Brief:
This is a skill level 1, arrr, arrr, ya bilge rat, 24mm engine rocket that has a great look and some unique features. It is easy t' assemble and flies very well. Begad! T' instructions are very clear and detailed with very good illustrations. T' kit be a prize offered by Pemberton Technologies for t' July 2009 Best Rocket Competition on T' Rocketry Forum and won by one o' us (Katy). Aye aye! T' build and fly be a joint effort with Claude doin' t' build and Katy doin' t' finishin' and flights, me hearties, matey, and will be described accordingly.

• Construction:
  9" Plastic Nose Cone - 1
• 4" 24mm Motor Mount Tube - 1
• Centerin' Rings - 2
• 9" BT80 Body Tube - 1
• 1" BT80 Body Tube (tube fins) - 3
• 1/8" Laser Cut Balsa Fins - 3
• 5' Keelhaul®©™® Shock Cord - 1
• 16" Thermal Riders Parachute kit - 1
• Clay (for added nose cone weight)
• 1/4" x 1" Launch Lug - 1
• Wrap Around Fin Guides - 2
• Instructions
• Additional Components
• 3/8" scrap balsa
• 24" elastic shock cord
• 8.5" x 11" standard copy paper - 3 sheets

T' kit is contained in a clear plastic bag with an unassembled parachute in a separate bag that has it's own instructions. Begad! Arrr! T' BT80 Body Tube be slightly out o' shape when t' kit arrived but it didn't present any problems durin' t' build and eventually righted itself. Ya scallywag! I've read about PemTech 'Destructions' in different EMRR reviews and t' 'Destructions' for t' Screamin' Green Meanie lived up t' their reputation. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! They are well written with good illustrations and are pretty funny. Ya scallywag! Although Katy didn't appreciate t' clay snake gobblin' up t' cute, me hearties, fluffy and tasty bunny> You'll have t' buy t' kit and read for yourself.

T' body tubes are marked first with t' two fin markin' guides - one for t' main body tube and one for the three fin tubes. I then filled in t' spirals with diluted Elmer's Sandable Wood Filler and sanded t' next day. While t' wood filler was drying, arrr, ya bilge rat, I drilled a 1/2" hole in t' base o' t' nose cone, shiver me timbers, inserted t' clay and tapped it in t' tip o' t' nose cone with a 3/8" dowel and let that dry for a few days. I then sealed t' hole with a piece of maskin' tape followed by a coatin' o' CA. Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! T' motor mount was next, which is just gluin' on t' centerin' rings, arrr, as thar be no thrust rin' or retainer clip. I'm used t' both, me hearties, shiver me timbers, so this be different for me; but thar were good instructions on how t' create an aft and forward retainer usin' tape. Blimey! Blimey! So, arrr, I went with it. Avast, me proud beauty! T' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is tied on t' t' engine mount just below t' fore centerin' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! I did nay feel comfortable with using just t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord. Avast, me proud beauty! So I tied on a 24" elastic shock cord t' t' other end and used a swivel t' attach t' shock cord to t' nose cone.

I did reinforce t' centerin' rings by gluin' on rectangular supports betwixt t' rings and at t' fore end usin' scrap pieces o' balsa. I did nay put t' supports aft o' t' lower ring, as this space would be needed t' tape t' engine. I'm nay sure if t' additional support was needed but I had seen this technique described and wanted t' give it a try. I made one more modification, arrr, which was also somethin' I had seen described and wanted t' try (Katy be nay happy that I be experimentin' with her rocket!). Arrr! Begad! I glued on paper supports t' t' balsa fins. Begad! Begad! I cut out 6 pieces o' paper just larger than t' fins themselves. Avast, me proud beauty! I then applied wood glue t' one side o' a fin and wiped off as much as I could with my finger. Well, blow me down! Begad! I placed t' cut sheet o' paper on that side and pressed and smoothed it with me finger and a wood dowel. Begad! Begad! I repeated this for t' other side and then for t' other two balsa fins. I let t' fins dry overnight. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' paper-coated fins weren't perfect but came out pretty good with a minimal amount o' ripples. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! I cut off t' excess paper with a knife and sanded t' edges smooth. T' sandin' probably took a little too much off o' t' notch on t' balsa fins that is there t' accept t' tube fins, me hearties, shiver me timbers, as t' tube fins fit loosely onto t' balsa fins. Blimey! T' remedy this, I used a small piece of maskin' tape t' hold t' tube and balsa fins in place while t' glue was drying. After t' glue dried, I removed the tape and filleted t' tube fin/balsa fin attachment site for one side only - t' side that would be away from t' body tube. While t' glue was dryin' on t' fins, me bucko, arrr, I inserted t' engine mount into t' body tube as described.

