Brief:
EAT's latest offerin' is an amazin' 3 in one rocket. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Look! Up in t' sky! It's a cluster! No, it's a 24mm transition rocket! No, shiver me timbers, me bucko, it's a sleek futuristic space plane! You can fly 3 completely different configurations on t' field t' same day usin' this very innovative design concept.

Construction:
I was initially hesitant t' pop for t' $36 (includes shipping) kit, but when I started lookin' over t' parts and part list, I began t' appreciate t' value in this. You really do get for t' most part, matey, three different rocket kits in this deal, and will have a significant amount o' time invested in t' build.

My kit was one o' t' early ones, ya bilge rat, and had two different (and conflicting) parts lists. A summary o' what was included in me package includes:

Common parts:

• 1/16" basswood fin stock
• Templates and fin guides
• Keelhaul®©™® & elastic shock cord/swivel
• Waterslide decals
• Balsa nose cone
• BT-60 x 5" body tube
• TC-60 x 3" coupler (parachute can)
• Plywood bulkhead
• Mylar chute (Rockethead)
• 18/24mm motor mount adaptor kit
• TC-50 x 1" tube coupler (to be used as an E => D motor adapter)

Cluster version parts:

• 3 BT-20 x 9" body tubes
• Centerin' ring
• 3 18mm motor blocks
• Screw thread/nut (for motor retention)

Transition version parts:

• Balsa transition
• BT-50 x 4" body tube

Futuristic version parts:

• BT-50 x 13" body tube
• BT-20 x 7" side pod body tube
• Balsa nose cone (for side pod)
• 24mm motor block
• TC-60 x 1" coupler
• 2 BT-60 centerin' rings

All parts were very good quality and packed neatly in a surprisingly small box. Ahoy! Blimey! Generally, I find EAT's instructions t' be among t' best out there--clear, easy t' follow, me hearties, and with plenty o' color photos t' help along the way. In this case, thar be a supplement sheet that overrode some o' the standard instructions. Well, blow me down! T' overrides were improvements in t' design and construction, though it did make it a bit confusin' hoppin' from "main" t' "supplemental" instructions throughout the construction. Begad!

Construction begins by cuttin' t' fins for all versions from t' basswood stock. I enjoy cuttin' fins but got a little weary after cuttin' out t' 10 different fins (3 o' which are elliptical). Arrr! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I just had t' keep remindin' myself that I was buildin' three rockets, matey, ya bilge rat, nay one. Ya scallywag! At least with t' basswood, there was very little sandin' and fillin' o' grains necessary.

Next up is construction o' t' upper rocket body, which is common t' all configurations. Blimey! This starts with addin' nose weight t' t' nose cone. Begad! EAT provides about 40 BB's for weight, all o' which are needed, along with a healthy dose o' epoxy t' keep them packed into t' nose cone. Avast! Arrr! As t' epoxy starts t' set, shiver me timbers, you add an eye bolt for shock cord attachment and allow plenty of time t' dry while you work on t' rest o' t' kit.

T' upper body is a simple 5" length o' BT-60 tube, which gets a launch lug attached. All o' t' fins for stability are on t' interchangeable lower sections.

T' last phase o' t' upper body construction be t' hardest, shiver me timbers, and most critical aspect o' t' project: t' parachute cup. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' parachute is housed inside a TC-60 coupler "can", ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, which pops out o' t' BT-60 body tube, allowin' for wadding-free flight which reduces prep time. Blimey! This also takes some of t' stin' out o' t' extra work required t' swap lower sections.

T' parachute cup is built by gluin' a bulkhead on one end, punchin' a pressure relief hole in t' can, and sandin' until you get a good, shiver me timbers, matey, smooth fit inside t' BT-60. Given t' summer humidity and likely flow o' hot ejection particles into t' upper body, I think t' "optional" step o' coating the outside o' t' coupler and t' inside o' t' BT-60 with CA and sanding smooth is a critical must-do step. Begad! In fact, t' get a smooth movement, matey, I wound up peelin' off a layer o' paper from t' coupler. Begad! T' resulting "rough" finish, even if sanded, matey, would never have worked. Begad! Blimey! Applyin' the thin CA enables a much smoother finish.

