Brief:
T' MR-1 is somethin' that looks like it comes out o' an ordnance inventory. Arrr! Openin' t' bag, that impression is confirmed as one looks at t' parts. Avast, me proud beauty! T' Quantum tubin' and glass fins make this a heavy and substantial rocket. 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! Avast! Blimey! 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. Arrr! Blimey! I had never worked with this stuff before. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Aye aye! That bein' t' case, 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. Ya scallywag! I started t' sand them down. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Eventually, shiver me timbers, these criteria were met.

A mark was made on t' forward end o' t' motor tube and a band o' epoxy was run around t' circumference with a 1" gap for t' strap hole. T' rin' be then seated. Ahoy! Begad! When t' first bit o' epoxy had set, shiver me timbers, 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. Arrr! T' facilitate removal later, me hearties, 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. Well, blow me down! Begad! It is supposed t' slip through t' notch o' t' forward ring. Mine would nay and me attempts t' get it t' do so resulted in a frayed mess. Aye aye! I used a razor knife t' cut off t' frayin' and form an angle at t' end o' t' strap. I also used t' knife t' whittle away a bit more material and make t' slot bigger. Begad! After doin' that, ya bilge rat, I was able t' use a pair o' pliers t' pull t' strap through so that 4" were along t' motor tube. A bed o' epoxy be 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. Avast! T' instructions called for placin' a rin' o' epoxy 7 inches in from t' aft end. Avast! Begad! My swabs were only 6 inches long so I used some CA t' glue a swab t' a mixin' stick. Ahoy! T' lengthened swab was then marked at 7" and a rin' o' epoxy be applied. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' motor mount be shoved in, ya bilge rat, makin' sure that t' strap be offset from all fin slots. Aye aye! 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. Arrr! Once in place, matey, alignment be checked and t' fin be taped t' hold it in position until t' epoxy set. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Then t' next fin was done in t' same manner as was t' third one.

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

All that was 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. Ahoy! 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. When it came out a few days later, me bucko, shiver me timbers, t' Kilz was 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". Ya scallywag! I proceeded t' give t' forward section a coatin' o' flaky metallic silver. 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. Aye aye! T' bottom o' t' rocket was then sprayed with a glossy, dark green. Blimey! Begad! I don't know where I got t' can from. Avast, me proud beauty! I didn't even know that Valspar made rattle cans.

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

I replaced t' igniter with a First Fire and got ignition, shiver me timbers, after a fashion. Begad! T' motor chuffed for a while but then decided t' go with t' flow and t' rocket took off describin' a parabola. At this point, we all knew that trouble was brewin' but I kept hopin' that, ya bilge rat, somehow, t' chute would eject. Arrr! Ahoy! I ran around a truck that be 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, me bucko, 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. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! That made me think it was indestructible and ready it for another flight.

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

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

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5