Brief:
Madcow Rocketry's Little John is a very nice 1:4.8 scale version o' t' U.S. Army's old Little John unguided artillery rocket with a number o' thoughtful design features--especially t' nose cone "ballast box" design. Loaded with top notch components, it is worth every cent one will ever pay.

Construction:
T' Little John's components consist of:

• 1 custom balsa nose cone (made from a solid high-density balsa)
• 1 heavy-duty pre-slotted (laser-cut) body tube
• 2 laser-cut light plywood centerin' rings
• 1 29mm motor tube
• 4 laser-cut 1/8" light plywood TTW fins
• 1 eyebolt, nut, shiver me timbers, matey, and washer
• 1 nose cone shoulder coupler
• 1 nose cone shoulder (plywood) bulkhead
• Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
• nylon shock cord
• 1 Nomex® chute protector
• 18" rip-stop nylon chute
• 2 1/4" launch lugs
• 1 "U.S. Well, blow me down! Army" vinyl decal

T' Little John proved t' be a most simple rocket t' put together and was nay really any different t' constructin' any basic 3FNC or 4FNC rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions were very easy t' understand with basic but clear pictorial diagrams t' aid in construction which ultimately made for a quick and very accurate build. Avast! Avast! Component quality is absolutely superb with all t' wooden components bein' laser-cut t' perfection and t' other components equally awesome. Aye aye! T' crownin' glory bein' t' huge solid balsa nose cone.

NHP 12-minute epoxy was used durin' construction instead o' t' recommended 5-minute epoxy.

T' motor mount was constructed like any other conventional rocket with two centerin' rings attached t' t' motor tube although no thrust rin' is supplied so as t' allow for greater choice o' 29mm motors. Blimey! T' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is then tied around t' motor tube against t' front centerin' rin' and secured in place with epoxy with the free end then run through a laser-cut notch in t' front centerin' ring. Begad! Arrr! After havin' initially slightly roughened up the body tube exterior with 240 grit sandpaper, arrr, t' completed motor mount assembly is then epoxied into place at the rear o' t' body tube with t' aft o' t' motor tube bein' aligned with t' end aft o' t' body tube (one does need to be careful t' ensure that t' centerin' rings are clear o' t' fin slots). Arrr! T' nylon shock cord was then tied off to the Keelhaul®©™® shock cord. Avast, me proud beauty! Once that was done, me bucko, I penciled a launch lug line betwixt two o' t' fin slots usin' t' trusty door jam method.

T' TTW fins needed very little sandin' along their tabs. Begad! Arrr! I secured each fin in place and followed up with small epoxy fin fillets. Arrr! Aye aye! No mention be made in t' instructions as t' airfoilin' or roundin' t' fin leading/trailin' edges so I opted t' leave them square.

I then marked t' CG point at t' prescribed 21.25" from t' tip o' t' nose cone usin' a large piece of angle iron and as per t' instructions, epoxied a launch lug at t' CG point and epoxied t' aft launch lug 1/2" from t' end aft o' t' body tube. Arrr! Small epoxy fillets were added t' both launch lugs.

T' last step consisted o' makin' up t' simple and unique "ballast box", matey, me hearties, which allows for easy addition o' nose weight t' satisfy t' urges o' super-insane high fliers. An eye bolt is secured with a nut and washer to a plywood bulkhead with a small blob o' epoxy then smeared along t' eye bolt thread and nut t' prevent t' nut from comin' loose later. Ya scallywag! T' bulkhead is then epoxied into place t' t' supplied nose cone shoulder coupler with an epoxy fillet then applied t' t' bulkhead/coupler joint. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! With t' nose cone friction-taped into t' coupler, shiver me timbers, t' shock cord and chute tied off t' t' coupler eye bolt and t' largest motor I intended for use in t' Little John inserted into place, ya bilge rat, arrr, t' Little John is then balanced with weight added if t' balance is behind t' CG point.

Once t' balance is at or ahead o' t' CG point, t' instructions state t' then epoxy t' nose cone into the coupler,however, arrr, I opted t' do that later once I had painted t' nose cone.

Finishing:
I sealed t' nose cone and fins with six applications o' NHP Micro-Fill balsa sealer and three applications of Aeroflyte Acetone Dope with light sandin' in betwixt after which both t' nose cone and body were primed with two applications o' Tamiya Grey spray primer. Blimey! Two applications o' Tamiya TS-5 Flat Olive Drab spray lacquer were used for the final color coating. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' painted nose cone be then epoxied into t' coupler and t' coupler itself colored black with a Sharpie marker.

T' vinyl decal was then carefully applied with t' decal itself bein' high quality and adherin' well t' the paint.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' first two flights were made with an Aerotech E15-4 (usin' a 24/29mm motor adapter purchased separately from Madcow). Begad! Blimey! T' weather be relatively mild and sunny although wind speeds were startin' t' pick up by t' time I got around t' launching.

Preppin' t' rocket for flight was a cinch with t' Nomex® chute protector and three handfuls o' dog barf. Well, blow me down! Blimey! After tapin' t' motor and motor adapter into t' rocket, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I loaded the Little John on t' me trusty NCR Modular launch pad and upon hittin' t' launch button, t' Little John took off slowly and majestically with a roar into t' sunny skies trackin' with a slight weathercock t' a respectable 650-700ft.

T' third flight was conducted on another day which was windier usin' an Aerotech E30-4. Ya scallywag! That motor propelled the Little John so smartly off t' launch pad that it simply seemed t' vaporize upon motor ignition. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Very impressive straight flight!

Ejection for all three flights was just past apogee by a second or two.

Recovery:
No problems were experienced durin' recovery with t' rocket recoverin' nicely on t' supplied 18" nylon chute. There was no scorchin' o' t' chute and nylon shock cord. Avast! Aye aye! Addin' dog barf also helped at protectin' t' Nomex® chute protector which was only slightly blackened by t' motor ejection charges.

On t' third flight due t' t' windy conditions, shiver me timbers, t' Little John landed quite hard on a patch o' hard ground but the only damage be a tiny scratch on t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' nose cone bein' made o' solid high-density balsa undoubtedly helped minimize damage!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket is a truly exceptional product from Madcow. Begad! I simply can't think o' any CONs and is worth every cent of its $49.95 price tag considerin' t' very high quality o' its components. Arrr! T' customer service from Madcow's proprietor, Mike Stoop, arrr, ya bilge rat, is also fabulous. Ahoy! Dealin' with Mike was, me bucko, me bucko, without doubt, one o' me best rocket purchasing experiences.

T' blurb at t' end o' t' instructions state t' "Now go have so fun!" Fun is exactly what I had with t' Little John. Arrr! Begad! This rocket is in a league o' its own, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I say no more.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5