After finishin' t' upper/common body, shiver me timbers, arrr, you can then move on t' work on the lower sections. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' first and easiest be t' transition body. EAT provides a very nice balsa transition piece. You carve out a small groove and hole in this, me hearties, which enables t' Keelhaul®©™® to pass through without causin' a dimple on t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! A Keelhaul®©™® tether is then passed through t' hole and epoxied into place. This transition is then bonded t' a BT-50 body tube, arrr, and 3 fins attached usin' yellow glue. Begad! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! The instructions offer a good tip for maintainin' good fin alignment while waiting for t' glue t' set, tapin' t' fin from t' tip t' t' body tube. Avast! Blimey! This looks like it would work for t' first, possibly even t' second fin, though I personally use a jig for most o' me fin alignments.

T' cluster version is also fairly simple t' build. Ya scallywag! You start by bondin' two BT-20 tubes together, then insertin' a piece o' threaded rod into t' seam and layerin' in a healthy dose o' glue. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! This threaded rod will enable a very simple and effective method of motor retention--a simple nut in t' center o' t' triangular cluster (see photo). Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Once t' threaded rod is in place, t' third body tube is bonded.

T' upper portion o' t' cluster version consists o' a centerin' ring tacked on t' t' top o' t' BT-20 cluster and reinforced with plenty o' glue and some cardstock brace pieces. Ahoy! Ahoy! While you're pourin' on t' glue, matey, you can also attach t' Keelhaul®©™® tether for shock cord/recovery.

T' finish up t' cluster version, 3 elliptical fins are glued into the joints where t' body tubes connect and are mounted on standard 120-degree orientation.

Last up is the futuristic body version, me bucko, me hearties, shiver me timbers, which is probably t' trickiest o' t' three t' build. It's a 24mm body, which doesn't exactly plug into t' BT-60 upper body, so you have t' start by makin' t' adapter assembly out o' a TC-60 coupler and pair of 60/50 centerin' rings. Arrr! Ahoy! This is glued t' t' end o' t' BT-50 body tube, me bucko, along with t' Keelhaul®©™® tether for recovery. On t' other end o' t' body tube, me bucko, 4 fins are tacked on, though t' alignment is a far cry from t' 90-degree approach (see photo). Well, blow me down! In between t' upper fins goes a BT-20 side pod/nose cone. Avast! A helpful finishin' tip in t' instructions warns that if you want t' paint this thin' two-tone, me hearties, you should wait until after paintin' t' tack on t' side pod--though mask a bond line on each body tube first!

That's about all thar be t' t' construction. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I wound up spendin' around 8 hours on this, me hearties, sprinkled across several weeknights. On a typical Estes 1-4 scale, shiver me timbers, I would rate this somewhere around a 3 for skills and challenge, me hearties, mainly due t' t' varyin' fin alignments and construction o' t' parachute canister.

Finishing:
I followed t' EAT sample color scheme for this, paintin' t' common upper body a gloss white, me bucko, t' cluster a gloss red, matey, t' transition a gloss blue, and the futuristic a two-tone green base and white side pod. Avast, me proud beauty! All were preceded by two coats o' Krylon primer and a light sanding. After paintin' everything, I bonded the side pod t' t' futuristic body.

EAT provided a nice sheet o' water-slide decals for playin' around with. Aye aye! Ahoy! I applied a few t' each configuration, though I found t' decals extremely fragile so they tended t' break upon application. Well, blow me down! Use extreme caution when applyin' these and don't even think about usin' one o' those settin' solutions that softens t' decals.

