Brief:
This be t' fiberglass Arrrrrrrcas HV from Madcow. Begad! I bought it because they were givin' away CTI Pro29 3g motors with purchase, shiver me timbers, so it becomes close t' a no brainer if you're in t' market for t' case (I was) and a fiberglass kit.

Construction:
Aside from it bein' fiberglass, ya bilge rat, this kit is almost as simple as a rocket can be. Ya scallywag! Sure, it's sport-scale, arrr, but it really is just 4FNC.

T' body tube is a single full length unit. Blimey! Nose cone, fins, matey, motor mount, and centerin' rings are also all fiberglass.

Recovery hardware isn't fiberglass, arrr, shiver me timbers, which is a good thing. Eyebolts, me hearties, ya bilge rat, arrr, strap nylon, and various washers and nuts complete t' package. Begad! Begad! I ordered mine without t' recovery system because I already had appropriately sized Nomex® and chutes.

I dumped t' nylon in favor o' Keelhaul®©™® and added an Aeropack 29 for motor retention duty.

Bein' a fundamentally simple kit, t' instructions were fairly sparse, shiver me timbers, arrr, but adequate.

Washin' everythin' is mandatory with all t' fiberglass parts in order t' remove and residual coatings.

In me kit, t' fin slots were a tad narrow, o' t' fins a tad thick. Arrr! A quick pass with a nail file widened the slots nicely. Begad! T' only other fit issue I had be t' bulk plate that goes into t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! T' plate was fairly loose, me hearties, though it has t' be because o' t' way t' fiberglass is laid up inside t' cone: it's pretty rough on the inside.

I used epoxy clay t' solve that one. I ran a bead inside t' cone, and pressed t' bulkhead into it formin' a fillet on t' interior side. Avast! I then ran a bead o' t' clay around t' visible side, me bucko, and pressed t' clay into t' gap basically sandwichin' t' bulkhead betwixt two fillets. Ahoy! It's nay goin' anywhere. Aye aye! Luckily, ya bilge rat, I remembered t' attach the eyebolt, arrr, washers, me hearties, and nuts prior t' makin' said sandwich.

For t' fin can, I dry fit all t' parts outside t' tube. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' attach t' top centerin' ring, I put epoxy on the top rin' while everythin' was dry fit together. Begad! Thinkin' I be brilliant, I then followed by usin' JB Weld on t' motor retainer and t' lower centerin' ring, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, knowin' that t' gap betwixt t' two rings would be perfect.

Roughly 24 hours later, me bucko, I was feelin' pretty dumb, me hearties, as I no longer had any means t' do internal fillets on the fins. Avast! Whoops. Begad! Remember t' take a page from t' PML instructions on this one - give yourself some kind o' handhold on t' lower ring. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Attach t' upper as I did, then put t' mount in t' body tube gluin' in only t' upper ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! When that's dry, remove t' lower ring, and install t' fins. Now you can fillet t' fins internally, me bucko, or fill it with expandin' foam, ya bilge rat, or... lots o' other options. Blimey! Finish by reinstallin' t' lower rin' and sandwich t' fins betwixt the two rings. Ya scallywag! Install motor retention, and call it good.

Finishing:
I can't really comment on finishing. Avast! I tend t' fly me rockets prior t' paint and finish. Basically, me bucko, they earn their paint. Arrr! I find that if I'm goin' t' lose a rocket for some reason, it tends t' happen in the first few flights. So, I don't bother with finishin' until I feel that t' rocket is goin' t' stick around.

Since this Arrrrrrrcas ended up bein' me L1 flight, shiver me timbers, matey, it's definitely earned paint, me hearties, ya bilge rat, so it will be goin' into t' paint booth soon.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' best part about this rocket be t' wide range o' motors that it can fly on. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! While I haven't tried it, I've run sims, and it looks like it will fly just fine on a high impulse F like t' F52T. Ahoy! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! On the opposite side o' t' spectrum, me hearties, this rocket is fiberglass, shiver me timbers, and is as close t' bulletproof as it gets. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I would have no hesitation flyin' this on t' largest 29mm motor available, shiver me timbers, matey, me hearties, which is currently a small I.

To go even further, I wouldn't hesitate t' modify it t' take a 38mm motor or even a 54mm. It would definitely need t' aid o' dual-deployment, me hearties, though as you would be lookin' at some fairly extreme altitudes.

Recovery:
With nearly 4' o' 2.6" tubin' available, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, preppin' and packin' this rocket for flight is about as easy as it could be. T' Nomex® chute protector always does it's job, matey, and for me L1 flight, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I even went down t' a 24" chute from t' recommended 30. Arrr! Ahoy! T' field was fairly soft, matey, ya bilge rat, and also somewhat small for t' H motor, so I went small t' reduce drift knowin' that t' rocket would do more damage t' t' dirt than vice versa.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a solid rocket. Simple, rugged. Blimey! It be me first fiberglass rocket, and I know it won't be me last. Arrr! Ya scallywag! I've always disliked t' fact that rockets were essentially designed t' fail because o' t' wear and tear on t' paper body tubes. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' constant stream o' repairs just isn't really fun after a while. Begad! I want t' build new rockets, ya bilge rat, nay keep rebuildin' old ones. Ahoy! This is one rocket I know I won't have t' rebuild ever. Avast, me proud beauty! It thar's ever any damage t' this rocket, it will likely be destroyed at t' same time.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5