(Contributed - by Andy Hobbs - 01/17/07)

Brief:
Lance covered t' components and construction o' t' rocket very well in his excellent review. I also built t' model exactly t' t' plans t' kit is rated skill level 5. I agree with this, arrr, me bucko, although it maybe is nay as detailed as a Saturn V, matey, but it's probably nay recommended for t' impatient type builder.

Construction:
T' components are top quality. Begad! All o' t' tubes are thick wall 3" with a 3 x 12 LOC nose cone. Arrr! T' canopy is a Sig WW-2 style 7". Blimey! T' kit includes a 29mm x 17" motor mount tube, ya bilge rat, 2 chutes, me hearties, me hearties, lots o' nose weight, bulkheads, and centerin' rings. Those last 2 items are made o' 5 ply aircraft grade plywood. Ahoy! There are lots o' other parts and details as noted. Begad! Most wood parts are pre-cut but, t' wings, rudder, me bucko, tailplane, finette, me hearties, shiver me timbers, etc., have t' be edged with 1/4" hardwood, matey, rounded, me hearties, matey, and all trailin' surfaces have t' be heavily beveled. Begad! T' rudder alone requires 1/4" balsa, me bucko, hard wood, me hearties, matey, shiver me timbers, and ply t' complete--that's me kind o' kit! I used yellow wood glue througout t' construction except for t' canopy attachment and nose weight. I used epoxy in those cases. Begad! I am very impressed with t' quality and fit of components and t' inclusion o' 2 ripstop chutes (they appear t' be standard Top Flight brand.) Cuttin' t' shapes from the heavy wall tubes for t' intakes with a X-Acto be nay fun, but I couldn't think o' an easier way, however, arrr, after several passes they were done.

On t' busines end, I lined t' interior with aluminum tape from t' hardware store. This helps t' aft end from gettin' charred. T' tape be applied with a very thin coat o' epoxy. Arrr! T' adhesive on t' tape be strong but started t' unpeel after a few days, so I knew it wouldn't hold up t' heat well, hence the epoxy. Well, blow me down! Problem solved. Lastly, I used a T-nut and mirror clip for motor retention.

T' model has an integrated 1/4" launch lug. Avast, me proud beauty! I would have preferred rail buttons but I stuck t' t' stock kit instructions and it has worked very well.

Finishing:
Phred o' Excelsior decals did an amazin' job o' creatin' a decal sheet for me from some vector files I combined together. Ya scallywag! He is typically very busy and I appreciate him takin' t' time out t' get it done. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! He runs a top notch service!

I opted for a military scheme. For t' canopy glass I masked off t' frame structures, me bucko, cleared t' tape t' reduce leaking, matey, then I sprayed a Duplicolor chrome. Once that dried a bit, I sprayed iridescent blue with t' airbrush. It's hard t' tell from t' pic, but it has a sort o' glass-like sheen from a distance. (That's t' idea anyway.) The Excelsior decal worked very well by followin' t' included tips. They have a "painted on" quality. I put my NAR# on t' tail.

Flight and Recovery:

I flew it first on t' G64-7W and t' delay was way too long. It barely inflated t' chutes in time and t' shock cord broke both aft wings from t' abrupt seperation.

I repaired it and flew again on t' G64 drilled t' a 5 second delay and it be beautiful. Blimey! It was a perfect flight. Aye aye! Arrr! T' body chute was a little slow comin' out so I will pack it on top o' t' nose cone chute next time. Ahoy! However, it recovored just fine this time around as it even went into a short horizontal glide before ejection...

Summary:
This is an excellent and very cool kit. Ahoy! Blimey! I would really like t' see Fat Cat return t' t' rocketry world with their very interestin' line up o' kits!