Brief:
Semroc is offerin' up this basic 3FNC as a free gift t' new NARRRRR members in 2010, arrr, or for a retail price o' $11.50 to t' rest o' us. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It's a quick, me bucko, simple build well suited for beginners.

Construction:
Parts are excellent quality, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and include

• Balsa nose cone
• Series 8 body tube (slightly heavier wall than regular body tubing)
• BT-20 motor tube, metal hook
• Laser-cut balsa fins
• 12" plastic chute
• Keelhaul®©™®+elastic shock cord
• Waterslide decals

T' instructions for this are somewhat condensed compared t' t' typical Semroc product, me hearties, with t' construction notes printed on one side o' a legal-sized sheet. Ahoy! There's an exploded parts view in t' center, with 11 construction steps circlin' t' perimeter. Begad! Well, blow me down! Overall, me bucko, this is a skill level 1 kit, me hearties, me bucko, possibly a 2 if maskin' t' paint/finish, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and I had it built in well under an hour, ya bilge rat, me hearties, plus finishin' time.

T' motor mount is quite simple--put t' metal hook through t' pre-slotted BT-20 tube, me hearties, tie t' Keelhaul®©™® anchor, and slide/glue on a coupler-like sleeve t' hold everythin' in place. Begad! Mark t' body tube fin lines usin' a template on t' instruction sheet, and insert t' mount into t' body tube. Avast! Blimey!

The fins included a neat feature which I hadn't seen before--tiny little nicks cut into t' root edge, which would lead to a better bond by formin' little glue rivets. Previously, me hearties, I'd only made glue rivets by pokin' t' fin/body tube with a thumbtack or pin. Avast! Blimey! I think this is a useful improvement, though it could be lost on a beginner as it's nay mentioned in the instructions at all, ya bilge rat, and even identifyin' root versus tip edge is only somewhat covered in t' parts illustration. It wouldn't be at all difficult for an inexperienced beginner t' get t' fin orientation wrong. Ahoy! Avast!

T' launch lug is intended t' go in t' fin/tube joint, but since I intended t' mask and paint me fins a contrastin' color, I moved t' lug t' a line centered betwixt two fins. Avast! Aye aye!

Attachin' t' screw eye nose cone anchor and makin' t' chute completes t' construction.

Finishing:
T' body tube had a barely noticeable spiral, so I just brushed on diluted wood filler and coated t' fins and nose cone with t' same. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! I then hit it with Rustoleum's reformulated 2x coverage paint, me hearties, primer in this case. Avast, me proud beauty! It certainly lives up t' it's claims, me bucko, me hearties, matey, goin' on quite heavy but without running, and it dries fairly quickly. Avast! I was sanding it down t' next mornin' with wet 600 grit paper t' take t' edge off t' rough primer finish.

I then followed up with t' 2x type white gloss finish paint. After allowin' another day t' cure, I painted the nose cone gloss black, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and masked off t' paint t' fins gloss red. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! In each case, ya bilge rat, a single application o' t' 2x coverage paint seemed t' work fine, so I'm sold on this stuff. Avast! Arrr!

T' waterslide decals were easy t' apply and are some o' t' best I've ever worked with. Begad! Begad! Blimey! Easy t' apply, tough enough t' support slidin' around a little t' position, me hearties, but thin enough t' still look painted on when dried.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' first flight I went on t' low end o' t' power spectrum with an A8-3. Blimey! Winds were pushin' 10 mph, it was nasty cold, and I didn't feel like a long recovery trek. Ahoy! It tipped off slightly upwind, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but it didn't come across as weathercocking, more somethin' funky with t' way it left t' rod.

In any case, t' slight angle be no big deal, ya bilge rat, it flew perfectly fine, though t' -3 delay be short and is probably why Semroc recommends A6-4 instead o' A8-3.

Recovery:
T' 12" plastic chute is certainly plenty for this, maybe even overkill. Avast, me proud beauty! This came down very slowly, and drifted a good 150 yards.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Sure, me hearties, this is a rather ordinary design, and very similar t' t' Astro Jr., but for its intended purpose as an introductory model t' a new NARRRRR member, shiver me timbers, me bucko, it's right on t' mark.

For Semroc t' offer up, for free, arrr, such quality materials and a sound model is really a generous move. Begad! Kudos for yet another example o' what they do for this hobby.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5