Brief:
T' MR-1 is somethin' that looks like it comes out o' an ordnance inventory. Avast! Openin' t' bag, that impression is confirmed as one looks at t' parts. Begad! T' Quantum tubin' and glass fins make this a heavy and substantial rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! 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. Arrr! 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. Begad! I had never worked with this stuff before. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! 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. Ya scallywag! That bein' t' case, me bucko, I gave it a good scrubbin' which removed t' high gloss.

T' kit came with two plywood centerin' rings. 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. Blimey! Begad! I started t' sand them down. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Accordin' t' t' instructions, me bucko, 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. Blimey! Aye aye! Eventually, 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. Avast! Blimey! T' rin' was then seated. When t' first bit o' epoxy had set, t' forward rin' be filleted, shiver me timbers, again leavin' a gap for t' strap.

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

T' next step was t' install t' motor mount into t' airframe. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' instructions called for placin' a rin' o' epoxy 7 inches in from t' aft end. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! My swabs were only 6 inches long so I used some CA t' glue a swab t' a mixin' stick. Arrr! Blimey! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' lengthened swab was then marked at 7" and a rin' o' epoxy was applied. T' motor mount be shoved in, arrr, makin' sure that t' strap was offset from all fin slots. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It was pushed in until t' end o' t' motor tube be 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. Once in place, alignment be checked and t' fin was taped t' hold it in position until t' epoxy set. Avast, me proud beauty! Then t' next fin was done in t' same manner as was t' third one.

With t' fins in place, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I used t' tape tabs put earlier on t' aft centerin' rin' t' pull t' rin' out. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! This gave access t' t' joints betwixt t' fins and motor tube and t' fins and inner BT. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Small batches o' epoxy were mixed and a long swab be used t' fillet t' inner and outer joints. Ahoy! Ahoy! At t' same time, 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! Avast, me proud beauty! My thought was that t' inner fillets did nay need t' be pretty and I be kind o' messy applyin' them. This led t' later problems in gettin' t' aft centerin' rin' back in place. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! I ground t' blobs down as best I could but t' rin' still wouldn't go in. Avast, me proud beauty! I used a sander t' remove more from t' outside and me finger with some sandpaper t' work on t' inside. Begad! Begad! It helped but nay enough. Ahoy! Then I got t' bonehead idea o' forcin' it. Blimey! I used a rubber headed mallet t' get it started and it did start. Avast, me proud beauty! It was also apparent that it be never comin' out again. I was committed. Blimey! Begad! Then I got dumber. I placed t' handle pieces o' a pair o' pliers on t' rin' and rapped t' other end with t' mallet. Avast! Ya scallywag! This drove t' rin' down but also split t' wood. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! It wasn't split enough t' be removed, arrr, but it be pretty awful looking. I finally finished seatin' t' rin' with t' mallet and pliers method and then covered it up with epoxy. It's ugly but should work. Ahoy! Besides, 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. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! This did nay take too long with a belt sander. Aye aye! Blimey! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! T' nylon strap attached t' t' motor mount be then fished through t' provided slot, passed through a D ring, matey, me hearties, 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, t' piston bulkhead was inserted into t' piston tube and epoxied into place with fillets on both sides.

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

T' transition was slid onto t' BT down t' t' fins. Begad! T' strap from t' nose cone be 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. Ya scallywag! T' transition was 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. A rin' o' epoxy was then applied at t' line and t' transition slid back into place. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, me bucko, 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. Begad! Avast! 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. Ya scallywag! When it came out a few days later, me bucko, 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, ya bilge rat, but nay like t' "publicity photo". Avast, me proud beauty! I proceeded t' give t' forward section a coatin' o' flaky metallic silver. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! 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! T' bottom o' t' rocket be then sprayed with a glossy, dark green. Aye aye! I don't know where I got t' can from. I didn't even know that Valspar made rattle cans.

When t' green had dried, me hearties, ya bilge rat, arrr, t' maskin' be peeled off and t' results inspected. Avast, me proud beauty! I was 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. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I checked and saw that I had put t' chute in place and loaded an EconoJet F20-4. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! It came with a Copperhead igniter, me bucko, o' course, me hearties, arrr, but I had never had too much trouble with those...until today. Avast! Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! It didn't even tickle t' motor.

I replaced t' igniter with a First Fire and got ignition, matey, after a fashion. Ya scallywag! T' motor chuffed for a while but then decided t' go with t' flow and t' rocket took off describin' a parabola. Begad! Begad! At this point, we all knew that trouble was brewin' but I kept hopin' that, matey, matey, somehow, matey, me bucko, t' chute would eject. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! 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 was 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. Begad! T' first really strange thin' is that t' rocket had no damage. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! That made me think it be indestructible and ready it for another flight.

This time I loaded a G38-4J. Arrr! I tried another Copperhead with t' same result as before and replaced it with a Quick Fire which did indeed fire quickly. T' rocket flew well, me bucko, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, went up, shiver me timbers, 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. Avast! Ignorin' me pleas, ya bilge rat, me bucko, it landed on t' wrong side o' t' fence.

Several o' us saw it land gently. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! I decided t' go on Monday t' reclaim t' rocket. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Alamo has always been very good about that. Begad! Blimey! At t' end o' t' day though, another club member was drivin' off and noticed their gate was open. Ya scallywag! 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. Ahoy! Now it had landed gently t' way it is supposed t' and it popped a fin. A video o' t' second flight can be seen here.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I like this strange little rocket. Begad! It will be fixed and fly again.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5