Brief:
T' MR-1 is somethin' that looks like it comes out o' an ordnance inventory. Avast, me proud beauty! Openin' t' bag, that impression is confirmed as one looks at t' parts. Arrr! T' Quantum tubin' and glass fins make this a heavy and substantial rocket. Begad! T' NC makes it even more so.

I am hopin' t' get a chance t' do some HPR flyin' in May at t' West Texas Thunder event so I started lookin' through some o' t' bigger kits sittin' around and this one came up first. Avast, me proud beauty! Mine came with a 29mm mount but it is available with a 38mm mount as well.

Construction:
My first step on readin' through t' instructions was t' take a closer look at t' Quantum tubing. Avast! Avast! I had never worked with this stuff before. Well, blow me down! Begad! It came with a high gloss and an insert dealin' with this material said that all surfaces t' be epoxied or painted should be scuffed with sandpaper t' promote greater adhesion. Avast, me proud beauty! That bein' t' case, ya bilge rat, I gave it a good scrubbin' which removed t' high gloss.

T' kit came with two plywood centerin' rings. Arrr! One o' them has a slot t' accommodate t' nylon harness. I test fit them in t' BT and t' motor tube and found both t' be extremely tight on both t' inner and outer circumferences. Begad! I started t' sand them down. Avast! Accordin' t' t' instructions, a bit o' tightness is desirable in t' forward rin' (the one with t' slot) but t' aft one should be loose enough t' slip off without too much trouble. Begad! Arrr! Eventually, matey, these criteria were met.

A mark be made on t' forward end o' t' motor tube and a band o' epoxy be run around t' circumference with a 1" gap for t' strap hole. Blimey! T' rin' was then seated. When t' first bit o' epoxy had set, t' forward rin' be filleted, ya bilge rat, again leavin' a gap for t' strap.

T' aft rin' be then slipped on but nay epoxied. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! T' facilitate removal later, t' instructions directed that I attach 3 strips o' cellophane tape t' ring.

T' kit uses a piece o' flat nylon strap for t' recovery harness. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! It is supposed t' slip through t' notch o' t' forward ring. Begad! Avast! Mine would nay and me attempts t' get it t' do so resulted in a frayed mess. I used a razor cutlass t' cut off t' frayin' and form an angle at t' end o' t' strap. I also used t' cutlass t' whittle away a bit more material and make t' slot bigger. Well, blow me down! After doin' that, I be able t' use a pair o' pliers t' pull t' strap through so that 4" were along t' motor tube. Aye aye! A bed o' epoxy was laid down and then t' strap be embedded in t' epoxy and held down with maskin' tape.

T' next step was t' install t' motor mount into t' airframe. T' instructions called for placin' a rin' o' epoxy 7 inches in from t' aft end. Well, blow me down! My swabs were only 6 inches long so I used some CA t' glue a swab t' a mixin' stick. Begad! Blimey! T' lengthened swab be then marked at 7" and a rin' o' epoxy be applied. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' motor mount be shoved in, makin' sure that t' strap was offset from all fin slots. Ya scallywag! It be pushed in until t' end o' t' motor tube was flush with t' airframe.

Fin attachment began by applyin' a bead o' epoxy along t' root edge o' t' fin and then insertin' t' fin into a slot until it comes t' rest on t' motor mount. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! Once in place, me bucko, alignment was checked and t' fin was taped t' hold it in position until t' epoxy set. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Then t' next fin was done in t' same manner as be t' third one.

With t' fins in place, arrr, ya bilge rat, I used t' tape tabs put earlier on t' aft centerin' rin' t' pull t' rin' out. Aye aye! Begad! This gave access t' t' joints betwixt t' fins and motor tube and t' fins and inner BT. Blimey! Begad! Small batches o' epoxy were mixed and a long swab be used t' fillet t' inner and outer joints. At t' same time, shiver me timbers, matey, t' outside o' t' BT was filleted t' t' fins. T' epoxy fillets were smoothed by a glove clad finger dipped in alcohol.

At this point I need t' confess up t' a blunder. Well, blow me down! My thought was that t' inner fillets did nay need t' be pretty and I was kind o' messy applyin' them. Arrr! This led t' later problems in gettin' t' aft centerin' rin' back in place. Avast! I ground t' blobs down as best I could but t' rin' still wouldn't go in. Ya scallywag! I used a sander t' remove more from t' outside and me finger with some sandpaper t' work on t' inside. Aye aye! Blimey! It helped but nay enough. Begad! Then I got t' bonehead idea o' forcin' it. Begad! I used a rubber headed mallet t' get it started and it did start. Aye aye! Begad! It was also apparent that it be never comin' out again. I be committed. Then I got dumber. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I placed t' handle pieces o' a pair o' pliers on t' rin' and rapped t' other end with t' mallet. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! This drove t' rin' down but also split t' wood. Blimey! It wasn't split enough t' be removed, but it was pretty awful looking. Avast! Avast! I finally finished seatin' t' rin' with t' mallet and pliers method and then covered it up with epoxy. Blimey! It's ugly but should work. Well, blow me down! Besides, shiver me timbers, arrr, people have no business lookin' up t' behind o' strange rockets.

