Brief:
This is a longneck, futuristic fighter that flies on 24mm motors.

Construction:
While lookin' over t' AA site, I decided that thar were several rockets I liked t' looks o' and t' Avenger be one o' them. Well, matey, blow me down! I ordered it along with a few others and soon had a box o' rockets beggin' for me attention. Begad! Blimey! There was also a note sayin' that a part for t' Avenger was out o' stock and that it would be shipped separately as soon as it came in. Avast! Blimey! I promptly forgot all about at that point and did nay remember it until me wife confronted me with one o' t' "I thought you weren't goin' t' order any more for a while" conversations. Avast! Ya scallywag! I be at a loss because I really was tryin' t' be good. Avast, me proud beauty! After I opened it, me hearties, I remembered what it was for.

T' first thin' I noticed was that t' main body tube was severely damaged. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It had been doubled over at some point and was severely dented. Ahoy! Blimey! I contacted AA Rocketry and without any fuss, was sent a replacement. Begad! I had a harder time explainin' this one t' t' wife.

When t' replacement arrived, it was in a priority mail tube. On openin' it, t' tube be stuffed with Styrofoam peanuts and t' body tube was exertin' pressure on t' forward closure. Ya scallywag! When I examined t' tube, it had a dent that looks like it originated from compression. Arrr! Classic Euler buckling. It was nowhere near as bad as t' first time but enough t' be suspect when intended as an airframe.

I contacted AA again and again, ya bilge rat, they were very reasonable. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! We jointly decided that I would be sent a tube coupler and cut out t' bad section. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' resultin' joint should be stronger than t' original. A few days later, a boxed arrived with t' coupler. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Then everythin' sat around unopened for a few months until, matey, finally, me bucko, I be ready t' begin t' build.

Upon lookin' at t' instructions, t' first item t' work on be t' BT so I decided I had better start splicing. Arrr! I used a razor knife t' cut t' tube in two and then test fit t' coupler. Begad! It would nay fit. Well, me hearties, blow me down! A bit o' judicious sandin' fixed that and I glued it into place with yellow glue.

I tested t' other piece and, as expected, found that it was too tight as well. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I sanded some more and then, stupidly, me hearties, spread t' glue without checking. T' tube did slide on but froze up before I could get it all t' way down. Ahoy! Blimey! It left about an 1/8" gap. I figured that I would incorporate this flaw somehow in t' final paint scheme.

T' next step was t' mark t' BT for t' fins. This kit has a printed end alignment guide where you set t' rocket on a circle and transfer marks. Avast! Begad! I prefer t' wraparound type but realize that others prefer this type so it's just a matter o' taste. Begad! Begad! I made t' marks and used a door t' lengthen them. Then I went t' transfer t' marks t' t' side body tubes and ran into a problem. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! I only had a single BT and I needed 2. I had nay done an inventory before starting.

Checkin' t' parts list, I found that I be indeed supposed t' have 2. I checked t' instructions again just in case I be supposed t' cut t' one I had but, no, matey, I need two. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! There, arrr, everythin' came t' a screechin' halt as I tried t' contact AA Rocketry once more.

AA Rocketry sent out t' replacement and, me hearties, while I be at it, I ordered an extra decal sheet. Arrr! T' reasons will be apparent later.

T' long awaited tubes for t' side pods were marked and then I was instructed t' use t' template in t' directions t' cut out 4 parts. Two o' these were for fins and two more were t' assemble a tool t' aid in t' makin' o' t' motor mount.

I taped t' pattern t' t' provided sheet o' balsa and used a straightedge t' cut t' pieces out. Arrr! I found that me template was just a touch narrower than t' balsa but that was nay a problem. Begad! I cut as if t' lines for t' fins extended all t' way t' t' edges and then compared t' resultant pieces. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Sure enough, ya bilge rat, one be just a hair wider than t' other. T' razor fixed that.

