Brief:
T' Phoenix, arrr, like many other kits from Sunward Aerospace, ya bilge rat, is a conventional single-stage rocket with parachute recovery and is styled t' look like a fighter jet.

Construction:
Parts list:

• 1 PNC56 Plastic Nose Cone with Canopy
• 1 18" BT56 Tube
• 1 Laser-cut balsa fin sheet
• 1 18" plastic parachute, me bucko, ya bilge rat, clear and red
• 1 18mm motor mount kit
• 1 24mm motor mount kit
• 1 1/8" launch lug
• 1 Decal sheet
• 1 Printed cardstock sheet

T' component quality is typical o' other Sunward rocket fighter kits. Blimey! T' laser-cut balsa parts are well cut and t' main body tube has almost no spiral. Avast! T' motor mount tubes appear t' be from a lower grade o' brown kraft which fray easily if nay soaked in cyano-acrylate before use.

My only substantial complaint about t' components be t' printed cardstock sheet. It contains one o' t' most distinctive features o' this kit, a large wraparound shroud that looks like a major portion o' t' fuselage as well as a set o' air intake scoops. Ahoy! Unfortunately, me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' shiny side o' t' cardstock, which should face outward when assembled, is covered with printed text. Arrr! Begad! This makes it difficult t' use light colors without resortin' t' multiple coats o' paint. In addition, arrr, t' cutouts for t' wings are larger than they should be. Begad! T' openin' is sized t' match t' chord o' the win' root, matey, shiver me timbers, but because t' wings taper, arrr, they are about 1/2 inch narrower than t' hole when they pass through the shroud. Begad! Finally, ya bilge rat, t' lines on t' pattern are quite thick, makin' it unclear exactly where t' cut.

Most o' t' Phoenixes that I have seen have been painted a single dark color. Arrr! Avast! This may be because t' printin' on the shroud shows through light colors and t' shape o' t' shroud makes it quite tricky t' mask for multiple colors. Avast, me proud beauty! To allow for multiple colors, I like t' paint t' components first (with t' glue surfaces protected) then glue t' parts together. My initial plan for t' Phoenix was t' paint it similar t' t' Canadian Air Force's Snowbirds precision aerobatics demonstration team with a predominantly red and white pattern and an angular stylized bird design on the belly.

My first step in buildin' t' Phoenix was primin' all t' balsa parts t' fill t' grain then sandin' them down t' almost bare balsa so only t' grains were covered with paint. A similar primer/sanding treatment was applied t' t' body tube after usin' 1/4 inch maskin' tape t' cover t' lines where t' fins and shroud would later be attached.

While t' primer was drying, arrr, I cut out t' shroud, curled it, matey, and wrapped it around some BT-56 body tubes t' help it achieve t' proper curved shape. I let it sit overnight with several CD cases holdin' it in place.

Next, all t' fins were attached t' t' body tube usin' t' double-glue method with Elmer's Carpenter glue. Yellow glue fillets were also applied. I decided t' use normal glue fillets and skip t' cardstock reinforcin' tabs provided by Sunward. T' tabs do provide a lot o' strength, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, but I don't care for their appearance. Aye aye! Based on me flight results, I probably should have used t' tabs.

After t' glue had dried overnight, matey, I painted t' aft half t' rocket with Rustoleum Painter's Touch Apple Red paint. Well, blow me down! Due t' some nasty "alligator skin" on t' red paint, me bucko, I ended up sanding about half t' red paint off and re-primin' t' lower half. Ahoy! Begad! After allowin' t' primer t' dry thoroughly, t' red paint went on much better and had a beautiful smooth glossy finish.

T' front half o' t' body and t' nose cone were painted with Rustoleum Painter's Touch Gloss White. Avast, me proud beauty! T' canopy was painted with Gloss Black without incident.

Everythin' be goin' pretty well until I got t' paintin' t' shroud. Aye aye! Arrr! It took two coats o' primer and one coat of gloss white t' cover t' letterin' printed on t' shroud. Aye aye! Begad! At that point t' paint be so thick that just attemptin' to guide it onto t' body caused t' paint t' crack and splinter. Begad!

I then tried t' print me own shroud usin' several different pieces o' cardstock from Hobby Lobby and Staples. Some o' t' card stocks were too thin and flexible. Others were too stiff t' curve nicely without creasing. T' only one that was close t' t' right thickness had a surface so rough that even after two coats o' gloss black paint it looked blotchy instead o' shiny.

Greatly discouraged, shiver me timbers, I sent an email t' Angelo Castellano, ya bilge rat, t' president o' Sunward. Knowin' that we would both be attendin' NARCON in February, shiver me timbers, I asked him t' brin' a spare shroud sheet with him. Begad! He responded by bringin' me three fresh shroud sheets and a spare set o' decals. Arrr!

(A side note about Angelo. I had conversed with him several times online and already thought he was a pretty nice guy. Arrr! I be surprised t' find that he is even nicer more personable in real life. Seeing how he dealt with customers and his policy against competin' against his dealers and distributors gave me a whole new level o' respect for Angelo.)

