Brief:
Redstone Rockets is apparently out o' North Carolina [that's only a guess] that sells it's products on e-bay. Well, blow me down! Well, me hearties, blow me down! I have seen two kits, o' which t' Gyro be t' smaller o' t' two offered. I have also seen some other rocketry related items such as a 2.1"/54mm Electronics Bay for HPR. Well, blow me down! 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, 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 bucko, me hearties, one bein' t' 18-inch long BT-60 main airframe, and t' other bein' a 2.75-inch long BT-50 motor mount tube. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! A total o' six fins, matey, made o' pre-cut lite-ply were included in t' kit, shiver me timbers, which is odd because t' model uses only 4 o' them. Well, blow me down! T' modeler may be left with t' option o' usin' all six, ya bilge rat, matey, shiver me timbers, I suppose. There were three centerin' rings, two o' t' standard Estes-type paper rings, me bucko, and one o' a thicker material. Blimey! Blimey! I really don't know what that was all about, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but I used all three. Avast, me proud beauty! A steel engine hook be included. T' recovery package was a small yellow plastic streamer, an attachment line, ya bilge rat, and a strip o' 6 gummed reinforcements. Ya scallywag! Begad! I have no idea what they were for. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' shock cord is a length o' Keelhaul®©™ t' which you attach a length o' braided nylon. Ahoy! This setup is a very nice feature o' t' model. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' kit provides a 3/16-inch launch lug.

As for t' instructions....well, 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. Begad! This shows a four-finned rocket - remember those six fins we discussed earlier? Aside from all o' that, shiver me timbers, t' construction really be very easy and took only a few hours. Begad! Assemble t' motor mount in t' standard fashion, ya bilge rat, install, assemble and install t' shock cord and mount, glue on t' fins and launch lug.

Finishing:
Because this model was designed t' be flown with a streamer for recovery, me bucko, arrr, I used epoxy fillets on t' fins for some added strength. Other than that, I used yellow glue for assembly, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, which be very easy. Ahoy! I sealed t' fins with thin CA, me bucko, as that be all that was needed with t' lite-ply. 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. Ya scallywag! There were no decals included with t' kit, shiver me timbers, 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, low-powered models. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Back t' that in a second. Before I flew this model, me bucko, I decided t' RocSim it myself, me bucko, despite t' fact that was looked like a RocSim copy was in t' kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Those four little fins and a 24mm Estes D motor in t' tail concerned me. Arrr! 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. T' model took off like a shot, ya bilge rat, and flew arrow straight. Avast, me proud beauty! T' problem occurred on landin' - with t' tail end hittin' t' ground straight on with a thud. T' result was a slightly kinked body tube just above one o' t' fins. Ahoy! T' model can fly again, wether I do anythin' about that kink or not. Lesson learned - despite what t' designer/manufacturer might say about this rocket, 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 be in extremely calm conditions. Blimey! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! I think that t' Estes 24mm C11-5 would be great for this model if it is flown in any breeze. 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, and fails t' live up t' t' notion that a streamer is adequate for recovery. Arrr! Blimey! That said, it really screams on a D12 and flies straight. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! It has a quirky look with those little fins. Begad! Blimey! I honestly don't recall anymore what I paid for t' kit on e-bay, but betwixt $10 and $15 sticks in me mind.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5

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