Construction:
Parts included:

• 1 18mm ID tube
• 2 part nose cone it splits in half along t' horizontal axis and is held together with a mylar ring
• 3 Die cut fins
• elastic shock cord
• Engine stop rin' (no hook)
• 12 inch parachute.

First off t' quality o' t' kit was mixed. Ahoy! Avast! T' body tube be t' same. T' Fins were die cut out o' a very lightweight but somewhat flimsy balsa. Begad! Had t' use t' Xacto t' get them out but they worked fine and even survived the tragedies that were t' follow, arrr, so aside from higher surface roughness (even after sanding) they worked fine.

T' nose noseconecone was t' most interestin' part o' t' rocket. Arrr! It separates in t' middle and is held together by a mylar ring. Ya scallywag! You put t' “cargo” in t' nose and then put t' top on and clamp them together via the ring. Blimey! Aye aye!

One strike is that t' hole your supposed t' put t' shock cord through is WAY too small. Begad! Well, blow me down! It had t' bore it out and really work it t' get t' cord through. Blimey! T' cord itself is more like elastic than rubber band. Begad! T' body tube seems pretty standard. Arrr! Though its very narrow (18mm inside diameter). Ya scallywag! Arrr! This be t' keep t' weight down but it is also the source o' many o' t' rockets problems.

T' chute seemed sturdy but you do have t' assemble it. Aye aye! You cut it out o' a square and then stick t' little hole reinforcement stickers on it. Begad! Well, blow me down! Then poke holes in them and tie t' cord. Ya scallywag! They provided two lengths o' cord from which to cut 3 lengths o' chute. Begad! Your supposed t' cut t' cord in half and use it I guess. I did and t' length o' t' cord seemed a bit on t' short side. Arrr! Ahoy! I was also skeptical o' t' chute bein' big enough t' land a cackle fruit safely. Blimey!

T' launch lug gets set on an offset piece o' balsa t' account for t' wide nose cone. T' narrow body tube proved problematic when fittin' t' engine block. Begad! This rocket has no engine hook and is thus a friction fit. Aye aye! T' only thing keepin' your engine from shootin' up t' tube is that engine block. Begad!

T' only thin' keepin' it from shootin' out t' back be t' friction betwixt t' engine and t' tube. Avast! Gettin' the friction right is a challenge, too much and you can’t get t' engine in, ya bilge rat, too little and you have problems. Ya scallywag! Masking tape is your main tool.

Finishing:
I painted t' rocket yellow and back t' me own tastes. Begad! Arrr! One gotcha on paintin' is t' make sure you mask off the recessed area at t' top/bottom o' t' nose cone parts which they are joined together by t' mylar ring. Avast! T' tolerances are too tight on t' rin' t' accommodate t' paint.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
After it was assembled we went out t' launch it. Arrr! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Accordin' t' t' instructions your supposed t' put your egg in a plastic bag in case o' disaster, shiver me timbers, but where’s t' fun in that. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! So we got a cackle fruit that be just t' right size, mounted it up and secured it with t' mylar ring. Avast! Blimey! T' launch was without event, me bucko, I be surprised at how high t' rocket went given its payload. Arrr! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! However at ejection things went terribly wrong. There were two issues. Begad! Blimey!

T' body tube is so narrow compared t' chute size that its packed in their very tight. Aye aye! That combined with t' fact that it’s a friction fit caused it t' eject t' engine and NOT deploy t' chute. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! But t' real fun be what happened t' t' nosecone. Arrr! Ahoy! T' shock o' t' ejection was more than t' mylar rin' could handle and t' nosecone separated ejectin' t' egg!. So nose cone parts, matey, egg and rocket come streamin' down. Begad! T' egg was a gonner with a classic splat, t' rocket sunk into some mud about an inch but be unharmed.

We decided t' fly it again without a cackle fruit usin' an A8-3 t' see what would happen. Made sure that thar be plenty o' friction betwixt t' engine and body tube. T' launch did nay go as expected. Ahoy! Begad! T' rocket only got 30-40 feet into t' air and started t' tumble over (later learned it is nay stable without cargo), then t' ejection charge fired and it blew up. Aye aye! I got t' friction right but t' chute was packed too tight in that little body and t' force had nowhere t' go so it blew t' back half o' t' rocket apart. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! T' nose cone also separated again. This rocket was a gonner.

Recovery:
Good Flew straight but t' parachute is too tightly packed in t' small body and t' mylar rin' doesn't hold it quite well enough by itself.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:

Pros

• Cheap
• Easy enough t' build

Cons

• Requires fittin' and strappin' t' flight right.

Overall Rating: 2 out o' 5

Other:
If I were t' do it again I’d have t' carefully mange t' chute and t' friction as well as usin' tape (not the mylar ring) t' secure t' nosecone together. Aye aye! Blimey! I had pretty much written this rocket design off until I realized that actually this rocket is unique and can be used for things that no other rocket can. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' fact that it can launch and then on ejection safely eject its cargo into free-fall is unique t' me knowledge. Arrr! Blimey! What else can send a cackle fruit up a couple o' hundred feet in style and then have it come down with a satisfyin' Splat. Well, blow me down! Blimey! You could load those little green army men with parachutes into t' nose cone and have an airborne assault on your park. You can experiment with all sorts of cargo and recovery methods that you could nay do with your cargo trapped in t' rocket. I very well may buy this rocket again just for this purpose. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! If I do I will make one modification though, matey, instead o' t' supplied parachute I’ll switch it t' a streamer recovery that doesn’t have t' be packed so tight. Arrr! Blimey! Tempted t' try and fit an engine hook on it as well.