T' two jigs that were cut out were supposed t' be put together without glue t' use as a tool t' place t' thrust ring. I tried t' get t' two pieces together but t' slots were too narrow. Aye aye! Begad! I fixed that with a razor and they went together. Avast, me proud beauty! When I used it t' test fit t' rin' though, t' X passed right through it.

I pressed on and marked t' motor tube where indicated and then used a spacer tube from another kit t' glue in t' thrust ring. A slit was then made for t' engine hook and I placed it and secured it with some tape. Aye aye! Begad! T' centerin' rings were then placed with glue, filleted, allowed t' dry, and then filleted on t' other side. Blimey! T' instructions were adequate at this point, shiver me timbers, but I feel they could have been made clearer with a diagram or slightly different prose.

T' side pods were up next. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' instructions indicated that t' 4 plastic nosecones were t' be placed with either plastic cement or epoxy. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I had some 20 minute epoxy handy so I used that.

I need t' point out that t' kit has two pairs o' fins. One, me bucko, t' larger set made from plywood, me bucko, me hearties, came already cut. Arrr! T' ones cut from balsa in a previous step are nay exactly small either but they are smaller than t' plywood ones. T' instructions talk about t' "main" fins. Begad! I was nay sure which set this reference indicated. Arrr! I thought it was probably t' plywood ones but was unsure. Ahoy! Then I thought it would probably be t' fins attached t' t' side pods and later t' instruction make clear that this is indeed t' case, matey, but that still left unresolved t' question o' whether it be t' balsa or t' plywood fins that were t' be used with t' side pods. Begad! I finally thought t' check t' illustration on t' first page and it turns out that me intuition was correct. T' main fins are t' plywood ones.

After both main fins had set up for a while, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I installed t' secondary fins. These were t' balsa ones. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I decided t' use yellow glue for these since they would nay be under as much stress, shiver me timbers, nay havin' t' side pods. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I used a double glue joint and carefully checked for alignment.

After lettin' t' secondary fins dry for a while, I attached t' side pods. I again used 5 minute epoxy for this step and, when they were in place, me bucko, I could finally see t' "cool" factor comin' into play.

T' kit comes with a 1/4" launch lug that has already been bevel cut. Aye aye! I placed it accordin' t' t' instructions at t' top o' one o' t' main fins usin' yellow glue.

I used sandpaper t' bevel t' leadin' and trailin' edges o' both sets o' fins after makin' sure that each pair was identically sized. Aye aye! Begad! T' plywood fins were already identical but t' balsa ones needed a touch o' extra sandin' t' brin' them into conformity.

I used 5 minute epoxy t' glue t' main (plywood) fins t' t' BT. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! I did so in order that t' adhesive would set up smartly while I be still checkin' for straightness. After I be fairly sure things were set up right on t' first fin, I let it dry for a while more before tacklin' t' second one. Avast! Blimey! It was then put on in t' same manner. Both were applied with their aft ends flush with t' end o' t' BT.

T' "kit" recovery system involves an Estes style tri-fold mount. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! I detest these things and avoid them wherever possible. I decided t' do so in this case as well and tied a Keelhaul®©™ harness just abaft o' t' forward centerin' rin' on t' motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I then cut a small notch in t' outer edge o' t' rin' t' pass t' Keelhaul®©™ and filleted t' Keelhaul®©™ in with yellow glue.

When t' harness was dry, I fed t' Keelhaul®©™ through t' BT and applied a rin' o' yellow in t' aft end. Then, keepin' tension on t' Keelhaul®©™, I inserted t' motor mount and seated it flush with t' aft end.

Finishing:
To me, ya bilge rat, t' terms "balsa fillercoat" and "sandin' sealer" were pretty much interchangeable. Begad! All I really knew about t' difference is that me local hobby shop always had sandin' sealer and that t' rack marked "balsa fillercoat" was always empty. This time around, I ordered over t' internet and got t' fillercoat. When it came in, matey, t' difference be readily apparent. It has much more "gunk" suspended in it. Presumably, arrr, this makes it fill t' grain more effectively.

