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

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

First, me hearties, matey, I've got t' say that Holverson's instructions are t' best I've ever seen in a rocket kit, bar none. Arrr! Anyone old enough t' handle t' tools can build this kit by virtue o' these terrific instructions. Ya scallywag! They also include extra activities t' acquaint first time builders with parts o' a rocket, ya bilge rat, the Tangent's parts in particular, me bucko, and what t' parts do. 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, shiver me timbers, arrr, matey, as t' glue dries. Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! Works like a charm, but be SURE it is built correctly. Begad! Blimey! Fin and launch lug markin' is by standard wrap around guide. Begad! Blimey!

T' balsa nose had an odd hole in t' center, ya bilge rat, and also be a bit larger in diameter than t' BT. Begad! As a solution, shiver me timbers, I epoxied a dowel in and sanded it down on a lathe. Arrr! (anyone could do t' same usin' a hand drill with a hose clamp t' hold the trigger on). Begad! T' OD was then a perfect match. Well, blow me down! T' dowel was cut off flush with t' bottom o' t' nose and drilled t' accept t' screw eye. Aye aye!

Fins and centerin' rings (CR) both nearly fall out o' their sheets. Avast, me proud beauty! Fins required very minimal sandin' t' prepare, matey, CR's none at all. Arrr!

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

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

Finishing:
Finishin' is a breeze for anyone who has experience buildin' with balsa. Ahoy! 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. Arrr! As always, 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. 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. This is a big bird, I skipped t' A8-3 in favor o' a Quest B6-4. Well, blow me down! It lifted off slowly like a Big Bertha but accelerated more rapidly, me bucko, probably due t' its more streamlined shape. Ahoy! Day be very calm, no weather-cockin' was apparent. Ahoy! Begad! Ejection appeared to be a whisker after apogee. Begad! Ahoy! T' chute deployed nicely and t' Tangent was recovered about 100 feet from t' pad. Well, me hearties, blow me down!

Next flight be with a Quest C6-5, me bucko, me hearties, again a very slow lift-off and decent acceleration. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' bird seemed t' reach a considerably higher speed. Begad! Begad! T' flight was arrow straight with ejection a bit before apogee. 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. Arrr! Blimey! Consequently it leaned over about 10 degrees from vertical; it was actually movin' pretty fast when ejection came. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Another long walk was necessary t' get it back!! Blimey! On retrievin' it, t' only apparent damage was a little soot on t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! GREAT flyer, matey, me bucko, 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. Blimey! Then it is glued in and filleted. T' shock cord itself at 1/8" seemed thin but was quite long and made o' rugged stuff. Blimey!

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

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5