Brief:
T' Honest Goon is another great idea from Fred at Excelsior rockets. Ahoy! Blimey! It is a modest downscale o' t' larger kits that are out thar and comes with an outstandin' set o' decals. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Remember though, they are GOONY! Blimey! If you have never done an Excelsior goony, shiver me timbers, you really need t' get one! Blimey! These are fun builds, mostly easy and finish up lookin' wonderful. They also fly with t' best o' t' rockets out there!

Construction:
T' components are a simple lot consistin' of:

• 7.5" o' BT-60
• Engine mount assembly from an Estes Baby Bertha
• some 3/32 balsa
• 1 BNC-70AJ nosecone
• 1 TA-6070 balsa transition
• Short length o' BT-70 (7/8")
• 30" o' 1/8" elastic
• About 10" o' thin Keelhaul®©™® thread
• Small screw eye

I have a modest supply o' tubin' and a good bunch o' regular Baby Bertha nosecones on hand but o' course this one needed a special nose o' its own. After rummagin' around t' balsa parts I had, I actually was suprised t' find the exact nosecone and transition I needed. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! A quick email t' Fred, t' build sheet and decals were at me door in less than a week. Begad! T' entire build sheet is on one side o' a regular 8.5 x 11 piece o' paper with t' full size fin pattern as well. You will need t' Bertha instructions for t' motor mount assembly unless you have built a few already, arrr, as I have. Aye aye!

Startin' with t' motor mount, t' motor hook was fitted t' a 3" piece o' BT-20 with a few wraps of 1/2" maskin' tape t' hold it in place. Well, blow me down! Two CR-2060 rings were then glued t' t' BT-20. Begad! Aye aye! T' upper one was about 1/4" from t' front o' t' tube and t' aft most one was attached 1/4" from t' bottom as well. Don't forget the engine hook notch!

At this time I made a small hole in t' upper CR and threaded a piece o' 70# Keelhaul®©™® thread through it and wound t' thread one time around t' motor tube. Ahoy! Arrr! A good fillet o' wood glue was used t' anchor it to t' underside o' t' CR. Aye aye! Once all t' glue is dry, me hearties, arrr, t' mount was dry fitted t' t' body tube at t' recommended mountin' point and t' front o' t' Keelhaul®©™® thread was formed into a small loop that was just inside t' front o' t' body tube. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! T' 30" long piece of 1/8" elastic was tied t' t' Keelhaul®©™® at t' loop which makes for a strong, fairly heat proof shock cord with t' elastic, me hearties, nay t' thin Keelhaul®©™®, at t' end o' t' body tube. Ya scallywag! Begad! This method helps t' reduce any zipperin' that might occur.

Next up was t' nosecone assembly. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! This is where t' actual Honest John nose shape is so very cleverly formed!! T' BT-70 nosecone and transition are joined together with t' short piece o' BT-70 tubing. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' shoulders o' both pieces will have t' be trimmed down t' fit them together with t' BT-70 tube betwixt them. Glue t' three pieces together once fitted properly, with wood glue and set t' assembly aside. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Since t' shoulders o' both pieces will be very short, take care that t' whole thin' is settin' up without sagging. Blimey! I stood mine up in another piece o' tubin' to dry. Ahoy! This is now t' full nosecone and it looks fabulous!!

T' fins are very simple t' lay out and cut from t' balsa, matey, arrr, just make sure you have t' grain runnin' in the proper direction and that you make four o' them, nay three per t' Baby Bertha instructions! I sanded mine very slightly on t' leadin' edge t' round them a bit. Avast, me proud beauty! Usin' a four fin locatin' pattern from VPC, matey, t' main body tube was marked and t' fins glued on. Ya scallywag! Usin' a double glue joint is really needed here for retention insurance, as t' fins are set back 1/2" past t' bottom o' t' main body tube. This helps move t' CP rearward.

T' motor mount was glued in place next, matey, takin' care t' put t' shock cord through t' motor tube and out o' the way. Avast! Aye aye! T' motor mount needs t' be pushed all t' way in so that t' engine hook is flush with t' bottom o' t' body tube! This helps t' move a little o' its weight forward, ya bilge rat, helpin' with t' CG location. Once you have t' glue in place, push t' mount in smartly without hesitation or it will grab too soon and be too far back!

