Brief:
This is a father/son dual build. Aye aye! Blimey! Up t' this point, I've been helpin' him build his rockets. Begad! We started with me doin' most o' t' building, shiver me timbers, and him as an extra pair o' hands. 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. Begad! I found a couple o' Firebirds for relatively cheap, ya bilge rat, and so we're buildin' these in parallel. Begad! This will be his first purely solo build, ya bilge rat, and we'll be comparin' t' results o' our two builds. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! After this, me bucko, ya bilge rat, 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! Nothin' dramatic or fancy, me hearties, here, just a solid design with classic lines.

Construction:
Dad: This is a basic 4FNC rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Plastic nose cone, 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. Ya scallywag! Begad! For standard 18mm motors, everythin' is sufficiently strong. 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. Begad! What's with t' wimpy 18mm motor mount? That's got t' go. Avast! I'm goin' t' raid t' parts closet. Avast! Well, blow me down! Let's see. 24mm motor mount, arrr, me hearties, some BT50-55 centerin' rings t' replace t' cheapy paper stuff. Ya scallywag! Arrr! OK. Begad! Ya scallywag! I'm good t' go. Aye aye! Let's get building.

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

Namely t' recovery section.

I always toss t' 3-fold concept. Ahoy! I notched t' upper centerin' ring, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and slipped a length o' Keelhaul®©™ through. Begad! I knotted t' end t' prevent it comin' back through t' notch, me hearties, and put a dab o' epoxy t' hold it in. Aye aye! Begad! Normally, I would tie t' Keelhaul®©™® in a loop around t' motor tube, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but since these fins are through t' wall, me hearties, matey, me bucko, 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. Arrr! For all t' Estes 18mm motors, TTW fins is way overkill. Avast, me proud beauty! O' course, it does make fin alignment much easier.

Son: Well, matey, he taught me, me bucko, so, matey, yeah, ya bilge rat, I'm tossin' t' 3-fold as well. Ahoy! Since I'm doin' t' 24mm thing, I get t' choose me engine tube size, so I went with a longer tube, me bucko, and a third centerin' ring. T' first 2 rings sandwich t' fin tangs as normal. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube, and put t' third rin' on top. Ya scallywag! 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. Blimey! Blimey! I also left off t' motor block. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ahoy! 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. Blimey! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' up side is that I can use any 24mm motor includin' t' upcomin' Aerotech 24/120 and t' CTI Pro 24 cases. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Bigger, faster, higher! Blimey! I can't wait t' put a 24mm G motor and watch it rip! Blimey! Dad's shakin' his head while I'm typin' this. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Says I'll never get it back. Begad! Blimey! Maybe, but it's fun. Aye aye! Blimey! Besides, ya bilge rat, I don't pay for t' motors. (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! Blimey! That means peel and stick. Arrr! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I really don't like them. Blimey! Blimey! I much prefer water slide. Arrr! Blimey! That said, ya bilge rat, as per me usual superstitious approach, shiver me timbers, I won't actually paint and decal t' rocket until after t' first few flights. Arrr! 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. Well, blow me down! Blimey! If I build a rocket in 2 hours t' night before a launch, it's comin' back. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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, it's all typical. Avast! Sand and seal t' fins. Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Aye aye! Fill t' spirals in t' tube. T' spirals actually aren't too bad, and t' tube is white. Aye aye! If you go with t' factory color scheme (white) you could probably get away without filling.

Son: I'm done building, shiver me timbers, let's go fly. Begad! Seriously. Avast! Yeah, I could take some time t' make it look good, me bucko, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Begad! Let's fly. I want t' get started on me cert rocket. Avast! 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. Ahoy! Waddin' can be easier in t' smaller rockets, shiver me timbers, but t' larger ones just take too much. Ya scallywag! Besides, arrr, reuseable Nomex is more eco friendly.

Other prep is standard. Yes, thar's a lot o' this review that just says "it's standard issue." That's because this is a pretty standard rocket. Blimey! Begad! Steppin' into high power, many o' t' rockets are pretty "standard" as well. Just stronger materials. Aye aye! Arrr! At a certain point, 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. I'm gettin' tired o' typing. Well, blow me down! Begad! I haven't flown mine yet. Weather hasn't been good enough.

Recovery:
Dad: My turn t' say it. Avast, me proud beauty! What he said. Ahoy! Well, me hearties, blow me down! We haven't flown either rocket yet as t' weather hasn't cooperated. Begad! Ahoy! My expectation is that, like everythin' about this kit, it will be typical Estes. Ahoy! Begad! T' chute is too big, me hearties, and it will float, matey, arrr, 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, arrr, and updatin' t' review through t' flight log comments. Avast! Actual flight is just t' last validation o' t' build in this case. T' primary goal be t' give him a solo build t' validate he has t' skills necessary t' attempt his cert build.

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

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5