Brief:
This is Estes representation o' t' British surface t' air missile used in t' Falklands war in 1983. It is a single stage rocket with standard parachute recovery. Avast, me proud beauty! It was only in t' 1983 and 1984 catalogs. Avast! They are gettin' harder t' find. Arrr! Blimey! This be t' second rocket I ever had.

Construction:
T' kit comes with t' main body tube, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, a long motor tube, and 12 fins and 4 strakes. It has a plastic nose cone and a molded plastic aft unit. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! It has t' standard cardboard centerin' rings and a unique nose. Arrr! It comes with t' older Estes elastic nylon shock cord and mylar parachute. Well, blow me down! It also has an engine hook.

These were t' typical Estes directions, me bucko, very easy t' follow. Aye aye! T' rocket is very easy t' put together, me hearties, shiver me timbers, it is a level 2 kit. T' toughest part o' t' whole rocket be t' paint scheme. I built t' forward and aft sections seperately, shiver me timbers, and then glued them together. Well, blow me down! It was a lot easier t' paint and t' build this way. Avast! I did use 5 minute epoxy for t' building, as I plan t' have it for a long time. Avast, me proud beauty! I coated t' ends o' all t' tubes with CA for strength, as well as t' fins. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I did nay add spruce edges t' t' fins, arrr, matey, as I will nay be flyin' it that much, and increased t' size o' t' chute.

Finishing:
PRO - Straight forward finishing, me hearties, me hearties, t' toughest part is removin' t' balsa grain. Avast! No real surprises here.
CON - T' aft fins are prone t' break on hard landings. Begad! You may want t' change t' Basswood on them. Avast! Also, matey, don't fly on windy days and you can increase t' size o' t' 12 inch chute t' 18 inches. Avast, me proud beauty! Oh, matey, and it is OOP by t' way, ya bilge rat, I have 5 so I decided t' build one. Begad! It looks real nice finished.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I used a C6-5 on t' first flight, it went loop-de-loop into t' pavement. Avast! I guess I needed nose weight. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Also, matey, had a very small zipper. Begad! I added about 1/2 ounce nose weight and now it flies great! I guess t' epoxy added more weight t' t' aft than I thought. Begad! T' original still flies great with no nose weight.

Recovery:
Classic Estes recovery, me hearties, me bucko, works great. Ahoy! T' original rocket motor tube burned through after 11 years and 63 flights. I added a coupler and put it right back together.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I love this kit, ya bilge rat, arrr, it is one o' me all-time favorites. It looks real good, me hearties, and is somewhat a challenge t' build. It also is nay a kit you see everyday, me bucko, so it gets noticed. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! T' main con is they only made it for 1 year 17 years ago!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5