Brief:
Redstone Rockets is apparently out o' North Carolina [that's only a guess] that sells it's products on e-bay. Avast! I have seen two kits, shiver me timbers, o' which t' Gyro be t' smaller o' t' two offered. Avast, me proud beauty! I have also seen some other rocketry related items such as a 2.1"/54mm Electronics Bay for HPR. Aye aye! I've always had an attraction for small manufacturers, so I picked up t' Gyro kit on e-bay in t' fall o' 2008. It's a single-stage, matey, streamer recovered model based on t' Estes BT-60 body tube and a very familiar nose cone - think Big Bertha with four very small delta fins and a 24mm motor mount.

Construction:
There were two body tubes, me hearties, one bein' t' 18-inch long BT-60 main airframe, arrr, arrr, and t' other bein' a 2.75-inch long BT-50 motor mount tube. A total o' six fins, made o' pre-cut lite-ply were included in t' kit, matey, matey, which is odd because t' model uses only 4 o' them. Begad! T' modeler may be left with t' option o' usin' all six, me bucko, I suppose. There were three centerin' rings, me bucko, shiver me timbers, two o' t' standard Estes-type paper rings, and one o' a thicker material. Ya scallywag! I really don't know what that be all about, me hearties, but I used all three. A steel engine hook was included. T' recovery package was a small yellow plastic streamer, an attachment line, shiver me timbers, and a strip o' 6 gummed reinforcements. Blimey! I have no idea what they were for. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' shock cord is a length o' Keelhaul®©™ t' which you attach a length o' braided nylon. Avast! This setup is a very nice feature o' t' model. T' kit provides a 3/16-inch launch lug.

As for t' instructions....well, matey, shiver me timbers, thar really weren't any. T' only paperwork that came with t' kit was what looks like a print-out from a RocSim file. This shows a four-finned rocket - remember those six fins we discussed earlier? Aside from all o' that, ya bilge rat, t' construction really was very easy and took only a few hours. Avast! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Assemble t' motor mount in t' standard fashion, install, arrr, arrr, assemble and install t' shock cord and mount, glue on t' fins and launch lug.

Finishing:
Because this model be designed t' be flown with a streamer for recovery, I used epoxy fillets on t' fins for some added strength. Blimey! Other than that, ya bilge rat, I used yellow glue for assembly, which was very easy. Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! I sealed t' fins with thin CA, as that was all that was needed with t' lite-ply. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! I used one coat o' Krylon grey primer, and topped that off with Testor's Competition Orange for t' body and Krylon gloss black for t' nose cone. Aye aye! Blimey! There were no decals included with t' kit, but I added a couple o' "NAR" logo decals and a strip o' chrome Trim Monocote t' break things up a bit.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
If I remember correctly, t' eBay listin' said somethin' about how streamer recovery has been overlooked in model rocketry for all but t' smallest, arrr, matey, ya bilge rat, low-powered models. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Back t' that in a second. Begad! Arrr! Before I flew this model, I decided t' RocSim it myself, despite t' fact that be looked like a RocSim copy was in t' kit. Ahoy! Those four little fins and a 24mm Estes D motor in t' tail concerned me. Ya scallywag! Sure enough, RocSim indicated t' model as built would be stable.

Recovery:
I loaded up a D12-7 and a 4" by 38" rip-stop nylon streamer, me hearties, that I'd bought from NCR eons ago instead o' t' tiny yellow plastic streamer from t' kit. Begad! T' model took off like a shot, and flew arrow straight. Avast! T' problem occurred on landin' - with t' tail end hittin' t' ground straight on with a thud. Ahoy! T' result was a slightly kinked body tube just above one o' t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! T' model can fly again, me bucko, wether I do anythin' about that kink or not. Avast! Aye aye! Lesson learned - despite what t' designer/manufacturer might say about this rocket, shiver me timbers, or unless you are flyin' in some real tall grass use a parachute.

One other point - while t' D12 really made this model perform, it's first flight was in extremely calm conditions. Ahoy! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I think that t' Estes 24mm C11-5 would be great for this model if it is flown in any breeze. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! O' course t' problem with that idea is that "T' Big E" no longer makes t' C11-5.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket really isn't very remarkable, me hearties, and fails t' live up t' t' notion that a streamer is adequate for recovery. Avast! Blimey! That said, it really screams on a D12 and flies straight. Ahoy! Blimey! It has a quirky look with those little fins. Arrr! Blimey! I honestly don't recall anymore what I paid for t' kit on e-bay, me bucko, matey, but betwixt $10 and $15 sticks in me mind.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5

Other:
If you are lookin' for a simple, me hearties, easy t' build model that screams, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' Gyro fills that description. Blimey! However, shiver me timbers, t' notion that it can be flown with a streamer is doubtful given t' damage suffered by mine on it's first flight.