Brief:
Single stage mid-power rocket.

Construction:
All o' t' parts were contained in a plastic bag and they were all intact and high quality. Avast! T' airframe had a very small spiral groove, t' fins were top quality plywood, and t' nose cone be sturdy plastic. Ahoy! T' centerin' rings were also quality plywood. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' parachute provided was hot pink in color and 15" diameter.

T' instructions were contained on t' back o' t' title card that was in t' bag. Begad! There was nay a great deal o' detail in t' instructions and for t' simple design o' t' Onyx, it was nay necessary. Arrr! T' parachute retention was contained in a small bag by itself and had its own instruction sheet. Aye aye! T' airframe was pre-marked for t' placement o' t' fins and t' launch lug and assembly be straight forward and simple. Avast! This rocket is a good choice for someone that is new t' mid-power rocketry. Avast, me proud beauty! No surprises or unexpected troubles. Ahoy! T' parts were all glued together usin' 2 ton epoxy, me hearties, shiver me timbers, matey, t' instructions direct you t' use epoxy throughout. Blimey! After everythin' be glued, I applied healthy epoxy fillets t' each fin and t' t' launch lug.

There is a note on t' instruction card for t' 24mm motors, that says they are t' be used with LOC's MMA-1 adapter. Arrr! This adapter is nay included.

T' recovery system has a nice hot pink rip stop nylon parachute with ample gage nylon leaders sewn t' it, t' 3/8" elastic shock cord is about 72" long and is secured by LOC's standard method o' attachment. Aye aye! This entails a nylon strin' that is looped, tied, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and then epoxied t' t' inside o' t' airframe. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Then, t' end o' t' shock cord is tied t' t' end o' t' loop that protrudes from t' top. Well, blow me down! Just make sure t' glue t' nylon strin' down far enough t' fit t' nose cone it without interference.

Finishing:
I asked me son how he wanted t' have this one finished. Avast, me proud beauty! For some strange reason, he wanted green. Blimey! (go figure) Green it shall be I said, but it's goin' t' be fluorescent green and nay grass green or leaf green. Arrr! Avast! After a few coats o' sandin' sealer followed by primer, I sprayed on some fluorescent green paint. Ya scallywag! Strange thin' about that fluorescent paint, it doesn't finish very smooth. T' compensate for that, shiver me timbers, arrr, I sanded t' paint after each coat with 400 grit sandpaper. Begad! Begad! Once I was satisfied with t' amount o' paint, matey, me bucko, I coated t' finished rocket with clear paint. Arrr! I applied t' LOC decal and was finished.

I got t' self stick decal by a little bit o' callin' around. T' kit did nay originally come with any decals but, shiver me timbers, me bucko, Magnum's website says that thar be one included with every kit. Blimey! I e-mailed them and be told that thar should have been one and t' call LOC t' get one. Begad! Upon callin' LOC I was told that they were discontinuin' t' decal so that all o' their rockets didn't have a "predetermined" personality. Ya scallywag! But, they also told me that they had about a dozed or so left that they had just sent t' Magnum. I e-mailed Magnum again and be told that he would mail a decal t' me. Ya scallywag! Arrr! I wanted t' LOC decal because I wanted everyone t' know that t' quality product that they were lookin' at was, shiver me timbers, matey, in fact, ya bilge rat, a LOC/Precision rocket.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Recommended motors are D12-3, E30-7, F50-9, matey, G40-10. Blimey! I chose t' go somewhat bold with t' first flight, me hearties, so I used t' F-50. Begad! There be nay retention provided and I didn't take t' opportunity t' add anything. Ya scallywag! Begad! It is just as easy t' use maskin' tape for motor retention sometimes. I just poured some parachute protection in and packed t' chute in. It lifted off fast, real fast. Ahoy! Begad! Flew straight and true and went out o' sight; well out o' me sight because I'm nearsighted. Avast! Ya scallywag! But, when t' chute popped, matey, we followed it t' t' ground for a nice landing. Ahoy! Arrr! No trouble at all.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5