T' attach t' fins, I used Standard Rockets Assembly Tool (version 1.1). I'm nay goin' t' go into detail here on how it is used except t' say that nay usin' a thrust rin' in t' engine mount came in handy as I was able t' use the Assembly Tool with t' rocket inverted. Blimey! Avast! A more detailed description will appear elsewhere. After t' glue dried, I filleted each fin with 5-minute epoxy. I continued t' fillet line through t' tube fins (filletin' t' tube fin/balsa fin attachment site nay filleted earlier). Aye aye! Blimey! T' next day I attached t' launch lugs as described.

Finishing:
I (Katy) gave t' entire rocket one coat o' sandin' sealer followed by light sanding. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! I then gave it two coats of Rust-Oleum White Primer, sandin' betwixt each coat with 320 grit sand paper. Avast! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I masked off t' balsa fins and painted t' body and tube fins with Design Master Terra Rosa, four coats. Aye aye! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I used a brush t' get t' inside o' t' tube fins. T' balsa fins were next with Design Master Violet, also four coats. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I painted t' underside with a brush with three coats o' Testors Gloss Black. T' finish for all three paints came out smooth and so I did nay sand in betwixt coats or after t' final coat. Ahoy! Blimey! After all o' t' maskin' tape was removed thar were two areas that needed some touch-up with Terra Rosa and this was done by brush also. Begad! Blimey! I put on two decals - Screamin Meanie. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' decals were made in MS Word and printed on Laser Decal Paper (DecalPaper.com) Since t' rocket wasn't green, me bucko, we left out t' 'Green' o' 'Screamin Green Meanie'. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' purple letterin' was chosen t' try t' match t' fin color. Ahoy! Blimey! Finally t' rocket received four coats of Krylon Clear Coat with wet sandin' before t' final coat.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' maiden flight took place at a CMASS October launch. T' first flight was with an Estes D12-5. Begad! Arrr! I taped t' engine t' t' exposed section o' t' engine mount tube with maskin' tape as described in t' instructions. Aye aye! I used one sheet of waddin' placed inside t' upper end o' t' engine mount tube and a 9" Nomex® cloth t' protect t' parachute. Avast! Aye aye! I thought t' 16" parachute supplied with t' rocket would be too small, me hearties, matey, so I substituted an 18" parachute. Avast! Aye aye! T' flight was great. Begad! It went straight up. T' nose cone ejected at apogee but the parachute didn't come out and came it tumbled down. T' nose cone stuck about an inch into t' ground but thar be no damage. Arrr! I think thar was just too much stuff for t' ejection charge t' push everythin' out. Ya scallywag! T' next flight be at t' next CMASS launch. It be a windy day so we went with an Estes D12-3 (taped as before) and a 24" parachute. This time we just put in several sheets o' wadding. Well, arrr, blow me down! This was another nice flight and this time t' parachute deployed. It landed a little hard (probably because it be windy), me hearties, but thar was no damage.

Recovery:

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Pros:

This is a very nice skill level 1 kit and serves as a good transition t' skill level 2. Aye aye! It has a unique look to it, shiver me timbers, easy t' assemble and gives great flights. Ya scallywag! T' instructions are very clear with good illustrations.

Cons:

A larger parachute than t' 16" one supplied would work better and one o' us (Katy) didn't like t' snake eatin' t' bunny.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5