Brief:
T' original Centurion was introduced in 1970 by Centuri and be one o' t' first rockets t' introduce an ejection baffle system, arrr, eliminatin' t' need for recovery wadding. Arrr! This is good for long, slow flights, arrr, and a nice flier.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• Balsa nose cone
• 2 ST-16 body tubes
• 4 Laser-cut balsa fins
• 18mm motor kit
• 2 12" plastic chutes
• Baffle kit
• Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cord
• Waterslide decals

T' instructions for this are typical Semroc, well written and reasonably illustrated. Ya scallywag! You'll find this is a pretty quick and easy build. Begad! It can be put together in 2 hours plus finishin' time.

T' motor mount is a basic 18mm tube, pair o' centerin' rings, me hearties, and metal hook.

T' baffle is a neat little assembly. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! You slip t' Keelhaul®©™® through one hole in a perforated disk then tack it in place. Blimey! T' disk is then tacked t' a tube coupler. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Another perforated disk is attached t' t' other end o' t' coupler. T' idea is that since t' holes are different size/orientation, thar's no clean passage for t' ejection particles, and they get trapped in t' coupler. Aye aye! Glue the coupler t' each body tube, me bucko, tack on t' fins, and construction is pretty much complete.

Finishing:
T' paint scheme for this is pretty easy. Arrr! I first prepped t' surfaces by fillin' grains with Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish (diluted), me bucko, t' tube spirals with a wood filler, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and then sanded everythin' down with 220 grit sandpaper.

With t' surface prepped, matey, I followed up with two coats o' white primer then two coats o' gloss white. I masked off t' lower portion o' t' main body and painted t' top and nose gloss black.

T' waterslide decals include a Centurion label and some red striping. T' stripes are too long for t' fin trim so they must be cut t' length. Ahoy! They are also too short t' wrap around t' main body tube so you need t' use two strips with a little overlap. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' decal sheet was a little too small for this, but it would have been nice if a larger single stripe was provided.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' first flight for this debuted at NSL2007, a nice venue considerin' I picked up t' kit at t' previous national event, NARCON. Begad! Avast! Winds had settled in around 6-8 mph, and I went for t' recommended C6-5. Begad! Flight was perfect, shiver me timbers, and deployment be also perfect.

Recovery:
T' kit comes with a pair o' 12" chutes, notin' for larger fields and/or harder surfaces, arrr, you can go with both. Smaller fields/softer grass would only call for 1.

T' huge field and dry, hard grass should have pushed me t' 2 chutes, but I was tryin' for shorter walks t' get multiple flights in, ya bilge rat, so went with just 1. Ahoy! Aye aye! It served fine though t' landin' was a little rough. Arrr! Still, ya bilge rat, I suffered no damage and it will fly again.

I did skip t' waddin' t' try out t' baffle capability and melted t' chute a bit so even with t' baffle, me bucko, you should slip in a sheet or two o' wadding.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: Flies great, ya bilge rat, arrr, me hearties, quick/easy build, shares classic Bertha styling, baffle is nice feature.

CONs: none.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5