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

T' Firebird is a fairly basic single stage Estes offering. Aye aye! Blimey! Nothin' dramatic or fancy, here, me bucko, ya bilge rat, just a solid design with classic lines.

Construction:
Dad: This is a basic 4FNC rocket. Begad! Plastic nose cone, arrr, 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, shiver me timbers, while t' motor tube be t' cheap blue 18mm tube. For standard 18mm motors, everythin' is sufficiently strong. Blimey! Well, blow me down! For t' 18mm Aerotech D reloads, thar could be some extra stress that could test some o' these parts.

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

Dad: Once again, this is pretty basic Estes fare. Aye aye! 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. Well, blow me down! I notched t' upper centerin' ring, ya bilge rat, and slipped a length o' Keelhaul®©™ through. I knotted t' end t' prevent it comin' back through t' notch, me hearties, and put a dab o' epoxy t' hold it in. Ahoy! Ahoy! Normally, ya bilge rat, me bucko, matey, I would tie t' Keelhaul®©™® in a loop around t' motor tube, matey, ya bilge rat, but since these fins are through t' wall, matey, 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. Ahoy! Blimey! For all t' Estes 18mm motors, me bucko, TTW fins is way overkill. O' course, me hearties, it does make fin alignment much easier.

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

While I was 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. Begad! 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. Ya scallywag! 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! 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. Blimey! Says I'll never get it back. Ahoy! Maybe, but it's fun. Aye aye! Begad! Besides, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I don't pay for t' motors. Ya scallywag! (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! That means peel and stick. I really don't like them. I much prefer water slide. Ahoy! Blimey! That said, me hearties, as per me usual superstitious approach, I won't actually paint and decal t' rocket until after t' first few flights. Ya scallywag! 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. If I build a rocket in 2 hours t' night before a launch, shiver me timbers, it's comin' back. Aye aye! Every time I've spent 2-3 months doin' a painstakin' job o' buildin' and finishing, me hearties, somethin' bilge-suckin' has happened.

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

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

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

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

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

Recovery:
Dad: My turn t' say it. Begad! What he said. Well, blow me down! We haven't flown either rocket yet as t' weather hasn't cooperated. Begad! My expectation is that, me bucko, like everythin' about this kit, it will be typical Estes. Well, blow me down! T' chute is too big, me bucko, and it will float, so we'll probably fly with a streamer or smaller chute. As we get a chance t' fly these, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I'll be postin' t' flight logs, and updatin' t' review through t' flight log comments. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, me hearties, do I pass? When can I start on t' Matrix?

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5