Brief:
This is a skill level 1, arrr, arrr, 24mm engine rocket that has a great look and some unique features. Begad! Well, blow me down! It is easy t' assemble and flies very well. Ya scallywag! T' instructions are very clear and detailed with very good illustrations. Begad! 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). T' build and fly was a joint effort with Claude doin' t' build and Katy doin' t' finishin' and flights, arrr, me hearties, 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. Ya scallywag! T' BT80 Body Tube was slightly out o' shape when t' kit arrived but it didn't present any problems durin' t' build and eventually righted itself. I've read about PemTech 'Destructions' in different EMRR reviews and t' 'Destructions' for t' Screamin' Green Meanie lived up t' their reputation. Avast! Ya scallywag! They are well written with good illustrations and are pretty funny. Although Katy didn't appreciate t' clay snake gobblin' up t' cute, matey, 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. Begad! I then filled in t' spirals with diluted Elmer's Sandable Wood Filler and sanded t' next day. Begad! Blimey! While t' wood filler was drying, arrr, I drilled a 1/2" hole in t' base o' t' nose cone, 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. Well, blow me down! I then sealed t' hole with a piece of maskin' tape followed by a coatin' o' CA. Begad! Blimey! T' motor mount be next, which is just gluin' on t' centerin' rings, matey, as thar be no thrust rin' or retainer clip. I'm used t' both, so this was different for me; but thar were good instructions on how t' create an aft and forward retainer usin' tape. Ya scallywag! So, matey, I went with it. Begad! Blimey! T' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is tied on t' t' engine mount just below t' fore centerin' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I did nay feel comfortable with using just t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord. Avast, me hearties, 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. Avast!

I did reinforce t' centerin' rings by gluin' on rectangular supports betwixt t' rings and at t' fore end usin' scrap pieces o' balsa. Begad! I did nay put t' supports aft o' t' lower ring, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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, me bucko, ya bilge rat, which was also somethin' I had seen described and wanted t' try (Katy was nay happy that I was experimentin' with her rocket!). Well, blow me down! I glued on paper supports t' t' balsa fins. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I placed t' cut sheet o' paper on that side and pressed and smoothed it with me finger and a wood dowel. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! I repeated this for t' other side and then for t' other two balsa fins. I let t' fins dry overnight. T' paper-coated fins weren't perfect but came out pretty good with a minimal amount o' ripples. Begad! I cut off t' excess paper with a knife and sanded t' edges smooth. Arrr! T' sandin' probably took a little too much off o' t' notch on t' balsa fins that is there t' accept t' tube fins, arrr, as t' tube fins fit loosely onto t' balsa fins. Begad! 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. Ahoy! After t' glue dried, me bucko, ya bilge rat, matey, 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. Arrr! Ya scallywag! While t' glue was dryin' on t' fins, matey, shiver me timbers, I inserted t' engine mount into t' body tube as described.

T' attach t' fins, I used Standard Rockets Assembly Tool (version 1.1). Arrr! 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. Arrr! Avast! A more detailed description will appear elsewhere. Begad! After t' glue dried, ya bilge rat, I filleted each fin with 5-minute epoxy. Well, blow me down! I continued t' fillet line through t' tube fins (filletin' t' tube fin/balsa fin attachment site nay filleted earlier). Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Ahoy! Aye aye! I then gave it two coats of Rust-Oleum White Primer, me bucko, sandin' betwixt each coat with 320 grit sand paper. Aye aye! I masked off t' balsa fins and painted t' body and tube fins with Design Master Terra Rosa, matey, me hearties, four coats. I used a brush t' get t' inside o' t' tube fins. T' balsa fins were next with Design Master Violet, matey, ya bilge rat, also four coats. Avast, me proud beauty! I painted t' underside with a brush with three coats o' Testors Gloss Black. Begad! T' finish for all three paints came out smooth and so I did nay sand in betwixt coats or after t' final coat. Avast, me proud beauty! After all o' t' maskin' tape be removed thar were two areas that needed some touch-up with Terra Rosa and this was done by brush also. Aye aye! Aye aye! I put on two decals - Screamin Meanie. Aye aye! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! T' decals were made in MS Word and printed on Laser Decal Paper (DecalPaper.com) Since t' rocket wasn't green, we left out t' 'Green' o' 'Screamin Green Meanie'. Ya scallywag! T' purple letterin' was chosen t' try t' match t' fin color. 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. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' first flight was with an Estes D12-5. I taped t' engine t' t' exposed section o' t' engine mount tube with maskin' tape as described in t' instructions. Aye aye! Blimey! 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. Ahoy! Blimey! I thought t' 16" parachute supplied with t' rocket would be too small, so I substituted an 18" parachute. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' flight was great. It went straight up. Blimey! Blimey! T' nose cone ejected at apogee but the parachute didn't come out and came it tumbled down. Begad! Blimey! T' nose cone stuck about an inch into t' ground but thar was no damage. Arrr! Blimey! I think thar was just too much stuff for t' ejection charge t' push everythin' out. Begad! Blimey! T' next flight be at t' next CMASS launch. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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. Arrr! Blimey! This be another nice flight and this time t' parachute deployed. It landed a little hard (probably because it was windy), but thar be 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. Avast! Avast! It has a unique look to it, shiver me timbers, easy t' assemble and gives great flights. Ahoy! 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