T' result is a gallery o' fairly neat-lookin' rockets, ya bilge rat, though I'll admit my paint job be nowhere near as nice as t' one Nick got for t' instruction photos.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' extremely long list o' recommended motors on this one covers t' gamut of configurations. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! My transition version measured about 3.6oz and 17.5", ya bilge rat, and my futuristic came in at 4.9oz and 27", shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, so you can use just about any leftover motors you've got on at least one version o' this kit.

Flight prep is a little tricky on these, arrr, but once you figure it out, matey, shiver me timbers, you're in for very quick and simple preppin' for each flight. Arrr! Blimey! Whichever lower section you select is attached t' t' upper section by t' Keelhaul®©™® tether, me hearties, which is threaded through a hole in t' bottom o' t' chute can. Blimey! Arrr! This loop is then threaded through a washer and attached t' a snap swivel. Begad! Blimey! The swivel/washer combo prevents t' Keelhaul®©™® tether from slippin' back out o' t' hole. T' chute is then attached t' the swivel and packed in t' can. T' can is inserted into t' upper body, shiver me timbers, me bucko, lower body inserted into t' upper, matey, pack t' motor and launch!

I flew a first flight for each version over t' course o' about 30 minutes at a recent club launch. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! For t' transition, I chose a C6-5, makin' use o' the 18/24 adaptor. Avast, me proud beauty! Straight up flight, ejection at apogee, flawless path. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Blimey! The second flight was usin' t' cluster version, and I "wimped out" with a set o' A8-3's (I had a bunch left over from various Blast Off flight packs). Straight up flight, shiver me timbers, matey, ejection at apogee, arrr, flawless path. Ahoy! Blimey! T' third configuration was t' futuristic, which I decided t' spank with a D12-3. T' recommended delay is a 5 and I think that would have been better as mine be a bit early. Certainly no stability problems for any o' these, and with t' varying combinations available, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, you can fly anywhere from 100-2400 feet altitudes, makin' this a great rocket t' take out in just about any weather/field conditions.

Recovery:
Recovery, in me case, me hearties, be t' real weakness t' this kit. Begad! I loved t' innovation of t' parachute canister and am goin' t' try t' adapt it in other kits I build in t' future. Avast! Unfortunately, me bucko, me 3 flight experience on this resulted in zero chute deployments. T' fact that I fly on a large, tall grass field saved the rocket from any damage.

Recovery is supposed t' work, roughly, as follows: ejection charges cause separation o' upper and lower body sections. Avast! Ya scallywag! As t' sections grow apart, the Keelhaul®©™® tether is pulled t' its limit. Well, blow me down! When it hits that limit, me hearties, me hearties, it begins t' pull the chute can out t' back o' t' upper section. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Once t' can is out, me hearties, t' upper body continues t' separate, ya bilge rat, matey, pullin' t' elastic/Keelhaul®©™® out t' top o' t' can, eventually pullin' out t' chute. Aye aye! I know this works, shiver me timbers, as Nick posted a few videos t' t' EMRR site demonstratin' it. Ya scallywag! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Still, me bucko, despite the fact that I peeled away a layer o' paper, sanded down a perfectly smooth surface t' t' can and inside tube area, shiver me timbers, and even sprinkled in a little graphite powder lube, t' separation forces were nay enough t' overcome the nearly vacuum seal betwixt t' chute can and t' body tube. T' instructions call out for a vent hole in t' fin can, though I think an additional vent hole or two out t' body tube would be in order, and will try t' experiment with that in t' weeks ahead.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5 Yeah, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, it might be a bit generous, matey, but t' FLIGHTS were great. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! It be just t' recovery that was a problem, and t' soft grass field didn't result in any damage. Ya scallywag! I figure less than 3 would have t' be unstable.

Summary:
PROs: versatility, great innovations, and enjoyable and challengin' build.

CONs: recovery nay reliable enough, and might have been better off with a basic nose cone ejection approach.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5