Brief:
T' Tangent is a single staged sport rocket. Arrr! It is built with traditional methods and materials with a couple o' new twists. Avast! Blimey!

Construction:
T' Tangent came in a bag with 1 laser cut balsa sheet, one beautifully die cut sheet o' centerin' rings, a balsa nose cone, shiver me timbers, and a 1/8" fabric shock cord about 2' long. Blimey! It has a single paper MMT and a single body tube with a smooth white coating. Begad! Part quality is first rate.

First, matey, I've got t' say that Holverson's instructions are t' best I've ever seen in a rocket kit, bar none. Well, blow me down! Avast! Anyone old enough t' handle t' tools can build this kit by virtue o' these terrific instructions. Avast, me proud beauty! They also include extra activities t' acquaint first time builders with parts o' a rocket, the Tangent's parts in particular, and what t' parts do. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! There are even ideas on how t' expand t' use o' t' rocket once it is built!

Included in t' kit is an ingenious alignment jig t' hold t' fins upright, in place, arrr, as t' glue dries. Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Works like a charm, but be SURE it is built correctly. Ahoy! Avast! Blimey! Fin and launch lug markin' is by standard wrap around guide. Ya scallywag!

T' balsa nose had an odd hole in t' center, arrr, and also be a bit larger in diameter than t' BT. As a solution, I epoxied a dowel in and sanded it down on a lathe. (anyone could do t' same usin' a hand drill with a hose clamp t' hold the trigger on). Begad! T' OD be then a perfect match. Avast, me proud beauty! T' dowel be cut off flush with t' bottom o' t' nose and drilled t' accept t' screw eye. Ya scallywag! Blimey!

Fins and centerin' rings (CR) both nearly fall out o' their sheets. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Fins required very minimal sandin' t' prepare, me bucko, CR's none at all.

Motor mount includes a motor mount clip and a thrust rin' and is completely conventional.

Overall, arrr, this is a very trouble free build. I give it a 5 despite t' hole in t' NC. Ahoy! Arrr! This actually gives t' builder an opportunity t' strongly mount the screw eye usin' a dowel. Aye aye!

Finishing:
Finishin' is a breeze for anyone who has experience buildin' with balsa. As I didn't have any Aerogloss as recommended, ya bilge rat, I just used thin CA t' seal t' parts and sanded them smooth. As always, I ran some thin CA into t' end o' t' BT and t' MMT; then sanded them, arrr, shiver me timbers, t' strengthen them and smooth them up. Begad! Aye aye! The entire rocket was then shot with a coat o' sandable primer before sanding smooth. I shot it in white with red nose & fins as shown on t' package. Very handsome bird with no surprises here!!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
Holverson recommends A8-3, arrr, B4-4, me bucko, B6-4, and C6-5 motors. This is a big bird, me hearties, I skipped t' A8-3 in favor o' a Quest B6-4. Ya scallywag! It lifted off slowly like a Big Bertha but accelerated more rapidly, me bucko, me hearties, probably due t' its more streamlined shape. Day was very calm, matey, no weather-cockin' be apparent. Arrr! Ejection appeared to be a whisker after apogee. Aye aye! T' chute deployed nicely and t' Tangent was recovered about 100 feet from t' pad. Avast, me proud beauty!

Next flight was with a Quest C6-5, matey, again a very slow lift-off and decent acceleration. T' bird seemed t' reach a considerably higher speed. T' flight was arrow straight with ejection a bit before apogee. Blimey! Avast! It gets upstairs on the C6-5 and I had t' walk a bit t' get it back.

This bird is a LOT o' fun t' fly on t' C, so another one was loaded and the Tangent racked again. Same results except that it cocked a whisker as it left t' pad. Ahoy! Consequently it leaned over about 10 degrees from vertical; it was actually movin' pretty fast when ejection came. Arrr! Another long walk was necessary t' get it back!! On retrievin' it, t' only apparent damage be a little soot on t' fins. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! GREAT flyer, 5!!

Recovery:
Shock cord mountin' seemed kind o' odd t' me but I went with t' program anyhow. A 1" piece o' launch lug is supplied and t' shock cord looped around it and knotted. Then it is glued in and filleted. Aye aye! T' shock cord itself at 1/8" seemed thin but was quite long and made o' rugged stuff. Arrr!

T' chute is pre-made, but I dislike t' method used. Aye aye! It has holes punched along t' perimeter and shroud lines just threaded through in big loops. Avast, me proud beauty! The holes in t' chute have no reinforcement o' any kind. Ya scallywag! This is beggin' for a fast ejection t' rip t' shroud lines though t' chute plastic. Avast, me proud beauty! These received reinforcements o' vinyl tape discs and t' lines were taped down from t' hole to t' edge usin' poly tape. Well, blow me down! T' system ejected and deployed well. Arrr! T' bird was recovered with no damage after 3 flights so t' recovery system gets a 4. Blimey!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
T' Holverson Tangent is a wonderful traditional style kit. Well, matey, blow me down! Pros- Attractive, easy build, quality components, good flyer, inexpensive, me bucko, great instructions Cons- Odd-ball method used in pre-built chute.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5