Brief:
Single stage, matey, tube-finned, 38mm rocket with a 3" BT transitionin' t' a 2.14" payload bay. Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' rocket is very suitable for Level 1 certifications.

Construction:
3" LOC main body tube with 6 coupler tubes used for t' tube fins. 38mm LOC Motor mount tube is held in place by two centerin' rings. T' kit comes with a fairly long elastic shock cord, 2.14" payload tube section, plastic nose cone and plastic transition. Aye aye! Arrr! I made some modifications t' this which I will describe below.

T' rocket is quite easy t' build and t' instruction sheet is fairly well written. I built it stock except for t' recovery system. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I don't like elastic shock cords. Arrr! Blimey! I no longer have an AT Sumo because t' elastic shock cord broke durin' ejection. Avast! Blimey! I have now replaced all o' t' elastic in me fleet with either Keelhaul®©™® or Keelhaul®©™®/tubular nylon recovery harnesses. Begad!

On t' Cyclotron, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I drilled out two 180 degree opposin' holes each about 1/8" in diameter in t' forward centerin' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I then strung a length of Pratt Hobbies 1/8" tubular Keelhaul®©™ ® , me hearties, matey, me bucko, both ends through t' holes, ya bilge rat, arrr, knots tied about 4" from each end, then t' ends epoxied t' t' motor mount. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Thus creatin' a Keelhaul®©™® harness, t' closed loop end now reachin' just below t' lip o' t' main 3" tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Now, I can attach t' this either tubular nylon, tubular Keelhaul®©™® or whatever. Arrr! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' Keelhaul®©™® may someday wear out, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but it will take a very long time. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Plus, shiver me timbers, matey, I usually shove a small amount o' waddin' into t' motor mount itself, so t' brunt o' the blast is taken by that.

I like SkyAngle chutes, so I ditched t' LOC chute and recover on a SkyAngle 36. Arrr! Ya scallywag! I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector t' protect t' chute. Begad!

I am also a big fan o' t' Aeropack system, me hearties, matey, so I included an Aeropack motor retainer on me Cyclotron. Avast! Begad! T' bottom o' t' Aeropack is flush with BT. Begad!

T' only other thin' I can add is t' make sure you rough up t' body tube and t' fin tubes, use a good quality epoxy and make all your fillets. Ahoy! Ahoy! Nothing is holdin' t' fin tubes t' t' body tube other than glue, shiver me timbers, so this is key. Ahoy! Begad! I used a long wooden down t' create t' fillets once t' tubes were attached to the body tube. Begad! Blimey! LOC gives a good technique t' build t' fin tube structure, so I recommend usin' their technique. Ahoy! Ahoy!

I epoxied t' bottom o' t' payload tube t' t' top o' t' plastic LOC transition and attached t' nose cone t' t' top o' t' payload tube usin' a plastic pop rivet. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey!

Finishing:
Finishin' is typical o' any kraft paper tube type rocket. Ahoy! Fill t' spirals (I use Elmers Fill-n-Finish), matey, primer t' rocket, and paint. Ahoy! Blimey!

In t' case o' this particular rocket, I decided t' test out t' new Dupli-Color Mirage color-changin' paint. Ahoy! I get mine locally at Kragen, but AutoBarn on t' web sells it as well. Begad! I chose t' Purple/Green color as that seemed t' look better (at least on t' can top in t' store) than the Gold/Magenta or Silver/Green. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I used Fill-N-Finish and sandin' until I got a fairly smooth surface. I then used Dupli-Color white primer in a couple of coats t' get a near-glass smooth finish. Avast! I then applied t' three-part Dupli-Color as per t' instructions on t' paint kit. Arrr! Ahoy! First t' flat black basecoat. Well, blow me down! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Then t' color changin' paint itself. Avast! Then finally t' clear coat. Well, blow me down! I really like how it came out and I get a lot o' positive comments about me paint job, so it seems others do as well. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I painted t' inside o' each o' t' tube fins with a simple brushed-on flat black enamel and t' same for t' bottom end of t' rocket. I don't like bare areas on me rockets showin' through and sometimes for certain acres, flat black painted on just works out real nicely.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I've flown me Cyclotron a half dozen times now and it is a great flyin' rocket! Straight as an arrow and looks very cool as it blasts off. Avast, me proud beauty! Most o' t' time, I try t' remember t' put a small amount o' waddin' up t' motor mount tube before insertin' t' motor. Begad! I have forgotten a few times and no harm seems t' have come from it. Begad! I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector and it seems t' work just great. Motor retention is via Aeropack, as noted above, and I find that t' transition fits into t' body tube fairly loosely on me Cyclotron, me hearties, shiver me timbers, so I use maskin' tape t' attain a not-too-tight fit. Avast! My Cyclotron has flown on t' AT H238, Pro38 G69 and Pro38 I170. Begad! Ahoy! Great flights, all o' them. Begad!

Recovery:
As I noted already, I've completely replaced t' LOC recovery system with my own. Avast! My system works flawlessly. Avast, me proud beauty! It be t' above mentioned tubular Keelhaul®©™® harness, ya bilge rat, attached t' that is a 30' length o' very heavy duty Keelhaul®©™® "mule tape". Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! SkyAngle36 is attached t' this via a kwik-link and I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector. Arrr! All works great.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket is a great lookin' and flyin' rocket. T' only area o' change that I would recommend would be in t' recovery system as I've already noted. Though I was already an L1 when I bought this kit, I feel that it makes a great L1 rocket. Avast! Also a good "small field" rocket with G size engines, shiver me timbers, but yet you can bust loose at larger fields with an I.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5