Brief:

T' Fliskits Triple Threat is a unique kit offerin' 3 small UFO rockets, each with a different shape. Avast! Avast! T' UFF Persephone is circular, t' UFF Athena is pentagonal, shiver me timbers, and t' UFF Odysseus is hexagonal. Avast, me proud beauty! T' kits are made out o' card stock and balsa, each with a 13 mm motor mount. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Definitely for t' experienced builder.

Construction:

• 3 sheets o' balsa t' cut out fins (1/16")
• Fin templates on sticky paper, me bucko, shiver me timbers, featurin' pre-printed designs for each rocket.
• Shrouds for UFO's on card stock
• Wire for landin' gear
• 3 BT-5 body tubes
• 3 launch lugs
• Set o' instructions for each rocket
• Fin alignment guide

T' instructions were quite impressive with quality instructions and illustrations. Aye aye! T' construction includes cuttin' out t' shrouds, arrr, scorin' the paper for folds, arrr, and gluin' t' shrouds together t' form t' UFO body. The fins are made by cuttin' out t' fin shapes out o' t' sticky paper. Well, blow me down! The Persephone features 3 fins, me hearties, matey, thus 6 sides. Aye aye! On one side, arrr, shiver me timbers, I be instructed to leave a border around t' fin shape. Avast! Then all I had t' do was remove t' paper from t' back o' t' adhesive and stick t' fin on t' t' balsa sheet. Aye aye! Avast! After the fin paper has been "stuck" t' t' balsa, me hearties, I simply used a straight edge and an X-acto cutlass t' carefully cut out t' fin, disposin' o' t' extra border. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Once t' fins were cut, ya bilge rat, I flipped them over and "stuck" the other fin portion t' t' exposed balsa side. Arrr! T' instructions for t' fins is identical for each rocket, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, although t' Athena has 5 fins and t' Odysseus has 6 fins.

T' body tube also has a sticky body wrap which is easy t' apply. Avast! Ahoy! Once the body wrap is on t' tube, I simply glued on t' fins and corrected t' fin alignment usin' t' fin alignment card included with t' instructions. Aye aye! T' only "gotcha" that I ran into was t' motor blocks. Ahoy! Begad! There weren't any. Avast, me proud beauty! In the instructions, thar be an inventory list mentionin' motor blocks, arrr, me bucko, me hearties, yet they are nay mentioned in t' instructions. After an e-mail t' Jim Flis (response in less than 24 hours, great service!), matey, I be instructed that t' kit does not require motor blocks, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and that they would be correctin' t' instructions on their next printing.

Next, me hearties, I took t' necessary shrouds for each rocket and glued them on t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! On t' Persephone, a smaller shroud sits inverted on top o' t' bigger shroud. Avast! This must be done carefully so that thar be no gap betwixt t' shrouds. Begad! On t' Odysseys, part of the shroud folds underneath t' main shroud and fastens t' t' bottom o' the UFO fin structure. Begad! On t' Athena, arrr, thar are flaired "wings" which move towards t' center o' t' rocket and are glued on t' t' body tube.

Next step, t' wire landin' gear. Blimey! Begad! Fliskits provides a guide for bendin' the piano wire into a specific shape. Begad! I am nay an expert wire bender, matey, but I tried to follow t' shape on t' first piece o' wire. One important step is t' place a hook at t' bottom o' t' wire so that it can fit snuggly underneath t' fin. After me first attempt at wire bending, me bucko, I simply designed a simpler shape for me t' bend. It looks close t' t' Fliskits design, but is nay as complicated. I used CA glue t' attach t' wires, shiver me timbers, then I glued t' launch lug in place using wood glue. Begad! I made sure that t' fins had extra fillets as well as other parts of t' rocket (where shroud meets fin, for instance). Blimey! That's it. Rockets complete. Avast! Begad! Outside o' cuttin' t' balsa fins, these three rockets can be constructed while hangin' out in your own livin' room. Begad! No sandin' required!

Finishing:

There is no finishin' required as t' rocket comes with pre-printed shrouds and pre-printed fin templates. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! This is what I like about it. Well, blow me down! Begad! No smelly paints, me hearties, no sanding. Aye aye! They are nice rockets t' build while watchin' t' telly. Aye aye! I give construction a 4, only because I think t' wire configuration is unnecessarily complex and thar be confusion about t' motor blocks. Aye aye! But this would nay stop me from buyin' another Triple Threat!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:

I flew t' Persephone twice, once usin' an A10-P and once with an A10-0. Begad! On the first flight, t' Persephone kind o' tumbled back t' t' ground. Arrr! On t' second flight, as advertised, t' rocket flips over and gently glides t' t' ground, landin' on t' wire landin' gear. Aye aye! T' Athena I flew on an A10-0 and it, too, flew very well, ya bilge rat, flippin' over at apogee and "glided" t' t' ground. T' largest rocket, t' Odysseus, matey, shiver me timbers, I also flew twice, me hearties, usin' t' A10-P and the A10-0. Aye aye! Ahoy! Both times, t' rocket flew t' apogee but failed t' flip over. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! It did, however, return steadily, shiver me timbers, comin' straight down as easily as it ascended. Cool!

Recovery:

T' PRO's o' t' Triple Threat be t' ease o' flight. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Simply add a little tape around t' motor for friction fit, me bucko, arrr, pop it in, ya bilge rat, add igniter wire and plug and you are ready for action. Blimey! No foldin' o' parachutes or stuffin' t' body tube with wadding. Arrr! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! They recover so nicely and gently, me hearties, t' only damage these rockets should ever sustain would be a CATO or havin' a clumsy nephew or dog destroy/step on them. Avast! It also allows us t' use t' A10-P motors Estes originally released for t' Blurzz Cars (not me cup o' tea..)

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:

• 3 rockets for t' price o' 1. Ahoy! Blimey! You can't beat that, no matter how you look at it.
• Also, no paintin' required. Aye aye! Great for constructin' while sittin' at home in t' evenin' without havin' t' head outside with a can o' paint.
• Great flyers. Only goes about 50 feet, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but here in New England, it is nice to fly a rocket and actually get it back.
• A Novelty. Well, blow me down! Begad! 3 UFO's with cool glide-tumble recovery landin' on wire landing pads! Cool!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5