Brief:
54mm HPR rocket with a bad attitude.

Construction:
T' kit comes with very nice PML parts. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I replaced most o' them though with Hawk Mountain fiberglass airframe components. Avast! Blimey! You have a short motor tube section o' airframe which joins with another tube t' allow you t' set up t' two sets o' fins. Arrr! Blimey! Then you have a very long (48") main chute body tube. Ahoy! You get four sets o' thick plywood centerin' rings and two sets o' fins. Ahoy! Blimey! T' fins are from G-10 fiberglass stock. T' large curved fins are t' trailin' fins in t' RapTor configuration while t' small fins are t' cutter fins. Arrr! Blimey! I'll explain how this works later. Ya scallywag! All o' t' other material is pretty standard for high power circles.

T' RapTor is a kit from a European high power vendor called Rebel Rocketry. Although English is a second language for t' vendor, t' instructions were well written, matey, arrr, arrr, easy t' follow, and included many photographs t' help guide in t' rocket's construction. Well, blow me down! T' rocket be easy t' construct and required no special supplies or tools, arrr, although a Dremel always make construction chores much easier. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I did beef it up by addin' PML foam t' both fin cans t' make sure t' fins were locked in, especially t' large curved fins.

Finishing:
I finished it with standard Krylon spray paint and coated it with a polymer t' protect t' finish from scratches and such. T' kit also came with some neat lookin' decals that reminded me o' letterin' that might be seen on t' side o' one o' Babylon 5's Vorlon craft. I think it looks great on t' rocket.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I used a Cesaroni J400 for her maiden flight. Begad! It was a nice smoky take off against t' clear Black Rock, me hearties, me hearties, Nevada sky. Ya scallywag! Although it didn't go high because o' t' weight, arrr, shiver me timbers, she flew well and looked fantastic in t' sky. Well, arrr, blow me down! She probably would fly like a bat out o' hell on a K and break mach on a 54mm L motor.

Recovery:
I used a 60 inch Spherachute for recovery and 9/16 inch Keelhaul®©™® strap for t' shock cord. Blimey! T' rocket used dual deployment and deployed well in both phases o' recovery. T' rocket only went up t' 2900 feet on t' J400 and it is a big rocket, ya bilge rat, so t' entire flight was easily viewed by everyone. Begad! T' rocket landed without a scratch and be ready t' fly with very little prepping.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Accordin' t' t' material made available by Rebel Rocketry's owner, Frand De Brower, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, t' RapTor is a totally new concept for an aerodynamic projectile. Begad! T' cutter fins (the small ones) prepare t' airflow for t' large main fins in t' aft o' t' rocket. Ya scallywag! He claims this configuration corrects destabilized air flows t' stabilize t' projectile and uses t' ionizin' air properties that this creates t' reduce drag.

Translation: t' faster it goes t' more it ionizes t' air flow around it. Ya scallywag! Arrr! This lubricates its passage at a sub molecular level where t' transition o' solid t' liquid physics takes place thus defeatin' or greatly reducin' t' drag factor.

T' RapTor was designed by Zigi Sinnette/Kklynossikki, a retired ex-military engineer and ordinance technician who lives in t' United Kingdom. Well, blow me down! Zigi is 60 years old and a servin' member o' UKRA in t' capacity o' a council member ordinance officer and is a Level 2 RSO.

T' kit comes in three sizes, ya bilge rat, 3 inch, 4 inch, and 6 inch. One smaller than t' 3 inch version is in t' works as well.

Be that as it may, t' Rebel site says that t' rocket was designed as a "missile for peace." I doubt that myself. Begad! Ya scallywag! One look at t' wicked lines o' this bad boy tells me that it would rather kick butt and nay bother t' take any names...

I promised t' manufacturer nay t' include a Rocksim file or t' be specific about t' measurements in order t' protect his ability t' avoid havin' clones made o' his rocket. However, although t' price was a little more than other rockets similar t' it due t' shippin' concerns from t' Netherlands, I felt that it still was a good deal considerin' t' fabulous service I received from t' vendor.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5