Brief:
A simple, arrr, cheap, and relatively good lookin' kit for beginners.

Construction:
T' kit came with:

• 1 Nose cone
• 1 Nose cone shoulder
• 1 Body tube
• 4 Precut balsa fins
• 1 Long Keelhaul®©™ shock cord
• 1 Nomex protector
• 1 Streamer
• 1 Motor block
• 1 Launch lug
• 1 Sheet o' decals

First off, arrr, start by attachin' t' shock cord t' t' motor block with a knot. Arrr! I deviated a bit from this step and cut out a small notch into t' outside o' t' motor block for t' shock cord t' rest into. Blimey! Without t' notch, arrr, t' Keelhaul®©™ would make it a very tight fit and t' place where t' shock cord was tied would show up as a bulge in t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Then, test fit and glue t' motor block into t' body tube. Insertion o' t' motor block is via a spent motor case. T' motor should have about 1/4" o' overhang. Avast! Next, cut out t' fin wrap and apply it t' t' bottom half o' t' body tube. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' directions state t' align one side o' it with t' pencil line drawn down t' body tube (the directions make it seem that t' body tube was supposed t' come with t' line; well this one didn't, me hearties, but t' line was smartly drawn with t' help o' a door jam) and gradually apply it around t' entire body tube. Aye aye! After applyin' t' fin alignment wrap, cut out t' payload section decal and apply it t' t' top o' t' body tube, arrr, usin' t' same method that t' fin wraps used. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Next, apply t' fins with white glue. Ahoy! T' fin wraps have lines runnin' vertically down servin' as fin guides, makin' it more builder-friendly, arrr, especially t' t' beginner. Well, blow me down! I noticed that t' fins were ridiculously thick, compared t' t' size o' t' rocket. Begad! Arrr! They were 1/8", but I found out that t' thickness helped more precise alignment o' t' fins, once again makin' it more builder-friendly. Begad! Instead o' usin' white glue t' apply t' fins, matey, I used CA. Begad! Then, matey, t' instructions have you move onto t' nose cone, ya bilge rat, but I went ahead and filleted t' fins first so I have somethin' t' do while they dry. Aye aye! But before t' fillets, I decided t' toughen up t' fins by soakin' them with CA. Blimey! I usually use wood glue for all me fillets, arrr, me bucko, includin' mid power builds, matey, me bucko, but I went with t' instructions and used white glue, probably for clear fillets as this rocket doesn't need any finishin' besides decals. Well, blow me down! Well, matey, blow me down! While t' fillets are wet, ya bilge rat, press t' launch lug into one o' t' fillets and let it dry. Blimey! Blimey! Now for t' nose cone: somethin' I really didn't like about it was that it is absurdly thin. Avast! It can be easily crushed or torn with little force. Blimey! Test fit and glue t' nose cone shoulder into t' nose cone, with about half o' it inside t' nose cone, makin' sure t' hole on one end o' t' shoulder (used for shock cord attachment) is on t' outside. I could only get t' shoulder about 1/4 t' 1/3 o' t' way in t' nose cone without deformin' it. Avast! Thread t' shock cord through t' Nomex cloth, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, streamer, and then t' hole in t' nose cone shoulder, shiver me timbers, in that order. Ya scallywag! Tie t' shock cord onto t' hole for a secure fit. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! With this set up, me bucko, t' nose cone had a very tight fit, arrr, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, so I pressed t' area o' t' shoulder where t' shock cord was attached in, formin' a shape that resembles Pac Man.

PROs: T' kit is easy t' build with minimal supplies and most o' t' components or o' high quality.

CONs: T' nose cone can be o' higher quality.

Finishing:
T' fins can be colored in with a marker, shiver me timbers, one fin colored red and t' others black, ya bilge rat, but I decided against it. I thought t' rocket looked fine t' way it was, arrr, me hearties, and I was probably goin' t' lose it any way. Besides colorin' t' fins, t' decals supplied were t' only other form o' finishing, ya bilge rat, but they were applied in t' beginnin' o' t' build, ya bilge rat, unlike most rockets.

PROs: Very simple, fast, and easy t' finish.

CONs: May be a bit too simplistic, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, although for t' more experience people, me hearties, more time can be put into finished for a better and higher quality finish.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
Preperation for flight is very simple. Avast! Lay t' heat protector over t' body tube and push it into t' tube. Blimey! Fold up t' streamer and push that into t' tube as well, along with t' shock cord. Put t' nose cone on and install t' motor, matey, and it's ready t' fly. I liked t' fact that t' kit came with t' Nomex®, even though it's such a small kit. Aye aye! T' first flight used an A3-4T, arrr, arrr, usin' a Quest motor case with t' nozzle drilled out and t' crud cleaned out as an adapter. Begad! It went very high, shiver me timbers, considerin' t' motor, matey, in a short amount o' time. Ahoy! It reached apogee at about 450 feet and t' streamer popped out. Blimey! It came down about 250 feet from t' pad. Ya scallywag! T' second flight was with a B6-4, and I made it a tighter fit than t' previous flight. I also replaced t' supplied streamer with a fluorescent orange streamer about one inch wide by about five feet long, me hearties, since it was hard t' spot at just 450 feet. Begad! Ya scallywag! It went higher and faster than t' previous flight t' about 800 feet. Well, blow me down! When t' streamer deployed, me hearties, it was very easy t' see and I was glad that I replaced t' streamer. Begad! It came down about 200 feet from t' pad.

PROs: Flight prep is very fast and it is a blast t' fly, arrr, despite its small size.

CONs: None.

Recovery:
On t' first flight, shiver me timbers, t' rocket came down relatively fast and landed on t' air strip (as I was launchin' from an abandoned air base). Ya scallywag! Arrr! One fin was slightly damaged, but it wasn't bad enough that I had t' repair it. Blimey! Ya scallywag! A little sandin' t' get it smooth did t' trick when I got back home. T' motor and t' adapter also kicked upon ejection. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! On t' second flight with t' longer streamer, it came down slightly slower than t' previous flight, shiver me timbers, and I was satisfied. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' motor also did nay kick as I had made it fit tighter than before. Its third flight was in me backyard. Avast! I used an A10 and taped 0.5 oz o' fishin' weights t' t' shock cord t' weight down t' rocket for a lower flight. Aye aye! T' streamer melted together at t' end, but t' Nomex probably didn't work because I didn't repack t' laundry before launch--it was packed up in t' rocket for about a month. Aye aye! Blimey! T' only bad part is that it's a bit difficult t' fold up t' five foot long streamer in t' wind.

PROs: T' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord and Nomex heat protector, both supplied in t' kit, worked perfectly and help t' lower t' require maintenance, matey, ya bilge rat, which isn't really necessary in t' first place.