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

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

Construction:
Dad: This is a basic 4FNC rocket. Begad! Begad! Plastic nose cone, pre-cut fins, arrr, me bucko, some flimsy paper centerin' rings and t' usual too short shock cord and plastic chute. Ahoy! 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! Blimey! For standard 18mm motors, everythin' is sufficiently strong. Begad! 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. What's with t' wimpy 18mm motor mount? That's got t' go. Avast! Ahoy! I'm goin' t' raid t' parts closet. Let's see. Avast! Well, blow me down! 24mm motor mount, some BT50-55 centerin' rings t' replace t' cheapy paper stuff. Aye aye! OK. Aye aye! I'm good t' go. 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. Ya scallywag! 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, ya bilge rat, arrr, and slipped a length o' Keelhaul®©™ through. Ahoy! Avast! I knotted t' end t' prevent it comin' back through t' notch, matey, arrr, and put a dab o' epoxy t' hold it in. Begad! Ahoy! Normally, I would tie t' Keelhaul®©™® in a loop around t' motor tube, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but since these fins are through t' wall, 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, me proud beauty! Blimey! For all t' Estes 18mm motors, TTW fins is way overkill. O' course, it does make fin alignment much easier.

Son: Well, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, he taught me, so, yeah, matey, arrr, 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, so I went with a longer tube, shiver me timbers, and a third centerin' ring. Aye aye! T' first 2 rings sandwich t' fin tangs as normal. Blimey! Blimey! I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube, ya bilge rat, and put t' third rin' on top. Hah! Mines stronger.

While I was at it, I cut t' top o' t' engine hook off so it doesn't go into t' motor tube. Arrr! Begad! I also left off t' motor block. Arrr! 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. Ahoy! 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! Bigger, me hearties, faster, me bucko, 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. Aye aye! Ahoy! Says I'll never get it back. Maybe, me hearties, but it's fun. Arrr! Well, matey, blow me down! Besides, shiver me timbers, 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! Avast, me proud beauty! That means peel and stick. Arrr! I really don't like them. Arrr! I much prefer water slide. That said, shiver me timbers, 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. Blimey! If I build a rocket in 2 hours t' night before a launch, ya bilge rat, it's comin' back. Aye aye! 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, me hearties, it's all typical. Sand and seal t' fins. Aye aye! Blimey! Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! Fill t' spirals in t' tube. Arrr! Blimey! T' spirals actually aren't too bad, matey, 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, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, me bucko, let's go fly. Avast, me proud beauty! Seriously. Yeah, I could take some time t' make it look good, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Let's fly. Arrr! I want t' get started on me cert rocket. Begad! 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. Aye aye! Waddin' can be easier in t' smaller rockets, but t' larger ones just take too much. Avast, me proud beauty! Besides, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, 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. Steppin' into high power, arrr, many o' t' rockets are pretty "standard" as well. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Just stronger materials. At a certain point, you can't do anythin' too fancy with high power motors, shiver me timbers, because t' motors will just shred t' rocket from t' high thrust.

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

Recovery:
Dad: My turn t' say it. Ahoy! Aye aye! What he said. Well, blow me down! We haven't flown either rocket yet as t' weather hasn't cooperated. Aye aye! My expectation is that, matey, me bucko, like everythin' about this kit, me hearties, it will be typical Estes. 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. Begad! 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, me bucko, do I pass? When can I start on t' Matrix?

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5