Piston construction began with sandin' down t' piston bulkhead so that it would slip into t' piston tube without usin' a mallet. This did nay take too long with a belt sander. Aye aye! T' nylon strap attached t' t' motor mount was then fished through t' provided slot, ya bilge rat, passed through a D ring, and then passed back through t' slot and snugged up. Epoxy was then used t' bond t' strap in place.

When t' epoxy around t' strap had dried, matey, me bucko, me bucko, t' piston bulkhead be inserted into t' piston tube and epoxied into place with fillets on both sides.

T' transition section still needed t' be put together. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! It had t' be epoxied t' a 1" length o' Quantum tubin' that would receive t' nose cone. I scuffed up t' plastic with sandpaper and t' epoxied it into place.

T' transition was slid onto t' BT down t' t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! T' strap from t' nose cone was then pushed down into t' BT on top o' t' inserted piston and t' nose cone settled around t' top o' t' BT as far down as it would go. Blimey! Aye aye! T' transition be then moved up until it housed t' lower end o' t' cone and a line was marked on t' BT and t' transition slid back down. Aye aye! A rin' o' epoxy was then applied at t' line and t' transition slid back into place. Ahoy! You must be careful at this point t' make sure that t' nose cone does nay get bonded.

All that be left, except for t' lug, was t' attach t' strap from t' nose cone t' t' top o' t' piston.

Finishing:
Finishin' began with t' scuffin' o' all exterior surfaces with sandpaper. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I started with 220# and then went t' 400# because I didn't like some o' t' gouges.

Then it was into t' booth for t' first o' 2 coats o' Kilz. Begad! When it came out a few days later, t' Kilz be lightly sanded and I masked off t' part o' t' rocket from t' transition aft.

I am nay overly fond o' flat paints so I decided t' go this somethin' similar too, but nay like t' "publicity photo". Avast! I proceeded t' give t' forward section a coatin' o' flaky metallic silver. Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! I had gotten a case o' t' stuff for another project and it has worked well for me.

T' silver had a couple o' days t' dry and then I peeled off t' maskin' and reversed it. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! T' bottom o' t' rocket was then sprayed with a glossy, dark green. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! I don't know where I got t' can from. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! I didn't even know that Valspar made rattle cans.

When t' green had dried, t' maskin' was peeled off and t' results inspected. Blimey! I be satisfied and needed only t' get t' work on t' lug.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
T' first flight o' t' MR-1 was a comic tragedy o' errors. Avast! Blimey! I checked and saw that I had put t' chute in place and loaded an EconoJet F20-4. Blimey! Aye aye! It came with a Copperhead igniter, o' course, arrr, but I had never had too much trouble with those...until today. Ahoy! Ahoy! It didn't even tickle t' motor.

I replaced t' igniter with a First Fire and got ignition, me bucko, arrr, after a fashion. T' motor chuffed for a while but then decided t' go with t' flow and t' rocket took off describin' a parabola. Arrr! At this point, we all knew that trouble be brewin' but I kept hopin' that, somehow, matey, me hearties, t' chute would eject. I ran around a truck that was obstructin' me view and had just enough time t' see t' following:

1. T' ejection charge fired about 10 feet off t' ground.
2. T' chute be in t' tube but had nay been tied into t' harness (It flutters nicely, shiver me timbers, by t' way)
3. T' rocket takes a core sample.

Some o' t' excitement can be seen here on video.

Things got stranger after that. T' first really strange thin' is that t' rocket had no damage. Blimey! That made me think it was indestructible and ready it for another flight.

This time I loaded a G38-4J. Ahoy! Blimey! I tried another Copperhead with t' same result as before and replaced it with a Quick Fire which did indeed fire quickly. Arrr! Blimey! T' rocket flew well, went up, sounded good, t' piston deployed t' chute just t' way it was supposed t' and t' rocket came driftin' down. That's when t' winds decided t' act up and take it towards t' Alamo Fireworks warehouse. Ignorin' me pleas, me bucko, me bucko, me hearties, it landed on t' wrong side o' t' fence.

Several o' us saw it land gently. Blimey! Begad! I decided t' go on Monday t' reclaim t' rocket. Avast! Alamo has always been very good about that. Begad! At t' end o' t' day though, another club member was drivin' off and noticed their gate be open. Blimey! Well, blow me down! He retrieved his own rocket and me MR-1.

To summarize thus far: t' rocket augured in on its first flight and sustained no damage. Arrr! Now it had landed gently t' way it is supposed t' and it popped a fin. Arrr! Aye aye! A video o' t' second flight can be seen here.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I like this strange little rocket. Arrr! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! It will be fixed and fly again.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5