I gave t' fins, both plywood and balsa, 4 coats and sanded them down smooth. I was quite pleased with t' results and t' difference compared t' usin' sandin' sealer. Arrr! I still had t' rin' from me botched use o' t' tube coupler t' worry about though. Begad! Well, blow me down! I filled that with Elmer's Wood Filler and then sanded it down smooth.

Primin' was done with Kilz. While usin' some Rit dye on another rocket (Edmonds Tinee), I had apparently splattered t' stuff and gotten drops o' it all over t' Avenger. Ya scallywag! I was worried about it bleedin' through but t' Kilz got 95% o' it in one coat and 100% after t' second.

T' Kilz was sanded down in preparation for painting. Begad! At this point I learned that, arrr, while I liked t' design o' this rocket, arrr, those pods on t' fins make sandin' a real pain. Avast! They are fairly delicate and seem t' get in t' way o' every possible motion I wanted t' make with me hands. Avast! Eventually though, me hearties, I had a white rocket. Since I was plannin' on usin' a metallic paint, matey, I gave t' primed rocket a coat o' gloss white as well t' serve as an undercoat.

I wanted t' use a metallic aluminum for t' main finish. I was nay lookin' for anythin' too shiny, just silvery metallic. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I sprayed on 2 coats.

I found myself somewhat at a loss at this point. Begad! While rummagin' around on t' desktop and waitin' for t' aluminum paint t' dry, arrr, I found a small slab o' modelin' clay. Ahoy! T' clay came from this kit and is presumably t' move t' CG forward. Arrr! Begad! It's puzzlin' t' me because t' clay in mentioned in t' parts inventory but nowhere in t' instructions. Ya scallywag! Also, ya bilge rat, this kind o' clay is usually stuffed into t' nose cone but this plastic nose cone does nay lend itself t' such application.

After t' aluminum paint had dried, ya bilge rat, I masked off most o' t' rocket except for t' main nosecone, me bucko, t' nosecones on t' side pods, shiver me timbers, and t' secondary fins. Aye aye! On these areas I wanted t' try a metallic red paint. My previous experience with colored metallics was a bad one but I was hopin' that I had learned somethin' since then. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket had been primed and it had 2 layers o' metallic aluminum underneath. Avast! Accordin' t' t' instructions on t' can, it was meant t' be applied t' t' bare metal o' car engines. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I hoped t' aluminum paint would suffice.

It looked pretty good when I was sprayin' it. Ahoy! Begad! T' color was bright. Begad! Aye aye! Time would tell if it stayed that way as it dried. Begad! Fortunately, it did. Ya scallywag! It was a little darker than t' lid but still bright enough t' satisfy me.

This kit comes with a single set o' decals that make t' rocket look pretty good on one side but very plain on t' other. When I ordered t' replacement for t' damaged tube, I ordered an additional set o' decals and am glad I did.

T' decals were some o' t' highest quality I have ever worked with. Aye aye! They went on without any problem and greatly enhanced t' look o' t' kit.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
T' Avenger had its maiden flight at an Amateur Rocketeers o' Texas Freedom launch. Begad! T' initial motor selection be a C11-3. Ya scallywag! Some dog barf was stuffed into t' tube followed by t' chute and t' motor was put in place. Blimey! Arrr! This rocket had garnered some interest so all were watchin' as t' button was pushed.

T' take off was fine, matey, but t' rocket began t' wobble back and forth, waggin' its tail nay too long after it cleared t' rod. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It continued that way until it reached apogee and arced over. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It ejected when horizontal and came down gently under its chute. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I went t' get it and was all ready t' try a D when I turned it over. T' ejection charge had nay only deployed t' chute, me hearties, ya bilge rat, it had ejected t' engine hook as well. This rocket would nay fly again this day.

T' rocket is repairable and I will repair it and fly it again. I am provisionally givin' it a 3 for flight but think it can do better if I can rid it o' its gremlins.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I had trouble with this one from t' outset, but it seems t' be more o' a convergence o' bad luck than a bad kit.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5