Well, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I had become frustrated with me loss o' three small rockets in one day in t' sprin' o' 1997. Avast! Ahoy! I vowed t' never again take a rocket under 12" long seriously. But I had all those 13mm mini-engines left. What t' do? I needed a mini-engine model that wasn't a guaranteed loss. Begad! Well, blow me down! I was browsin' through t' Discount Rocketry website one day, and saw t' Metrix. Blimey! Aye aye! It looked like it would fit the bill, and for $5, me hearties, I simply couldn't pass it up. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty!

Construction is very simple and straightforward, matey, arrr, typical o' a 3FNC (three fins & a nose cone) rocket. Arrr! Blimey! This one is made even simpler by bein' minimum diameter, me bucko, arrr, and thus requirin' just an engine block, and nay a full engine mount. About t' only trick, arrr, and t' instructions do point this out explicitly, ya bilge rat, is that it's very easy t' confuse t' fin's leadin' edge with it's root edge. Makin' such a mistake would require you (assumin' you caught it before t' glue dries completely) t' frantically but carefully pry t' fin off t' body tube, wipe as much glue as possible from both surfaces, matey, and re-sand that fin, since you rounded t' root edge, matey, and left t' leadin' edge square. Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Hypothetically speaking, o' course. Blimey! Blimey! ;-)

Flyin' this rocket for t' first time was a bit o' a surprise, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, actually. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! It definitely went higher and faster than I had expected, especially with the A10-3T engine. Ahoy! Aye aye! That gold mylar streamer did a simply fabulous job o' makin' the rocket trackable. Avast, me proud beauty! I've launched it several times now, and every flight has been completely trouble-free.

All in all, ya bilge rat, this is a fine rocket and a fine kit. Ahoy! Arrr! Blimey! I can heartily recommend it t' anyone who wants a good mini-engine sport flyer. Avast! About the only nitpick is that it's nay exactly t' most awe-inspirin' rocket ever made, but how many really are? I rate it a 4 out o' 5 for construction, ya bilge rat, a 4 out o' 5 for flight, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and an overall, general ratin' of 4 out o' 5.