Brief:
This is a father/son dual build. Up t' this point, me hearties, I've been helpin' him build his rockets. Ya scallywag! We started with me doin' most o' t' building, ya bilge rat, and him as an extra pair o' hands. Over t' course o' 3-4 builds, he's been doin' more and more, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and t' roles are reversin' where I'm becomin' t' extra hands. Begad! I found a couple o' Firebirds for relatively cheap, me bucko, and so we're buildin' these in parallel. Avast! Aye aye! This will be his first purely solo build, ya bilge rat, and we'll be comparin' t' results o' our two builds. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! After this, he'll be movin' on t' buildin' his L1 cert rocket... Arrr! if I think he's ready.

T' Firebird is a fairly basic single stage Estes offering. Begad! Nothin' dramatic or fancy, here, just a solid design with classic lines.

Construction:
Dad: This is a basic 4FNC rocket. Ahoy! Blimey! Plastic nose cone, pre-cut fins, some flimsy paper centerin' rings and t' usual too short shock cord and plastic chute. T' body tube is a good length o' BT-55 1.325" tubing, arrr, while t' motor tube be t' cheap blue 18mm tube. Aye aye! Blimey! For standard 18mm motors, everythin' is sufficiently strong. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! For t' 18mm Aerotech D reloads, arrr, thar could be some extra stress that could test some o' these parts.

Son: Yeah, yeah...what he said. Arrr! Begad! What's with t' wimpy 18mm motor mount? That's got t' go. Aye aye! I'm goin' t' raid t' parts closet. Arrr! Let's see. Avast! Aye aye! 24mm motor mount, some BT50-55 centerin' rings t' replace t' cheapy paper stuff. Well, blow me down! OK. Ya scallywag! I'm good t' go. Let's get building.

Dad: Once again, arrr, this is pretty basic Estes fare. Begad! Anyone who's build a typical Estes rocket in t' last couple decades won't have an issue here. There are a couple minor changes that I make t' all Estes kits.

Namely t' recovery section.

I always toss t' 3-fold concept. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! I notched t' upper centerin' ring, and slipped a length o' Keelhaul®©™ through. Well, blow me down! I knotted t' end t' prevent it comin' back through t' notch, and put a dab o' epoxy t' hold it in. Aye aye! Normally, I would tie t' Keelhaul®©™® in a loop around t' motor tube, me hearties, but since these fins are through t' wall, t' loop would interfere with t' fin tangs.

Speakin' o' which, I wonder why Estes went with through t' wall fins for this kit and only an 18mm mount. Begad! Blimey! For all t' Estes 18mm motors, TTW fins is way overkill. Ahoy! Blimey! O' course, arrr, it does make fin alignment much easier.

Son: Well, he taught me, matey, so, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, arrr, yeah, matey, I'm tossin' t' 3-fold as well. Blimey! Since I'm doin' t' 24mm thing, ya bilge rat, I get t' choose me engine tube size, so I went with a longer tube, matey, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and a third centerin' ring. Avast! T' first 2 rings sandwich t' fin tangs as normal. Begad! Ahoy! I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube, and put t' third rin' on top. Hah! Mines stronger.

While I was at it, matey, I cut t' top o' t' engine hook off so it doesn't go into t' motor tube. Arrr! Blimey! I also left off t' motor block. Blimey! T' down side is I'll need t' use tape t' make "thrust rings" on t' bottom o' Estes engines t' keep them from goin' through t' rocket. Aye aye! Avast! Blimey! T' up side is that I can use any 24mm motor includin' t' upcomin' Aerotech 24/120 and t' CTI Pro 24 cases. Arrr! Bigger, arrr, ya bilge rat, faster, higher! Blimey! I can't wait t' put a 24mm G motor and watch it rip! Blimey! Dad's shakin' his head while I'm typin' this. Begad! Avast! Blimey! Says I'll never get it back. Ahoy! Maybe, but it's fun. Well, blow me down! Besides, ya bilge rat, I don't pay for t' motors. Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! (Dad: He may start buyin' them if he loses them like this)

Finishing:
Dad: Decals are typical o' Estes in this era. Ya scallywag! That means peel and stick. Blimey! Blimey! I really don't like them. I much prefer water slide. Ya scallywag! Blimey! That said, as per me usual superstitious approach, I won't actually paint and decal t' rocket until after t' first few flights. Begad! Why? Because I've found that t' odds o' me losin' a rocket increase exponentially with t' amount o' time I spend on it prior t' it's first flight. Begad! Ahoy! Blimey! If I build a rocket in 2 hours t' night before a launch, shiver me timbers, arrr, it's comin' back. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Every time I've spent 2-3 months doin' a painstakin' job o' buildin' and finishing, matey, somethin' bilge-suckin' has happened.

As for t' pre-paint finish work, shiver me timbers, it's all typical. Avast, me proud beauty! Sand and seal t' fins. Begad! Avast! Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Ahoy! Ahoy! Fill t' spirals in t' tube. Avast, me proud beauty! T' spirals actually aren't too bad, and t' tube is white. Begad! Begad! If you go with t' factory color scheme (white) you could probably get away without filling.

Son: I'm done building, let's go fly. Begad! Arrr! Seriously. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Yeah, I could take some time t' make it look good, shiver me timbers, arrr, matey, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Well, blow me down! Well, matey, blow me down! Let's fly. Well, blow me down! I want t' get started on me cert rocket. Begad! Well, blow me down! I'll take more time on that one.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Dad: For all our rockets larger than 1" diameter, shiver me timbers, we keep a supply o' Nomex t' avoid usin' wadding. Begad! Blimey! Waddin' can be easier in t' smaller rockets, but t' larger ones just take too much. Arrr! Besides, reuseable Nomex is more eco friendly.

Other prep is standard. Yes, thar's a lot o' this review that just says "it's standard issue." That's because this is a pretty standard rocket. Ahoy! Steppin' into high power, me bucko, me bucko, many o' t' rockets are pretty "standard" as well. Avast! Well, blow me down! Just stronger materials. Blimey! Blimey! At a certain point, me hearties, you can't do anythin' too fancy with high power motors, shiver me timbers, because t' motors will just shred t' rocket from t' high thrust.

Son: What he said. Begad! I'm gettin' tired o' typing. Blimey! Blimey! I haven't flown mine yet. Weather hasn't been good enough.

Recovery:
Dad: My turn t' say it. What he said. Ahoy! We haven't flown either rocket yet as t' weather hasn't cooperated. My expectation is that, like everythin' about this kit, ya bilge rat, it will be typical Estes. Blimey! Avast! T' chute is too big, matey, and it will float, me bucko, so we'll probably fly with a streamer or smaller chute. Ya scallywag! As we get a chance t' fly these, I'll be postin' t' flight logs, and updatin' t' review through t' flight log comments. Arrr! Actual flight is just t' last validation o' t' build in this case. T' primary goal was t' give him a solo build t' validate he has t' skills necessary t' attempt his cert build.

Son: So, ya bilge rat, me bucko, do I pass? When can I start on t' Matrix?

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5