T' kit includes a 18" BT55 main body-tube, shiver me timbers, a 14" BT80 surround-tube, shiver me timbers, three (3) ¼" balsa fins, me hearties, and a sharp-point plastic nose cone. Blimey! Aye aye! It also comes with an 18mm motor mount with retention and 1/16" plywood centerin' rings. Avast, me proud beauty! A 48" elastic shock cord and a 14" plastic parachute with "Hunky-Duty" shroud lines (1/16" nylon) make up t' recovery system. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! A 3/16" launch lug and some decal tape wrapped up t' kit.

CONSTRUCTION:

T' kit came packaged in a plastic bag with a paper label that described t' kit, contents, matey, tools needed and recommended motors with predicted altitudes. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions added another 3 pages o' assembly information and templates and a 4th page o' general buildin' and flight preparation tips that can be applied t' any rocket. T' instructions included diagrams that help in assembly and each main step had t' necessary sub-steps t' allow for a smooth and logic build. Blimey!

Assemble o' t' motor mount, me hearties, matey, shock cord mount (3-fold paper method), ya bilge rat, and fin attachment are all straight forward. Aye aye! T' real fun begins in t' additional o' t' "Tube". Begad! Blimey! Here you are instructed t' use a markin' guide and t' mark t' BT80 tube and then cut t' slots that allow t' tube t' pass over t' fins. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' instructions say, arrr, "If done correctly, t' slots will nay only mate perfectly with t' fins from t' previous step, ya bilge rat, but will partially self-align".

Once t' slots are cut in t' surround-tube, then this is slid over t' rocket and down onto t' slots, arrr, shiver me timbers, maintainin' equal distance from t' inner body-tube. Avast, me proud beauty! A concentric alignment disk is provided, me bucko, which is cut from page 3 o' t' instructions. Begad! Avast! This is slide over t' top o' t' body-tube t' ensure t' surround-tube is equally spaced at t' end opposite o' t' fins. It would have been nice t' have t' concentric alignment disk a bit stiffer, arrr, like from cardstock, matey, but t' paper one worked. Avast, me proud beauty! T' objective is t' then put a few "tack" drops o' glue on t' fins and surround-tube once aligned. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Only a few drops so that if a mistake is made it could be cut-out and attempted again. Aye aye! Once set, me bucko, ya bilge rat, me bucko, then fin fillets are applied.

Durin' this assembly step is where you are t' attach t' Launch Lug t' an outside fin fillet, ya bilge rat, however, ya bilge rat, I didn’t like t' idea o' me launch lug in showin' on t' outside and I must have lost t' 3/16" lug provided. What I did be t' take two 1/8" lugs and glue them on t' inside body-tube, me bucko, hidden by t' outside surround-tube. I used a 1/8" rod t' maintain alignment onto t' body-tube. Avast!

T' parachute assembly was next on t' build list. Blimey! It consisted o' a heavy-duty (trash bag) black plastic hexagon parachute, ya bilge rat, six (6) tape dots and a length o' 1/16" nylon shroud line that is cut into three (3) equal pieces. Aye aye! T' shroud lines were definitely sturdy or as SFM says it, shiver me timbers, "Hunky-Duty". Durin' this phase, t' instructions recommend purchasin' t' Klutz Book o' Knots t' gain descriptions o' t' Prusik knot (#14) and t' Harness Loop (#21) which would both be good knots for securin' t' shroud lines t' t' parachute. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions tell t' builder t' simply knot and glue at each tape junction.

T' instructions then describe a simple finishin' technique with flat black paint and suggest usin' t' orange and yellow decal tape provided. Begad! Blimey! It also mentions usin' trim tape, matey, arrr, that did nay come with me kit. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I painted me T' Tube gloss black. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I did nay like workin' with this decal tape as I found it extremely thin which caused bubbles when I placed it. Avast! Blimey!

Overall, matey, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 3 ½ points. Begad! Aye aye! T' instructions are adequate for someone with a couple o' rocket builds prior. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' components are o' good quality. I would like t' see a thicker concentric rin' and t' old 3-fold paper method should probably go t' a Keelhaul®©™ t' motor mount method. Ahoy! Did nay like t' decal tape at all. Ya scallywag!

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

T' recommend (or not) motors that SFM outlines are as follows:

• B6-2 – 150 feet – Pathetic, ya bilge rat, nay recommend
• C6-5 – 400 feet – Pretty cool flights
• D13-4 – 700 feet – Excellent flights, our favorite combo
• D21-4 – 700 feet – Excellent flights
• D24-4 – 700 feet – Rockin’ flights on blue flame!

My first flight be on t' B6-2 and it be more than "pathetic" but nay because o' t' kit. Avast! I was at me newly found flyin' field and was in a big hurry t' get a flight off and capture it on camera. Well, arrr, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I missed t' shot, shiver me timbers, it be a low altitude flight, me bucko, and t' rocket fell swiftly after ejection. Avast! While falling, me bucko, me hearties, I immediately remembered that I didn’t put in any wadding. Ya scallywag! T' parachute as melted together so that it was unusable. On t' other hand t' "Hunky-Duty" shroud lines looked great. Well, blow me down!

I had a 3" x 2’ streamer so I threw that on T' Tube (and used waddin' this time) and installed a C6-3 (note: above, I believe SFM’s recommendation o' a C6-5 should be a C6-3). Blimey! T' flight on t' C6-3 was perfect with a slow lift-off, straight flight and ejection right at apogee. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Descent on t' streamer be a bit fast but nay enough t' cause damage. Avast! Begad! In fact, I like t' streamer and will probably go t' a 4 foot one. Well, blow me down!

T' third flight be on a later day and I used t' C6-3 again. Blimey! Another very nice flight, although ejection was very near apogee but still nose cone up. Ahoy! Upon t' descent with t' streamer it seemed like t' air passin' through t' tube be tryin' t' make if fly around. Ahoy! Blimey! It didn't fall straight it sorta flew left then turned and flew right and then etc all on a fairly rapid descent rate. Arrr! Avast! I'm sure t' parachute would have prevented that, but I like t' rate with t' streamer.

Usin' me idea o' hidin' t' Launch Lug on t' main body-tube verses on t' outside o' t' surround-tube worked fine and looks great. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I’d recommend this change. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey!

My next planned flight will be at NARAM on a D21-4 that I anticipate bein' a great flight. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Watch me flight logs!

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I would rate this kit 4 points. It does look neat on t' pad and flying. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! It gives slow lift-offs on t' B6 and C6 t' allow some time t' enjoy lift off. Well, blow me down! It is nay a maximum altitude performer, arrr, me hearties, but that isn't me flyin' game anyway. I'm sure t' parachute would have worked fine and it was much sturdier than an Estes parachute. I feel SFM made a mistake on t' C6 motor delay. Well, blow me down! Avast!

Overall, T' Tube is a unique lookin' rocket that most builders could assemble and enjoy. Ahoy! I would suggest hidin' t' launch lug like I did and by all means use waddin' (silly me)! It is a nice small field rocket usin' your Estes B6 and C6 motors which allows for a greater range o' fliers t' enjoy it. Ya scallywag! I'm pleased with t' purchase and it makes a nice addition t' me fleet. I give t' kit an OVERALL ratin' o' 4 points.

Now, ya bilge rat, after writin' this review and enjoyin' t' kit, I've just discovered that Suborbital Flyin' Machines is no longer in business! Bummer, I guess thar won't be any T' Tube II's. Avast! If you hurry, Kevin at Discount Rocketry says he still has a few.