Brief:
Design service let's you choose tube length, arrr, payload section, me hearties, choice o' 3 fin designs, shiver me timbers, nylon chute recovery system with Keelhaul®©™® lines & shock cord & Nomex® chute protector. Aye aye! Begad!

Construction:
T' Rocket Vision starter-level design service lets you choose from several options o' components t' build your own "Rugged Rocket" design. Begad! The choices are somewhat limited: choose your payload section (or omit a payload), choose from 3 airframe lengths (9+", 13", arrr, ya bilge rat, or 16"), me hearties, ya bilge rat, and choose G-10 fins from 3 designs (either 3, 4, or 6 fins can be ordered). There is but one choice for t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! Arrr! You can also opt t' add a recovery kit which includes a nylon chute, Nomex® chute protector, and Keelhaul®©™® shroud lines and shock cord. Finally, me hearties, arrr, you can also choose from two stock decal sheets if you want t' add some graphics t' your finished rocket. Blimey!

I chose t' build t' largest rocket possible by selectin' t' 5.25" payload and t' 16" airframe. Well, blow me down! Begad! For fins I selected t' 3-fin diamond design. I added t' recovery kit and decal sheet no. 2 t' complete me kit.

Note that t' Rocket Vision design service does nay include instructions. There are, me hearties, however, ya bilge rat, highly detailed assembly guides (includin' detailed instructions, arrr, shiver me timbers, with photos) available on t' Rocket Vision web pages for all of their rocket kits. Usin' these guides I was able t' easily construct me design.

I first used epoxy (30-minute, shiver me timbers, matey, although 5-minute would be better) t' secure t' motor mount tube into t' airframe tube. Ya scallywag! While this set I prepped t' G10 fins by roundin' the root edge and tail edge for aerodynamics. Ya scallywag! Next, I test-fit t' fins into the airframe fin slots and found that I needed t' sand t' slots and fin root edge slightly so that t' fins easily fit into t' slots without too much force. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I again used 30 minute epoxy t' affix t' fins and later for fillets. Ya scallywag!

I used t' online guide for t' Spitfire kit t' construct t' payload section. Begad! Well, blow me down! Blimey! This amounted t' securin' t' tube coupler and bulkhead t' t' payload section usin' epoxy. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' nose cone is secured t' t' payload section with a single screw - t' payload section comes pre-drilled for t' attachment screw. Arrr!

T' final step for t' rocket construction be t' addition o' t' plastic launch lug - I again used 30-minute epoxy t' attach and fillet t' lug. Avast, me proud beauty! The parachute, me bucko, Nomex® protector, and Keelhaul®©™® shock cord attachment instructions are described for each kit and are all t' same, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and quite straight-forward. Arrr!

Overall, me hearties, t' construction was a snap, ya bilge rat, t' on-line guides are an excellent resource. Avast, me proud beauty! I suppose it would be nice if some kind o' general construction instructions were included with t' kit however. Well, arrr, blow me down! T' rocket is definitely "rugged" if nay a little heavy for its size.

Finishing:
Finishin' t' rocket was a breeze. I first sanded t' entire rocket, shiver me timbers, especially the nose cone which has a fairly rough finish. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! I primed with Krylon sandable primer, me bucko, me bucko, sanded, ya bilge rat, primed again, arrr, and finish sanded. I chose red and white Krylon paint with a Sandhawk-like paint scheme. Ahoy! T' rocket finished beautifully, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and there was no worries about any tube seams or spiral!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I've only flown t' rocket once so far (stay tuned for updates). I chose a D13-5 24mm Aerotech RMS motor for t' launch. Ahoy! Begad! T' delay be just an educated guess, matey, I did nay simulate t' launch on RockSim as I did nay have time t' add the custom components (would be nice if Rocket Vision made a RockSim database similar t' PML!). Ya scallywag! T' choice turned out t' be very good. Blimey! T' flight be smooth to roughly 600 feet, ya bilge rat, with ejection at apogee. Begad! Arrr! T' rocket is quite stable, matey, given its length, but needs a bit more power t' get some altitude due t' its weight. I will try some more power on t' next flights pendin' simulation.

Recovery:
Unfortunately, shiver me timbers, recovery was a little fast as a couple o' shroud lines came undone (better go back t' me Boy Scout handbook and review me knots). The landin' be rough but as advertised t' rocket bein' "rugged" easily withstood t' impact. Ahoy! Blimey! T' Nomex® did and excellent job protectin' t' chute though, and it's ready t' go again.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
PROS: Fun t' design online, arrr, shiver me timbers, excellent component quality, shiver me timbers, durable, me hearties, me hearties, me bucko, very easy to finish. Blimey! CONS: Pricey for a smaller rocket, lack o' component choices. I am very much lookin' forward t' Rocket Vision's next stage o' online kit design.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5