Brief:
This is a father/son dual build. Avast, me proud beauty! Up t' this point, I've been helpin' him build his rockets. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! We started with me doin' most o' t' building, and him as an extra pair o' hands. Ahoy! Over t' course o' 3-4 builds, he's been doin' more and more, me bucko, and t' roles are reversin' where I'm becomin' t' extra hands. Aye aye! Blimey! I found a couple o' Firebirds for relatively cheap, and so we're buildin' these in parallel. Arrr! Blimey! This will be his first purely solo build, and we'll be comparin' t' results o' our two builds. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! After this, he'll be movin' on t' buildin' his L1 cert rocket... Arrr! Blimey! if I think he's ready.

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

Construction:
Dad: This is a basic 4FNC rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Plastic nose cone, shiver me timbers, matey, pre-cut fins, some flimsy paper centerin' rings and t' usual too short shock cord and plastic chute. Begad! Blimey! T' body tube is a good length o' BT-55 1.325" tubing, me bucko, ya bilge rat, while t' motor tube be t' cheap blue 18mm tube. Well, blow me down! Blimey! For standard 18mm motors, ya bilge rat, everythin' is sufficiently strong. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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! Blimey! What's with t' wimpy 18mm motor mount? That's got t' go. Ahoy! Begad! I'm goin' t' raid t' parts closet. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Let's see. Aye aye! Begad! 24mm motor mount, shiver me timbers, some BT50-55 centerin' rings t' replace t' cheapy paper stuff. Ahoy! OK. I'm good t' go. Begad! Let's get building.

Dad: Once again, this is pretty basic Estes fare. Aye aye! Blimey! Anyone who's build a typical Estes rocket in t' last couple decades won't have an issue here. Well, blow me down! 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. Begad! Blimey! I notched t' upper centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, and slipped a length o' Keelhaul®©™ through. I knotted t' end t' prevent it comin' back through t' notch, and put a dab o' epoxy t' hold it in. Normally, I would tie t' Keelhaul®©™® in a loop around t' motor tube, ya bilge rat, but since these fins are through t' wall, shiver me timbers, 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. Aye aye! Blimey! For all t' Estes 18mm motors, TTW fins is way overkill. O' course, it does make fin alignment much easier.

Son: Well, he taught me, me bucko, matey, so, shiver me timbers, yeah, arrr, me bucko, I'm tossin' t' 3-fold as well. Avast, me proud beauty! Since I'm doin' t' 24mm thing, I get t' choose me engine tube size, arrr, so I went with a longer tube, shiver me timbers, arrr, and a third centerin' ring. Arrr! 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. Aye aye! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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. 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! Bigger, faster, shiver me timbers, 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. Ahoy! Says I'll never get it back. Aye aye! Blimey! Maybe, arrr, but it's fun. Besides, 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. Blimey! Ya scallywag! That means peel and stick. I really don't like them. I much prefer water slide. Avast, me proud beauty! That said, as per me usual superstitious approach, I won't actually paint and decal t' rocket until after t' first few flights. Begad! 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. Aye aye! If I build a rocket in 2 hours t' night before a launch, it's comin' back. 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. Arrr! Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Arrr! Fill t' spirals in t' tube. Ya scallywag! T' spirals actually aren't too bad, and t' tube is white. Begad! If you go with t' factory color scheme (white) you could probably get away without filling.

Son: I'm done building, matey, arrr, let's go fly. Ahoy! Seriously. Yeah, me hearties, I could take some time t' make it look good, me hearties, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Arrr! Let's fly. Arrr! Ahoy! I want t' get started on me cert rocket. Aye aye! 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 hearties, we keep a supply o' Nomex t' avoid usin' wadding. Waddin' can be easier in t' smaller rockets, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but t' larger ones just take too much. Begad! Besides, arrr, me hearties, ya bilge rat, reuseable Nomex is more eco friendly.

Other prep is standard. Yes, me bucko, 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. Steppin' into high power, me hearties, ya bilge rat, many o' t' rockets are pretty "standard" as well. Just stronger materials. At a certain point, you can't do anythin' too fancy with high power motors, arrr, 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. Weather hasn't been good enough.

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