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

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

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

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

Namely t' recovery section.

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

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

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

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

Finishing:
Dad: Decals are typical o' Estes in this era. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! That means peel and stick. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I really don't like them. Aye aye! Blimey! I much prefer water slide. Begad! That said, as per me usual superstitious approach, I won't actually paint and decal t' rocket until after t' first few flights. Blimey! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! If I build a rocket in 2 hours t' night before a launch, matey, it's comin' back. Ahoy! 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 hearties, me bucko, it's all typical. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Sand and seal t' fins. Begad! Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Fill t' spirals in t' tube. Ahoy! Begad! T' spirals actually aren't too bad, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and t' tube is white. Blimey! 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! Ya scallywag! Seriously. Yeah, I could take some time t' make it look good, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Blimey! Let's fly. Well, blow me down! I want t' get started on me cert rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I'll take more time on that one.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

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

Son: What he said. Avast! Well, blow me down! I'm gettin' tired o' typing. Ahoy! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I haven't flown mine yet. Avast! Arrr! 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. Well, blow me down! Begad! My expectation is that, like everythin' about this kit, it will be typical Estes. Begad! T' chute is too big, ya bilge rat, and it will float, me hearties, so we'll probably fly with a streamer or smaller chute. Ya scallywag! As we get a chance t' fly these, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, arrr, I'll be postin' t' flight logs, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and updatin' t' review through t' flight log comments. Blimey! Actual flight is just t' last validation o' t' build in this case. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' primary goal be t' give him a solo build t' validate he has t' skills necessary t' attempt his cert build.

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

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5