainly done an excellent job on this kit. Begad! Blimey! It was easy t' build, looked great when finished, arrr, me hearties, and flew even better. Ahoy! Blimey! I also like t' fact that Madcow includes excellent recovery gear with their kits. T' only thin' I did was add t' blind nuts so I could have a form o' positive motor retention.

Also, me bucko, matey, Mike Stoop o' Madcow is excellent t' deal with, matey, should you hit a snag or have any problems.

At this time, I'm nay sure how much this kit will cost. Blimey! My guess is in t' $30-$45 range, me hearties, but this is well worth t' price for what you get.

Main PROs: Top notch instructions, me bucko, component quality, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, ease o' build, me bucko, finished appearance, great flight and recovery characteristics.

Main CONs: None at all.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5