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

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

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

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

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

Namely t' recovery section.

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

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

Son: Well, me bucko, he taught me, so, ya bilge rat, yeah, matey, I'm tossin' t' 3-fold as well. Well, blow me down! Since I'm doin' t' 24mm thing, me hearties, I get t' choose me engine tube size, matey, so I went with a longer tube, arrr, and a third centerin' ring. Ya scallywag! T' first 2 rings sandwich t' fin tangs as normal. Ahoy! I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube, me bucko, and put t' third rin' on top. Ya scallywag! 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. Blimey! I also left off t' motor block. Ya scallywag! 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. T' up side is that I can use any 24mm motor includin' t' upcomin' Aerotech 24/120 and t' CTI Pro 24 cases. 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. Well, blow me down! Says I'll never get it back. Maybe, but it's fun. Begad! Besides, me bucko, I don't pay for t' motors. Begad! Aye aye! (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. Begad! Aye aye! I really don't like them. Ya scallywag! I much prefer water slide. Avast! That said, matey, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! If I build a rocket in 2 hours t' night before a launch, it's comin' back. 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, it's all typical. Sand and seal t' fins. Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Fill t' spirals in t' tube. Blimey! Blimey! T' spirals actually aren't too bad, and t' tube is white. Ahoy! Blimey! 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. Ahoy! Begad! Seriously. Ahoy! Yeah, arrr, arrr, I could take some time t' make it look good, me hearties, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Blimey! Ahoy! Let's fly. Blimey! I want t' get started on me cert rocket. I'll take more time on that one.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Dad: For all our rockets larger than 1" diameter, arrr, we keep a supply o' Nomex t' avoid usin' wadding. Blimey! Aye aye! Waddin' can be easier in t' smaller rockets, ya bilge rat, but t' larger ones just take too much. Aye aye! 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. Begad! Steppin' into high power, me hearties, me bucko, matey, many o' t' rockets are pretty "standard" as well. Ya scallywag! Just stronger materials. Well, blow me down! Blimey! At a certain point, shiver me timbers, matey, you can't do anythin' too fancy with high power motors, matey, because t' motors will just shred t' rocket from t' high thrust.

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

Recovery:
Dad: My turn t' say it. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! What he said. We haven't flown either rocket yet as t' weather hasn't cooperated. My expectation is that, like everythin' about this kit, me bucko, shiver me timbers, arrr, it will be typical Estes. Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' chute is too big, and it will float, 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. Actual flight is just t' last validation o' t' build in this case. Ahoy! Blimey! T' primary goal was 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