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. Blimey! T' project is a two-stage rocket that utilizes parachute recovery for both t' booster and sustainer. 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. Aye aye! T' plans call for you t' roll your own tubes out o' posterboard. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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. T' 24mm motor tubes were all just long enough for an Estes D12 except for t' switch tube, which has a piston in if for t' sustainer ignition. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! I used 3 feet o' 1/4" elastic shock cord for both t' booster and sustainer. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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, matey, which is nay necessarily a bad thing. That said, ya bilge rat, it has clearly been t' most fun and challengin' t' build and fly. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I chose t' plan pak for two reasons: First, I wanted somethin' with a degree o' difficulty beyond anythin' I've ever done. Avast, me proud beauty! Second, matey, ya bilge rat, I wanted a Nike Hercules because it has t' be t' coolest rocket I've ever seen. Well, blow me down! After talkin' t' quite a few people and describin' t' project, 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. Blimey! Intent on doin' this, shiver me timbers, I tried t' roll me own tubes (as per t' instructions). Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Blimey! As a result me kit ended up a bit heavier than be originally intended. Arrr! I added some weight in t' nose t' compensate. Begad! 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. Begad! Before I started this project I had built t' Phoenix kit by TLP and I believe that certainly helped. There were only two places where I got a bit stuck in t' instructions. Aye aye! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Other than that Chuck Barndt has obviously taken t' time t' write it well. Avast, me proud beauty! T' diagrams are also quite helpful. Another plus be t' ease o' acquirin' most o' t' parts t' build t' rocket, mostly from Hobby Lobby and a few odds and ends at t' local hobby shop.

T' worst experience I had in buildin' this rocket be procurin' an Estes Phoenix nose cone without actually droppin' down t' $22 t' buy t' kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! 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. Ahoy! For anyone contemplatin' takin' on this project, make sure you brin' plenty o' patience and be prepared for lots o' frustration, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, especially if you don't have too much experience buildin' complex rockets, like me. Ya scallywag! T' most difficult task, me bucko, aside from rollin' t' body tubes, was t' fabricate t' transition section. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! T' largest piece in t' transition section is a 3.3 inch arc that you must cut out o' poster board. Avast, me proud beauty! T' angle o' t' arc has t' be very precise, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, which was difficult if nay impossible with me cheesy little protractor. Blimey! 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. Havin' neither t' compass nor t' plotter, shiver me timbers, me wife and I ended up usin' me little compass and a string. Blimey! I tried five times before I got one that worked.and it still wasn't perfect. Avast! Ya scallywag! 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. Begad! Begad! Blimey! Mono-colored rockets are about all I've done. Avast! Blimey! T' plans give very specific instructions on decal placement and size, arrr, me hearties, 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 was t' prep time t' get t' rocket ready for launch. Ya scallywag! You don't just throw t' motors in, a little wadding, igniters and then launch. I tested t' wirin' just prior t' launch, ya bilge rat, installed a new Duracell and then t' 'chutes. Well, arrr, blow me down! T' plan calls 3 D12-0 and one D12-3 in t' booster and a D12-5 or 7 for t' sustainer. Well, blow me down! I used a 5 second delay because me rocket was a bit heavier than t' stock plans. Ya scallywag! T' rocket has an interestin' method o' ignitin' t' second stage. Ya scallywag! One o' t' engine assemblies in t' cluster has a piston and a micro lever switch inside o' it. Begad! Begad! T' piston, matey, ya bilge rat, arrr, when t' motor is installed, matey, applies pressure t' t' switch and opens t' circuit. You use a D12-0 in t' switch tube. After t' boost is complete, t' ejection charge blows t' motor out o' t' engine assembly, which in turn closes t' circuit and sends t' juice from a 9V alkaline battery t' t' igniter in t' sustainer. Avast! Durin' construction, make sure you take your time and follow t' instructions carefully so that t' piston works properly. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! 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, arrr, me hearties, but I didn't want t' mess up t' launch (and t' rocket) due t' a misfire in t' cluster or sustainer. Well, blow me down! I prepped t' igniters t' night before. Avast, me proud beauty! T' boost be stunning. Well, blow me down! My wife got a great video o' t' boost and t' sustainer ignition. Begad! I've watched it at least two dozen times. Aye aye! T' ematch/thermalite combination brought t' sustainer motor up so close t' t' booster burnout that I couldn't detect any delay. Arrr! I was told by one o' me rocket buddies that it be t' coolest flight o' t' day. Arrr! 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, ya bilge rat, arrr, as t' parachute didn't deploy properly for t' booster. Ya scallywag! T' parachute separated, probably due t' nay usin' enough wadding. Ahoy! Ahoy! As a result, t' transition section was destroyed and one o' t' fins popped off, but everythin' else was intact. Aye aye! Begad! T' sustainer recovery be nearly flawless. Blimey! Ahoy! However, landin' on t' hard ground in Eastern Colorado, me bucko, arrr, me bucko, I popped one o' t' elevons, which is easily repaired. T' booster will be repaired soon and I will fly it again. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! 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. Begad! It looks great and it flies great. It be t' most challengin' project that I've ever done. Begad! Avast! 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