Brief:
A high altitude, me hearties, 38mm minimum diameter, me hearties, fiberglass, mach capable rocket. Aye aye! Very high quality parts.

Construction:
2 fiberglass 38mm diameter body tubes. Ahoy! One main tube and one payload section. Includes a fin can made o' high impact plastic and fiberglass. Begad! Arrr! Approximately 8ft o' 3/8" Keelhaul®©™® strap, me hearties, and a Keelhaul®©™® reinforced Nomex® heat pad. Aye aye! Begad! A Rocketman drogue chute and quick links as well as other hardware. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! A fiberglass nosecone cast in polyester resin. Blimey!

T' instructions were clear, easy t' follow, and included color photos for most o' t' steps. Ahoy! T' assembly order be logically organized. Avast! T' kit was obviously thought out very well and fin alignment be nay an issue as the included fin can was well made and fit t' tube with no problem. However, ya bilge rat, in the instructions it says t' you may need t' center t' fin can with tape. The reason for this be t' fin can be made universal, ya bilge rat, me bucko, in order t' fit a number of tubes, matey, but I found this unnecessary. Arrr! T' fin can is tough as nails. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! The nosecone is retained by plastic removable rivets.

Finishing:
Finishin' was easy and t' tubes take primer very well. Arrr! All you have t' do is sand off t' seam marks on t' fin can with some 80 grit sandpaper t' make it smooth. Arrr! Begad! It kind o' chews up t' plastic, but all o' that is removed after you sand and prime a few times. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! No decals were included. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
It preps easily, but you may have a hard time gettin' t' chute into that tube as well as t' shock cord. Ahoy! No waddin' is required since Nomex® was provided with t' kit. Aye aye! I used an Aero Pack 38mm retainer and a 29mm adapter. Ahoy! T' retainer is included, but t' adapter is not. Begad! I flew "Cosmic Wind" for t' first time at METRA on Saturday November 5,2005. She flew on a H97J motor as I didn't want t' fly it on a "punch" motor right away. When t' countdown reached zero, ya bilge rat, Cosmic Wind soared off t' pad slowly but built up speed as it flew. Aye aye! Avast! I was surprised that t' motor has enough punch to get her off t' pad that fast.

Recovery:
T' shock cord is Keelhaul®©™® strap that is very durable. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! T' recovery is fast but that be t' idea. I also bought a streamer for those really high flights, me bucko, matey, all I have t' do is point the rocket slightly downrange so it doesn't hit anyone--it will fall really fast then. Ya scallywag! I found no damage on recovery so t' Rocketman Drogue did it's job.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket is great if you like t' ease and toughness o' a fin can and the altitude o' a minimum diameter rocket.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5