Brief:
This is nay a kit; it is a plan pak that is a scale model (about 1:10) o' t' US Army Nike Hercules surface t' air missile from T' Launch Pad. Ahoy! T' project is a two-stage rocket that utilizes parachute recovery for both t' booster and sustainer. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' booster is a cluster o' four D12 motors and t' sustainer is a single D12 motor.

Construction:
There are four body tubes in t' booster and one for t' sustainer. Well, blow me down! T' plans call for you t' roll your own tubes out o' posterboard. Arrr! Since it is a four motor clustered booster you have t' fabricate or obtain 8 centerin' rings for t' booster and two more for t' sustainer. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' 24mm motor tubes were all just long enough for an Estes D12 except for t' switch tube, me hearties, me bucko, which has a piston in if for t' sustainer ignition. I used 3 feet o' 1/4" elastic shock cord for both t' booster and sustainer. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' nose cone be t' Estes Phoenix which requires a bit o' modification by attachin' a point onto t' otherwise ogive Estes Phoenix NC.

Definin' pros and cons is a difficult task because it is a real butt-kicker t' build, which is nay necessarily a bad thing. That said, it has clearly been t' most fun and challengin' t' build and fly. Avast! I chose t' plan pak for two reasons: First, ya bilge rat, matey, matey, I wanted somethin' with a degree o' difficulty beyond anythin' I've ever done. Begad! Arrr! Second, I wanted a Nike Hercules because it has t' be t' coolest rocket I've ever seen. Aye aye! After talkin' t' quite a few people and describin' t' project, shiver me timbers, I received all sorts o' advice on modifications I should make. After seriously considerin' most o' them I decided that I be goin' t' build it stock.as close t' t' way Chuck describes in t' plans as possible. Begad! Intent on doin' this, I tried t' roll me own tubes (as per t' instructions). Aye aye! After two rounds o' attempts I gave up and just purchased t' sustainer tube (Estes 2.6") and a buddy o' mine gave me some o' his old Centuri 2" stock for t' booster. Begad! Begad! As a result me kit ended up a bit heavier than be originally intended. Avast! Avast! I added some weight in t' nose t' compensate. Arrr! I calculated t' CP on t' sustainer by itself and put enough weight in t' nose for a 1.50 caliber static margin.

T' major pro about t' kit be t' instructions themselves&nothin' short o' impeccable. Arrr! Before I started this project I had built t' Phoenix kit by TLP and I believe that certainly helped. Aye aye! Ahoy! There were only two places where I got a bit stuck in t' instructions. Other than that Chuck Barndt has obviously taken t' time t' write it well. Blimey! T' diagrams are also quite helpful. Avast! Another plus be t' ease o' acquirin' most o' t' parts t' build t' rocket, ya bilge rat, mostly from Hobby Lobby and a few odds and ends at t' local hobby shop.

T' worst experience I had in buildin' this rocket was procurin' an Estes Phoenix nose cone without actually droppin' down t' $22 t' buy t' kit. Begad! After weeks o' tryin' t' get Estes just t' answer t' phone and then promisin' t' send it t' me I found George Bartzokis on rec.models.rockets from Needham, MA who said he'd give me his old one. Avast! Thanks George! By t' way, I'm still waitin' for Estes t' come through on their promise.

Bottom line on construction is this; it's nay for t' faint o' heart. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! For anyone contemplatin' takin' on this project, matey, make sure you brin' plenty o' patience and be prepared for lots o' frustration, especially if you don't have too much experience buildin' complex rockets, like me. Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! T' most difficult task, me hearties, aside from rollin' t' body tubes, was t' fabricate t' transition section. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' largest piece in t' transition section is a 3.3 inch arc that you must cut out o' poster board. Avast! Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! T' angle o' t' arc has t' be very precise, me hearties, which was difficult if nay impossible with me cheesy little protractor. Because o' t' size o' it, you also need a compass that can do 15 inches o' radius or have a computer that can draw it out on a plotter. Blimey! Blimey! Havin' neither t' compass nor t' plotter, ya bilge rat, me wife and I ended up usin' me little compass and a string. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I tried five times before I got one that worked.and it still wasn't perfect. Arrr! Blimey! I decided that I would just fill a few gaps with some wood filler and move on.

Finishing:
Finishin' is one area where I really lack good experience. Ya scallywag! Mono-colored rockets are about all I've done. Begad! T' plans give very specific instructions on decal placement and size, however I didn't do any o' it, matey, just painted it accordin' t' t' scheme from t' picture that I had received from a friend.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' biggest con for me be t' prep time t' get t' rocket ready for launch. Ya scallywag! You don't just throw t' motors in, ya bilge rat, a little wadding, igniters and then launch. I tested t' wirin' just prior t' launch, arrr, installed a new Duracell and then t' 'chutes. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' plan calls 3 D12-0 and one D12-3 in t' booster and a D12-5 or 7 for t' sustainer. Blimey! I used a 5 second delay because me rocket was a bit heavier than t' stock plans. Ahoy! T' rocket has an interestin' method o' ignitin' t' second stage. One o' t' engine assemblies in t' cluster has a piston and a micro lever switch inside o' it. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' piston, me hearties, when t' motor is installed, shiver me timbers, applies pressure t' t' switch and opens t' circuit. Aye aye! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! You use a D12-0 in t' switch tube. Avast, me proud beauty! After t' boost is complete, me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' ejection charge blows t' motor out o' t' engine assembly, matey, which in turn closes t' circuit and sends t' juice from a 9V alkaline battery t' t' igniter in t' sustainer. Durin' construction, arrr, make sure you take your time and follow t' instructions carefully so that t' piston works properly. Avast! Ya scallywag! I had t' do mine twice before it functioned properly. T' make sure that t' motors fired properly, I used E matches with thermalite attached. A bit o' overkill maybe, but I didn't want t' mess up t' launch (and t' rocket) due t' a misfire in t' cluster or sustainer. Avast! I prepped t' igniters t' night before. Aye aye! T' boost was stunning. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! My wife got a great video o' t' boost and t' sustainer ignition. Begad! I've watched it at least two dozen times. Ahoy! Begad! T' ematch/thermalite combination brought t' sustainer motor up so close t' t' booster burnout that I couldn't detect any delay. Begad! I be told by one o' me rocket buddies that it be t' coolest flight o' t' day. Ya scallywag! Those few seconds were so good that all t' time and frustration seemed t' be fairly insignificant.

Recovery:
Things went awry after t' sustainer ignition, as t' parachute didn't deploy properly for t' booster. Ya scallywag! T' parachute separated, ya bilge rat, arrr, probably due t' nay usin' enough wadding. As a result, t' transition section be destroyed and one o' t' fins popped off, but everythin' else was intact. Arrr! Avast! T' sustainer recovery was nearly flawless. Aye aye! However, me bucko, landin' on t' hard ground in Eastern Colorado, I popped one o' t' elevons, which is easily repaired. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! T' booster will be repaired soon and I will fly it again. Begad! Ahoy! T' strength o' t' materials is a bit suspect so unless everythin' goes perfectly be prepared t' do repair work on it.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
Pros: This has t' be one o' t' coolest rockets I've seen. Ahoy! It looks great and it flies great. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! It was t' most challengin' project that I've ever done. Aye aye! Cons: T' strength o' t' materials require an absolutely flawless flight for you t' nay have t' do any repair work post recovery.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5