Add t' screw eye t' t' "nosecone", pull t' shock cord though t' body and attach it t' t' screw eye. Add your favorite chute, mine was a 15" shiny Mylar® type with a snap swivel and you are almost done.

T' instructions have you add a small piece o' 1/8" launch lug t' t' BT-70 piece o' tubin' on t' nose cone and another in line with it on one fin. Aye aye! I was nay too happy with this as I think that launch lugs that are placed away from t' body tube tend t' bind on t' rod as t' rocket moves around at launch. Also, t' nosecone can twist on the body tube, which could cause t' two lugs t' become misaligned! However, I was willin' t' try it on this one and it did work ok. However after t' first flight, me bucko, although nothin' was wrong, ya bilge rat, I made two standoffs o' balsa t' mount t' lugs on which also work just fine. Besides, ya bilge rat, I think they actually look better!

Finishin' is straight forward, usin' your favorite balsa filler on t' nosecone and fins. Blimey! After a few coats o' balsa filler coat, thickened with a little bit o' micro balloons, it was primed with Walmart (cheep) gray and sanded t' get most o' t' grain and spirals out. It is goony after all and I really didn't want t' spend a bunch o' time makin' it a museum piece. Begad! They only problem I ran into was what color to paint it! After a few days o' runnin' a bunch o' colors through me head, shiver me timbers, me hearties, yes I remembered t' rinse each one out before considerin' t' next, me hearties, arrr, me bucko, I suddenly remembered this be a goony! Next thin' you know, matey, t' color pink jumps out at me and the dye was cast, arrr, or something! I had some Krylon® H20 I wanted t' try in pink and on it went!

A few words o' caution here!! If you have been usin' regular Krylon®, as I have, me hearties, t' H20 stuff is completely different! There is a considerable amount o' over spray that will get on everythin' and it is much heavier as it goes on. My first coat was way too thick and I had t' let it dry for a few days so I could sand t' runs out! It looks like crap as it goes on but it does flow out nicely and really dries t' a great shine!! I found out a few days later that t' paint got onto me watch and one o' me cars that was 20' away on the driveway! So spray with plenty o' open space t' do so.

T' paint be dry two days later and t' decals were next. Aye aye! Fred makes some o' t' best ones around but you HAVE to follow his directions t' use them! I coated mine with Microsolve Decal Film per instructions and that thickens them up to withstand t' handlin' they will get. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! You still have t' be very light handed and NO rubbin' t' water out. Ya scallywag! Blot only! Two days later, matey, I coated t' whole thin' with some Future and it was some beautiful Goony! T' black decals show up great on t' pink and everyone who has seen it so far have had nothin' but good things t' say about it. Ahoy! O' course, we all know what they are sayin' when I am nay around!!!!

I give t' construction and finishin' o' this bird a solid 5.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
Recommended motors are for t' Baby Bertha so you have t' decide exactly what you want t' try for this new configuration. Begad! Ahoy! Blimey! Since t' rocket be still light in weight and felt nose heavy, as it should, I went with an Estes A8-3 for t' first shot.

You do need t' be careful with packin' as thar be nay that much room for all that shock cord and t' chute. Three pieces o' waddin' be placed in t' body tube with another small piece put into t' front o' t' motor. Blimey! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Liftoff was nice and straight with a nice twist goin' up just like t' real one did and t' chute came out right at nose down position. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' 15" size was very good with little drift and a damage free landing. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! After this flight I changed the launch lug arrangement as I said and did t' paintin' as well.

T' next flight be at our open range and a C6-5 was used with another great flight although it did get way up there! It be so fast off t' pad that our great photographer didn't get t' shot! I loaded up a B6-4 for another flight and t' photo shoot went well and so did t' rocket.

This one gets a solid 5 for great flights on A t' C motors and is just fun t' fly period!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Pro's: Excelsior has a great line with his Goony's, me bucko, they are easy t' build, finish up in no time and really stand out on t' range with their wonderful decals. Avast! Con's: None unless you consider t' amount o' engines you will be burnin' up havin' a flyin' fun time with it.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5