With t' replacement shroud I decided t' abandon t' Snowbird color scheme and switch t' a simple black shroud. Avast! I ran t' sheet through me HP inkjet printer t' put a light gray color on t' inside o' t' shroud. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! After cuttin' it out and curlin' it t' t' proper shape, a single coat o' Gloss Black was enough t' cover t' outside surface. Much better!

Rather than usin' t' cardstock reinforcement band t' stiffen t' shroud, shiver me timbers, I decided t' experiment with some fake jet engine exhausts. Begad! Two 2.75 inch BT-50 motor tubes were painted with Metallic Aluminum, then slotted t' fit on the main wings. After t' shroud was glued into place, t' two exhaust tubes were glued t' t' inside o' t' shroud t' help it maintain its curved shape. Later, arrr, matey, t' exhaust tubes were glued t' t' wings t' keep t' tubes in place.

Next, arrr, ya bilge rat, me bucko, t' motor mount was installed. Avast! Sunward provides t' option t' build with either an 18mm or 24mm mount. Ahoy! Ahoy! I chose t' 24mm mount t' take advantage o' t' higher takeoff thrust o' t' C11 motor compared t' a C6 or B6. Well, blow me down! Begad! I can still use 18mm motors with an adapter if I choose to.

Finally, ya bilge rat, t' shock cord was installed and two launch lugs were glued t' t' belly.

Finishing:
As already explained, I did most o' me paintin' as part o' t' build process. After completin' assembly and painting, I applied t' decals. Many modelers do nay like peel-and-stick decals, matey, but these were pretty good. Well, blow me down! T' most impressive decals on t' sheet are a pair o' screamin' phoenix heads that fit nicely on t' vertical tail fin. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Before applyin' the decals, I painted a black stripe on t' vertical fin so that t' red and white phoenix heads would be more visible. Begad!

As a final step, I applied a coat o' Future floor polish t' seal t' decals and give a clear protective finish.

I am very pleased with t' finished appearance and have received unsolicited compliments from rocketeers and non-rocketeers.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
Sunward recommends B6-2, me bucko, B6-4, arrr, C6-3, and C6-5 for t' 18mm motor mount, me hearties, arrr, me bucko, and D12-3 or D12-5 when built with a 24mm mount. Begad! Begad! For me flights I used a D12-5 once and t' C11-5 twice. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! I intentionally chose t' longer delays because I wanted to see t' "wild smokin' nose dives" that Sunward advertises. Ahoy! These engines turned out t' be good choices. Begad!

Flight preparation is fairly standard: insert wadding, fold parachute, arrr, shiver me timbers, and insert nose cone. T' 24mm motor is held in place with a standard sprin' steel engine hook. Ahoy! Avast! (If built with t' 18mm motor option, ya bilge rat, t' motor is retained with t' threaded L-hook used on other Sunward kits.)

On its maiden flight with a D12-5, ya bilge rat, t' Phoenix took off very smartly then left a long smokin' trail that arced past apogee. Many in t' crowd started murmuring, matey, matey, wonderin' when t' ejection charge would fire. Avast! Finally, it popped and the 18" red and clear chute opened cleanly and lowered it t' a fairly gentle landin' in some tall weeds.

After landing, shiver me timbers, t' wind caught t' chute and dragged t' rocket through t' weeds. Arrr! Begad! Somewhere in that process, arrr, the vertical tail fin broke off and be never found.

I used t' laser-cut sheet as a template t' build a new tail fin from some balsa stock. After paintin' t' fin red and black, ya bilge rat, I applied t' phoenix heads from t' spare decal sheet that Angelo had given me. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I attached t' fin with epoxy and then used a black paint pen t' cover t' fillets and rough spots where t' original fin had torn off.

Flights #2 and #3 occurred several weeks later and were virtually identical t' each other. Ya scallywag! In both cases I drag raced against a purple Phoenix that be built before Sunward offered t' 24mm motor option. Ahoy! Mine flew with a C11-5 both times, ya bilge rat, while t' other flew with a C6-5 and a C6-3. On both flights, t' C6 took off a little sooner, ya bilge rat, but t' C11 quickly accelerated past it. T' long delay on t' C11-5 created an arcin' smoke trail past apogee followed by a clean deployment. Ahoy! Begad! On flight #2, one o' t' lower tail fins cracked loose. A dab o' medium CA was all that be needed to prepare for flight #3, which incurred no damage.

I noticed somethin' interestin' about t' stock built purple Phoenix that I raced against. Because it used the lighter 18mm motor and did nay have t' fake jet exhausts, its center o' gravity was farther forward durin' descent. While mine descended with t' body hangin' vertically below t' parachute, t' purple Phoenix fell nearly horizontal, usin' t' body drag t' slow t' descent. Ahoy! Despite usin' a streamer instead o' a parachute, t' purple one still landed gently enough t' avoid any damage. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' cardstock reinforcin' tabs on t' fin roots o' t' purple Phoenix did their job well.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a great lookin' kit that flies beautifully. Aye aye! T' wraparound shroud gives t' kit a unique look but is tricky to get aligned and finished properly.

PROs: Great flights, with wild smokin' dives. Great appearance.

CONS: Shroud assembly is tricky t' align and finish properly.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5