Brief:
Absolutely t' most INNOVATIVE commercial kit I've ever seen in rocketry, arrr, ya bilge rat, this rocket looks like Wyle E. Well, blow me down! Coyote has built and flown it a few too many times. Avast! Begad! You won't believe it flies nor will anyone else at t' pad, yet you'll all be laughin' your fannies off when you witness its perfect flight path. Blimey! Ya scallywag! I witnessed t' prototype o' this kit in action at NSL this May and have been chompin' at t' bit ever since then t' get me hands on one. Arrr! While #4 sits in me private collection (this is a signed/numbered limited edition), me hearties, #51 was smartly built for flight.

Construction:

• BT-70 (highly butchered)
• BT-50 motor tube
• Fin pattern sheet
• Shroud & nose cone template sheet
• Body tube cuttin' patterns
• 16" plastic chute
• misc recovery supplies, centerin' rings (highly customized), weight, arrr, lugs, etc.

There are no especially difficult skills required t' build this kit, but if you've got experience buildin' model rockets (and I've built around 250 now), me bucko, then you might find yourself at a significant disadvantage. Arrr! Every step o' t' way me experience was tellin' me, "That can't be right!" Trust in t' force (and t' very clearly detailed instructions) and you'll be fine. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Don't expect centerin' rings t' be centered, shiver me timbers, arrr, fins t' balance, me hearties, arrr, etc. Ya scallywag! right away.

Before beginnin' construction, I highly recommend makin' a critical finishin' decision. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! FlisKits has free "skin" downloads available on their website which can be used instead o' paintin' but these skins should be applied before bondin' t' tube sections. Ya scallywag! You will find that they cover up all t' alignment marks you make if you follow t' instructions so you need t' mark t' INSIDE o' t' tubes t' use t' wraps. Ya scallywag! You can certainly express your creativity by paintin' this on your own, but personally I think Jim Flis has expressed his creativity extremely well and t' wraps offer a wonderful visual style t' this rocket, complete with weld marks, bullet holes, and duct tape. Arrr! Ahoy! You can save yourself t' fin sanding/finishin' if you go with t' wraps.

Construction, as noted, shiver me timbers, is fairly easy if you forget t' customary alignment practices. Ahoy! You cut t' BT-70 into 4 odd pieces usin' provided templates, carefully markin' two different alignment lines on each, along with a top & bottom mark. Ya scallywag! Avast! Flis recommends usin' red and black markers, me hearties, arrr, which is a good way o' mistake-proofing. Begad! T' tubes are then stacked and bonded one-by-one around a 24mm motor tube that runs t' length o' t' rocket usin' custom laser cut centerin' rings. Avast! And if you're very careful and pay attention t' t' instructions and t' alignment lines, you will find everythin' fits very well (well, ya bilge rat, "fit" for a rocket like this takes on a different meaning). Avast, me proud beauty! There's also a shroud transition at t' bottom that is intentionally long, shiver me timbers, t' be glued then trimmed resultin' in a stronger bond t' t' centerin' ring. Aye aye! Flis has called this t' "Tulanko tail" and it's a new technique I'd never tried before.

Fins are cut from heavy 1/8" balsa stock from 4 custom patterns. Well, blow me down! You read that right: no two fins are alike. Avast, me proud beauty! In fact, ya bilge rat, me hearties, me bucko, one o' t' fins is actually angled t' bond across t' bend betwixt tube #1 and tube #2.

T' nose cone is rolled from a custom template, shiver me timbers, and has a balsa plug that fits into t' 24mm motor tube. Begad! Ya scallywag! Shock cord is 1/2" elastic usin' an Estes-style motor mount, which be me biggest disappointment about this kit. Usin' D power I would much rather see Keelhaul®©™ mounted t' a centerin' ring, and most other Fliskits I've built have featured Keelhaul®©™. I finished up by makin' t' 16" plastic chute (Fliskits standard chutes are patterned for 9, 12, or 16" configurations).

