Brief:
OOP, me bucko, shiver me timbers, 13mm, parachute recovery, me hearties, Skill Level 1 4FNC.

A while back, I found an advertisement for an Estes Aerospace Club Viper kit on eBay. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Nay knowin' anythin' about it except that I did nay have one, I put in a token bid. Begad! Nobody else did so I got it.

It arrived and seemed t' be intact. Avast! In lookin' over t' instructions, I learned that originally t' purchaser would be sent t' decals when Estes received t' EAC paperwork. Aye aye! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Somehow, I didn't think that would work anymore.

Checkin' online, arrr, I found that t' decals were available from Excelsior Rocketry. Havin' had fair winds with them before, I ordered them.

Construction:
T' kit came with a body tube, arrr, a motor tube, arrr, arrr, ya bilge rat, an engine hook, a thrust ring, an engine hook sleeve, arrr, a launch lug, a sheet o' balsa, arrr, an EAC Viper parachute kit, a plastic nose cone, a pair o' centerin' rings and t' instruction sheet. As I mentioned before, I had t' get t' decals from Excelsior.

Construction begins with t' motor mount. Aye aye! A slit was placed for t' engine hook and t' thrust rin' was glued in place just ahead o' it. Blimey! Arrr! T' hook was then put in place and a black sleeve be slipped over it and glued into place.

I decided right from t' start t' forgo t' Estes tri-fold in favor o' a Keelhaul®©™® thread tied t' t' motor mount. With that in mind, shiver me timbers, I cut a small slit in t' forward centerin' rin' so I could pass the Keelhaul®©™® through and then glued t' rings in place on t' mount. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! After filletin' t' centerin' rings, me hearties, I tied off a length of Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube just aft o' t' forward centerin' rin' and laid on another glue fillet t' keep it in place.

A nice thin' about this kit is somethin' you don't often see in Estes kits anymore, especially Level 1 kits. Blimey! You were provided with a template and expected t' cut your own balsa. Blimey! I used t' hate doin' this as a kid because I knew I would mess it up. Begad! It took me a while t' get used t' it as a BAR too for t' same reason, ya bilge rat, but now I enjoy doin' it occasionally as long as t' profile is nay too outlandish.

I cut t' template out o' t' instructions for t' forward and t' aft fins and then traced their outlines on the balsa. I used a #11 blade t' cut them out and am somewhat surprised, 2 weeks later as I write this, ya bilge rat, that me wife has still nay noticed t' little nicks in t' tablecloth. Avast! Ya scallywag! I'll have t' remember t' rotate it around t' t' kids' position after they all go t' bed.

T' instructions came with a wraparound fin markin' guide. Avast, me proud beauty! I cut it out, me hearties, me hearties, wrapped it around t' body tube, transferred t' lines, and then ran them t' length o' t' BT with t' door jamb keepin' me honest.

I also sanded t' leadin' and trailin' edges o' t' fins round. For some reason I do nay remember, I did nay do the outer edges.

Then came t' time t' glue t' fins one. I used yellow glue and mounted t' aft fins first. When they were stiff enough t' move on, I mounted t' forward ones. Begad! All fins were then filleted with yellow glue.

T' motor mount be slipped in from t' aft and glued into place and filleted, makin' sure that t' Keelhaul®©™® was passed through t' notch I had cut. Arrr! T' launch lug be then glued into place with CA and t' rocket was ready for finishing.

Finishing:
I painted t' fins with Elmer's sealer and they had more than 2 weeks t' set up before I could get t' them again. When I did get t' it again, I spent some time sandin' down t' wood filler. Begad! I decided that I did nay mind t' spirals all that much and left them alone.

After brushin' t' rocket off, I set it up in me booth and primed it with Kilz. Avast! After about an hour, me hearties, I wandered over and gave it another shot o' Kilz t' touch up a few bare places. Avast!

I left t' rocket t' dry overnight and then sanded it down. T' real paintin' began with 2 coats o' gloss white. Well, blow me down!

T' instructions say t' match t' colors (besides white) on t' rocket t' t' color o' t' decals. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This boils down t' an orange-ish yellow and a pinkish purple. I tried numerous home improvement venues but be never able t' find a good match. Avast! I finally tried t' local hobby shop and found a couple that were pretty close. Well, blow me down! I knew I would find it there but I balked at payin' t' prices demanded for those itty-bitty cans. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! Sometimes though, you do what ya gotta do.

T' yellow paint I used was called Smoothster Yellow from Boyd. Ya scallywag! I masked off everythin' except t' forward fins and t' tips o' t' aft fins and then painted.

The "purple" paint was from Model Masters and was called "Panther Pink". Ya scallywag! Avast! It was a very close match to the decals from Excelsior. Avast, me proud beauty! I masked off for t' purple and sprayed. A few hours later, I gave another coat.

After drying, ya bilge rat, it was time t' apply t' decals. Ya scallywag! Blimey! As I mentioned in t' beginning, shiver me timbers, matey, I got t' decals from Excelsior Rocketry. I got plenty for me loot in several respects. Ahoy! There were more decals than indicated in t' instructions. There were spares o' t' designs I actually used, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, just in case I messed up, matey, and they were all o' high quality. In the end, I mostly went with t' scheme indicated in t' instructions but I did add 2 additional "Estes Aerospace Club" decals on t' sides o' t' BT. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! I be well satisfied with t' result.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I have t' admit I was blown away by t' performance o' this rocket. Arrr! I expected it t' be fine but I did nay expect wonderful. Blimey! Wonderful is what I got.

For t' maiden flight, I loaded a 1/2A3-2T. Avast! Blimey! It took off straight, deployed at apogee, and drifted down on the 9" chute I had installed. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It was ready t' go again.

T' second flight was on an A3-4T. It again performed flawlessly and went much higher than I had imagined. Blimey! Blimey! It looked good comin' down too.

T' final flight o' t' day be on an A10-3T. Blimey! I used that motor because it was one o' t' recommended ones, but I usually prefer a lower average impulse. Aye aye! Arrr! On this rocket, it was t' best o' a very good lot. Begad! Straight and true, perfect in every respect---except t' walking.

Recovery:
I replaced t' 12" plastic chute with a 9" nylon one. Aye aye! T' nylon worked just fine.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This was a nice kit. Avast, me proud beauty! It looks better than your average skill level one and performs wonderfully. Begad! Blimey! It's success with kits like this that could get kids hooked.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5