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

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

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

Included in t' kit is an ingenious alignment jig t' hold t' fins upright, in place, shiver me timbers, as t' glue dries. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Works like a charm, but be SURE it is built correctly. Well, blow me down! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Fin and launch lug markin' is by standard wrap around guide. Avast! Begad!

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

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

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

Overall, me bucko, matey, this is a very trouble free build. Begad! Blimey! I give it a 5 despite t' hole in t' NC. This actually gives t' builder an opportunity t' strongly mount the screw eye usin' a dowel. Blimey!

Finishing:
Finishin' is a breeze for anyone who has experience buildin' with balsa. Ahoy! As I didn't have any Aerogloss as recommended, arrr, me hearties, I just used thin CA t' seal t' parts and sanded them smooth. Begad! As always, matey, I ran some thin CA into t' end o' t' BT and t' MMT; then sanded them, t' strengthen them and smooth them up. The entire rocket be then shot with a coat o' sandable primer before sanding smooth. Begad! 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, B4-4, B6-4, and C6-5 motors. Begad! Avast! This is a big bird, ya bilge rat, arrr, arrr, I skipped t' A8-3 in favor o' a Quest B6-4. Begad! It lifted off slowly like a Big Bertha but accelerated more rapidly, me bucko, shiver me timbers, me bucko, probably due t' its more streamlined shape. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! Day be very calm, shiver me timbers, no weather-cockin' was apparent. Arrr! Blimey! Ejection appeared to be a whisker after apogee. Begad! Blimey! 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, again a very slow lift-off and decent acceleration. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' bird seemed t' reach a considerably higher speed. Ya scallywag! T' flight was arrow straight with ejection a bit before apogee. 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 be loaded and the Tangent racked again. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Same results except that it cocked a whisker as it left t' pad. Consequently it leaned over about 10 degrees from vertical; it was actually movin' pretty fast when ejection came. Another long walk was necessary t' get it back!! Blimey! On retrievin' it, t' only apparent damage was a little soot on t' fins. GREAT flyer, ya bilge rat, arrr, shiver me timbers, 5!!

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

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. Ahoy! The holes in t' chute have no reinforcement o' any kind. Arrr! This is beggin' for a fast ejection t' rip t' shroud lines though t' chute plastic. Aye aye! Begad! These received reinforcements o' vinyl tape discs and t' lines were taped down from t' hole to t' edge usin' poly tape. Arrr! T' system ejected and deployed well. Begad! Begad! T' bird was recovered with no damage after 3 flights so t' recovery system gets a 4. Arrr!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5