I received t' Kappa 9M from Aerospace Specialty Products as a prize for me entry in R.M.R. Well, blow me down! Begad! DesCon 6. Ya scallywag! I deeply appreciate t' vendors who have contributed t' t' design contest in this way. I've wanted t' get a review t' EMRR, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, but me opportunities t' fly a rocket this size are limited, and I wanted t' log more flights before posting. Aye aye! Ya scallywag!

T' Kappa 9M is a scale model o' t' Japanese soundin' rocket. Ya scallywag! ASP makes three kits o' it: a smaller one for a single 18mm motor and two versions in this larger size, me bucko, one for a single 24mm motor and one for a cluster o' three 18mm. Begad! T' last be t' version I have. Ya scallywag! It's over 43 inches tall, t' larger diameter is 1.67" (classic BT-60), and its color scheme is silver and fluorescent red. Arrr!

Construction materials are classic "pre-plastic" Estes style with a couple o' notable improvements. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! T' nose cone and transition are turned balsa, and t' eight fins are basswood. T' elastic shock cord is anchored by means o' a piece o' Keelhaul®©™® cord tied t' a coupler which joins two sections of the BT-60 sized tube. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Overall, t' rocket is very light for its size. Aye aye! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty!

T' instructions are detailed and well-written, arrr, ya bilge rat, printed in an informal script type face. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Scale information is minimal, arrr, and refers t' builder to Rockets o' t' World for additional data. Aye aye! Blimey! T' instructions alone produced for me a satisfactory "eyeball scale" model. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I was a little unclear about what was meant by "steel" color, but I added black t' brush-on silver enamel and got an acceptable effect. T' one rub-on name decal supplied be a treat t' use and looks extremely nice in place. Aye aye! Blimey!

Construction was fairly easy overall, with a little care t' t' carvin' of the beveled fin edges. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! . Aye aye! Blimey! Because both halves o' t' rocket are very long, I did wish t' large shoulder o' t' balsa transistion, arrr, which be t' separation coupling, me hearties, me hearties, could have been longer. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! Fit o' some parts could have been a bit firmer, but overall t' quality was very high. Aye aye! Blimey!

T' lower section be supplied as two different lengths o' t' 60 sized tube, ya bilge rat, and t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord anchor was tied around t' coupler that joined them. T' resultin' splice was difficult t' hide, ya bilge rat, and I felt it could have been better had t' splice been made at t' edge o' one o' t' red stripes, probably the forward edge o' t' aft stripe. This would have required t' longer section to be several inches longer than it was, but still nay as long as t' 50 sized tube that makes up t' "upper stage."

T' kit includes ASP's "heavy duty" chute kit, whose main feature is suspension lines runnin' over t' top o' t' aluminized mylar canopy. Arrr! Begad! It was quite a project t' assemble and tricky t' fold, arrr, but looked foolproof. Avast, me proud beauty! Alas, fools are so ingenious...

So Here's What Happened...

I built t' kit and planned t' fly it twice at our September 2000 meet in Sheridan. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I had a set o' B6-4's in me range box, but since t' weather was perfect, matey, I bought a card o' C6-5's at t' Tammie's Hobbies booth on site and put those in it first. Well, blow me down! Blimey! After t' fact I realized that t' instructions called for C6-7's, which might have saved t' day.

This be an extremely fast liftoff and a high, pretty flight. Begad! Blimey! I was quite surprised that somethin' as long as this could go that fast -- much more like an Alpha than a Mean Machine. Aye aye! It ejected on t' way up, still climbin' at a good clip. Arrr!

T' "heavy duty" chute shredded. Avast, me proud beauty! It crumpled up into a ball the size o' a soccer ball within t' canopy o' suspension lines, providin' drag, but nay as much as a fully open chute. Ahoy! Still t' rocket would have been undamaged had it nay struck a lawn chair. Ahoy! As it is, t' only damage was to strip one o' t' basswood "booster" fins from t' surface o' the tube. T' fin was repaired in a few minutes, shiver me timbers, matey, but t' chute was a loss. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I thought t' tape disks had come loose, matey, me bucko, allowin' t' canopy t' slide up the lines, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but postmortem revealed that about half t' lines had cut clean through the Mylar, startin' at t' edges and pullin' straight away from t' sticky stuff. There were several tears each close t' halfway up from edge t' center.. Avast, me proud beauty!

I rebuilt t' parachute with a piece cut from a "space blanket." It isn't actually t' same material, but is similar in appearance. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! I've taken the liberty t' add Trim Monokote reinforcements t' t' underside where the lines pulled through t' material before, arrr, and I suggest this modification to future builders. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' second flight, in April 2001, was as perfect as I've seen on three B6-4's. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! This time t' parachute fully opened. Aye aye! Except for a slight scar where t' one fin be re-installed, t' rocket still looks new. Avast! I have the feelin' it will be around a long time and become one o' t' t' standard items on me club launch agenda. Avast!

I heartily recommend this kit t' cluster lovers and sport scale fliers. It's nay cheap but it's a good value, arrr, and ASP deserves our support for the quality product they're puttin' out. Aye aye!

Construction/Finishing: 4.5 -- I've mentioned t' seam/splice in the main body tube, matey, and t' balsa fittings could be firmer, me hearties, matey, otherwise excellent from tip t' tail
Flight/Recovery: 4.5 -- My "heavy duty" chute failed t' first time, probably because I didn't give it enough delay
Overall: 4.5 -- for a light but sturdy, matey, matey, attractive, straight-flying cluster experience