There are two launch lugs. Blimey! Well, blow me down! One is mounted on t' edge o' a fin and t' other is mounted with a balsa offset t' an upper tube. Avast! Begad! If you follow t' directions carefully, arrr, shiver me timbers, you'll find thar really is one straight line on t' outside o' t' tubes for t' lugs. Begad! In me case, I blew t' orientation o' t' shroud, ya bilge rat, resultin' in fins that weren't quite where they were supposed t' be, and had t' customize t' mountin' o' t' lugs a bit, arrr, as me rocket has NO straight surfaces. Aye aye! O' course, with a rocket like this, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, who's goin' t' notice me goof?

Finishing:
As previously mentioned, shiver me timbers, you can either choose t' paint this, ya bilge rat, matey, or go with free wraps. Avast! Aye aye! I chose t' wraps, printed them usin' an inkjet printer onto cardstock (shroud/nose cone) and white label paper (tube & fin wraps). Blimey! Blimey! This covered just about every inch o' t' surface with very slight seams on t' wraps. Some edges o' fins were nay covered (an easily corrected issue with t' wrap if Jim's lookin' for improvement on this) and thar's about a 1/4" gap betwixt t' shroud and t' edge o' t' tall side o' body tube #1. Ahoy! Blimey! These were colored with magic markers.

One finishin' tip I'd suggest, shiver me timbers, though I wimped out and didn't try it, would be t' "weather" t' inkjet wraps with a fine mist o' water. Ya scallywag! Jim's prototype was inadvertently weathered this way, and t' inkruns and fadin' actually improve t' visual effect for this rocket.

One note on t' finished product: me rocket, shiver me timbers, me bucko, built usin' sparin' amounts o' white & yellow glue and t' clay provided for nose weight, me hearties, ya bilge rat, came in at 4.3 ounces versus t' manufacturer's spec o' 2.9 ounces.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
For it's maiden flight, I chose t' drag race with another ACME built by Carl Tulanko. I chose a D12-3 and he flew on a D12-5. Begad! Blimey! (Carl had already flown on a D12-3 which he felt be too short a delay.) T' drag race was very close but I think Carl got first motion, I reached almost double his altitude (I'd guess I hit around 450 feet) but I managed t' beat Carl back down when two o' me shroud lines came unstuck and me chute turned into a streamer. Aye aye! Blimey! Carl's weathercocked a bit in our 8 mph winds but mine flew straight up without even a spin. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Unfortunately, I hit t' frame o' me canopy/tent and broke two fins. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! After a quick repair, I flew it later t' same day on another D12-3 with a slight spin but great flight. Begad! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Flight #2 suffered some significant damage--the ejection kicked t' motor retainin' clip completely out (along with t' motor), t' balsa plug in t' nose cone got burned, me bucko, leadin' t' separation, arrr, and t' shock cord while still intact was charred enough t' warrant replacement before I attempted another flight. Blimey! Blimey! T' nose cone separation seems t' be a problem on this kit, as Carl's also separated after his second or 3rd flight. I'd recommend a strong epoxy fillet when bondin' this unless a more reliable retention method is introduced.

Recovery:
Flights with this are incredible. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! It's got t' be an optical illusion because thar's no way this thin' should be stable! Blimey! It flies as well as (or better) than most o' me normal rockets. Aye aye! T' only con would be t' Achilles heel o' t' elastic shock cord and nose cone plug.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I have built more than 250 model rockets at this point, shiver me timbers, includin' just about everythin' in t' Estes/Quest lines and have scoured every available archive o' plans and designs for "classic" kit ideas t' clone. Aye aye! Let me tell you that thar's NOTHING like this on t' market. Aye aye! No company has ever introduced as radical a design as this, arrr, me bucko, and I am absolutely awed by t' innovation and creativity o' Jim Flis. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I can't imagine how in t' world he's goin' t' follow up on this design, me bucko, but can't wait t' see what's next.

Give yourself a whack on t' head, get out o' t' 3fnc standard mode, matey, and build yourself an ACME!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5