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

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

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

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

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

Namely t' recovery section.

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

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

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

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

Finishing:
Dad: Decals are typical o' Estes in this era. Avast! Avast! That means peel and stick. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! I really don't like them. I much prefer water slide. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! That said, arrr, as per me usual superstitious approach, arrr, I won't actually paint and decal t' rocket until after t' first few flights. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! 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. Ahoy! Aye aye! If I build a rocket in 2 hours t' night before a launch, it's comin' back. Begad! Begad! Every time I've spent 2-3 months doin' a painstakin' job o' buildin' and finishing, me hearties, somethin' bad has happened.

As for t' pre-paint finish work, it's all typical. Sand and seal t' fins. Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Aye aye! Ahoy! Fill t' spirals in t' tube. Ahoy! Avast! T' spirals actually aren't too bad, and t' tube is white. Ahoy! 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. Seriously. Yeah, I could take some time t' make it look good, ya bilge rat, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Let's fly. I want t' get started on me cert rocket. I'll take more time on that one.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

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

Son: What he said. Ya scallywag! I'm gettin' tired o' typing. Avast, me proud beauty! I haven't flown mine yet. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Weather hasn't been good enough.

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

Son: So, do I pass? When can I start on t' Matrix?

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5