T' kit arrived in good shape. Here are t' parts all laid out. Begad!

This is a review o' t' first production Derecho kit from Starlight Rocketry. Begad! Begad! It is a single 18mm powered bird with 6 tube fins.

I started by readin' through t' 3 pages o' instructions. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Illustrations appeared t' be hand drawn but that is by no means a bad thing. Blimey! They were very well done. Aye aye! T' instructions over all were straight forward and easy t' understand.

T' first step be t' assembly o' a standard 18mm motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! No need for pics...I think we have all built 1 or 2. Well, matey, blow me down!

Next we work on t' 6 tube fins. Avast! These are glued together in pairs. Begad! Well, blow me down! I gave each 3" tube a light scuffing before I glued them together. Aye aye!

Now we move on t' some recovery system work. Well, blow me down! Blimey! This rocket has a transition and that's where t' screw eye goes. Here is where we hit t' first small snag. T' transition already has a hole in t' center...and it's way too big for the teeny tiny screw eye supplied by Starlight. No big deal...i'll just move off t' t' side a bit. Begad! Blimey!

Motor mount installation was next and here was another slight snag. More o' an incomplete sentence really. Ya scallywag!

Quote from step 4.

Quote:"Apply a bead o' glue about 1/2" or so inside one end o' t' 13 3/8" long BT10 tube. Aye aye! Aye aye! Then take t' motor mount assembly and smoothly slide it in with t' thrust rin' facin' t' tube end until t' 2 tube ends"

That's it. Ahoy! I am assumin' it should end with "are flush" or "near flush". Blimey! Aye aye! I built mine so it hung out 1/4" for easier access. Arrr!

Tube fin installation....T' tube fins are installed a pair at a time flush with t' end o' t' body tube. Begad! Arrr!

Now here is where I went bad...I deviated from t' instructions!!! But only a little bit. Ahoy! Instead o' puttin' the launch lug ahead o' t' tube fins I actually put it betwixt a couple. Ya scallywag! It just looks better. Sorry Bob!!

I had no interest in payloadin' so I went ahead and glued t' transition and t' nose cone into t' upper body tube. Great balsa cone and transition BTW. Arrr! Blimey! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey!

All that's left at this point is t' install t' shock cord mount and assemble and install t' chute.

Starlight uses t' 3 hole glue in mount. I like it better than t' trifold system but I still prefer t' attach a piece o' kevlar t' t' motor mount and then tie t' elastic cord t' t' kevlar. Ya scallywag! I built this one as per the instructions and it seems very sturdy. Ahoy! Well, blow me down!

I then assembled and installed t' chute. Begad! T' supplied chute is a 12" mylar and is perfectly suited t' this bird. Ya scallywag! Avast!

Overall I would give t' instructions and components a 4 out o' 5. Aye aye! I am sure Bob will take care o' t' issues noted in this review. Ya scallywag! On t' paint!

OOPS...almost forgot...here she is "nekkid". Ahoy! Well...almost nekkid...I had started masking. Arrr!

T' short and sweet is that she flew great on both a B6-4 and C6-5 though t' C6 put her out o' sight. Next time she launches on a C it will be with a streamer! Flight is 5 out o' 5 all t' way.