Brief:
This is a father/son dual build. Up t' this point, matey, I've been helpin' him build his rockets. Begad! We started with me doin' most o' t' building, and him as an extra pair o' hands. Begad! Over t' course o' 3-4 builds, he's been doin' more and more, and t' roles are reversin' where I'm becomin' t' extra hands. Ahoy! Aye aye! I found a couple o' Firebirds for relatively cheap, and so we're buildin' these in parallel. Begad! This will be his first purely solo build, matey, and we'll be comparin' t' results o' our two builds. Begad! Arrr! After this, 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Nothin' dramatic or fancy, here, shiver me timbers, just a solid design with classic lines.

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

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

Dad: Once again, me hearties, this is pretty basic Estes fare. Avast! 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. I notched t' upper centerin' ring, and slipped a length o' Keelhaul®©™ through. Aye aye! I knotted t' end t' prevent it comin' back through t' notch, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and put a dab o' epoxy t' hold it in. Ya scallywag! Normally, I would tie t' Keelhaul®©™® in a loop around t' motor tube, arrr, but since these fins are through t' wall, t' loop would interfere with t' fin tangs.

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

Son: Well, me hearties, he taught me, arrr, ya bilge rat, so, me hearties, yeah, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I'm tossin' t' 3-fold as well. 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, and a third centerin' ring. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' first 2 rings sandwich t' fin tangs as normal. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and put t' third rin' on top. Blimey! Begad! Hah! Mines stronger.

While I was at it, shiver me timbers, I cut t' top o' t' engine hook off so it doesn't go into t' motor tube. Ya scallywag! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' up side is that I can use any 24mm motor includin' t' upcomin' Aerotech 24/120 and t' CTI Pro 24 cases. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! Bigger, shiver me timbers, 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, matey, but it's fun. Blimey! Besides, me hearties, I don't pay for t' motors. Aye aye! (Dad: He may start buyin' them if he loses them like this)

Finishing:
Dad: Decals are typical o' Estes in this era. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! That means peel and stick. Avast, me proud beauty! I really don't like them. Well, blow me down! I much prefer water slide. Aye aye! Aye aye! That said, as per me usual superstitious approach, I won't actually paint and decal t' rocket until after t' first few flights. Well, blow me down! 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. Ya scallywag! Avast! 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, me bucko, arrr, matey, it's all typical. Well, blow me down! Sand and seal t' fins. Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Fill t' spirals in t' tube. Begad! T' spirals actually aren't too bad, shiver me timbers, and t' tube is white. Avast, me proud beauty! If you go with t' factory color scheme (white) you could probably get away without filling.

Son: I'm done building, matey, let's go fly. Well, blow me down! Seriously. Aye aye! Yeah, I could take some time t' make it look good, matey, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Avast! Let's fly. Ahoy! 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. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Waddin' can be easier in t' smaller rockets, but t' larger ones just take too much. Ahoy! Ahoy! Besides, reuseable Nomex is more eco friendly.

Other prep is standard. Begad! Yes, 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. Just stronger materials. Avast, me proud beauty! At a certain point, me hearties, you can't do anythin' too fancy with high power motors, because t' motors will just shred t' rocket from t' high thrust.

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

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

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

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5