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

T' Firebird is a fairly basic single stage Estes offering. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Nothin' dramatic or fancy, here, arrr, shiver me timbers, just a solid design with classic lines.

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

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

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

Namely t' recovery section.

I always toss t' 3-fold concept. I notched t' upper centerin' ring, ya bilge rat, and slipped a length o' Keelhaul®©™ through. Blimey! Aye aye! I knotted t' end t' prevent it comin' back through t' notch, and put a dab o' epoxy t' hold it in. Well, blow me down! Normally, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, 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, I wonder why Estes went with through t' wall fins for this kit and only an 18mm mount. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! For all t' Estes 18mm motors, TTW fins is way overkill. O' course, me hearties, it does make fin alignment much easier.

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

While I be at it, me bucko, I cut t' top o' t' engine hook off so it doesn't go into t' motor tube. Ahoy! I also left off t' motor block. 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. Well, blow me down! T' up side is that I can use any 24mm motor includin' t' upcomin' Aerotech 24/120 and t' CTI Pro 24 cases. Aye aye! Ahoy! Bigger, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me bucko, faster, ya bilge rat, 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. Blimey! Says I'll never get it back. Well, blow me down! Maybe, but it's fun. Avast, me proud beauty! Besides, I don't pay for t' motors. Avast, me proud beauty! (Dad: He may start buyin' them if he loses them like this)

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

As for t' pre-paint finish work, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, it's all typical. Aye aye! Sand and seal t' fins. Arrr! Begad! Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Begad! Blimey! Fill t' spirals in t' tube. Aye aye! T' spirals actually aren't too bad, ya bilge rat, and t' tube is white. 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. Arrr! Seriously. Yeah, matey, I could take some time t' make it look good, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Let's fly. Begad! Avast! I want t' get started on me cert rocket. Ya scallywag! 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. Blimey! Waddin' can be easier in t' smaller rockets, but t' larger ones just take too much. Besides, matey, reuseable Nomex is more eco friendly.

Other prep is standard. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Yes, thar's a lot o' this review that just says "it's standard issue." That's because this is a pretty standard rocket. Arrr! Ahoy! Steppin' into high power, many o' t' rockets are pretty "standard" as well. Just stronger materials. Ahoy! At a certain point, me bucko, you can't do anythin' too fancy with high power motors, arrr, 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. I haven't flown mine yet. Aye aye! Weather hasn't been good enough.

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