Brief:
T' Thrustline Aerospace Tribute II is a three engine cluster rocket. This company has put out some high quality Estes clone rockets that I was tempted to get, but saw t' Tribute II on t' site and said t' myself that is one cool lookin' rocket. Avast! I held off on t' clones for now t' give this one a try. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! I am glad I did.

Construction:
T' rocket arrived in t' mail less than four days after ordering, which was very impressive. Begad! Ahoy! T' kit be t' typical bag packaging. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Instructions are pretty good and even has photos t' show you t' steps. Ya scallywag! All parts were thar and intact, includin' two high quality balsa sheets for t' fin layouts and one balsa nose cone. Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' cone did have a fairly good notch in it near t' top which I had t' glue and sand t' make it smooth. Avast! Kit included a high quality mylar chute with Keelhaul®©™® shroud lines that were plenty long t' give t' chute that nice, full, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, open look. Avast, me proud beauty! T' engine mounts were also made o' balsa, me bucko, which are precut for the engine tubes. Arrr! Arrr! I broke one in two in t' process as t' area betwixt t' engine tube and body tube is very narrow--less than 1/8 inch on me piece. Ahoy! Arrr! There were no worries though as it actually made it easier t' get t' mounts on t' tubes. I just used a little extra glue, arrr, let it dry, arrr, and slid it in t' main tube. Aye aye! Aye aye! The Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is wrapped and glued around t' engine tubes and mount in this process also. Well, blow me down! Next, was cuttin' t' fins. T' kit includes some nice thick paper for t' fin layouts which was very helpful in t' tracing. Arrr! Begad! Typical cuttin' o' t' fins be finished and I sanded, me bucko, sealed, and painted them before I put them on t' rocket. Avast! Aye aye! I wanted t' try t' get as close t' t' original paint scheme as possible and this was t' easiest choice for me. If you do this make sure you mask off on t' body tube where t' fins are goin' t' go, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me hearties, then it will make them stick more secure on t' rocket. Ahoy! Also t' kit comes with BBs you put in t' nose cone t' add weight. T' instructions suggest t' use a drill bit to make t' holes but I found usin' a inch long screw and a pushin' it up into the nose cone worked just fine.

Finishing:
After I painted t' rocket, ya bilge rat, I was ready for t' decals. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' decals don't come treated and Microscale Decal is recommended. Aye aye! Blimey! I didn't have any so I just sprayed t' sheet with polyurethane and let it dry completely. It worked just fine. Blimey! Overall it took me about 2 weeks o' workin' off and on t' finalize the kit for flight.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended engines are two B6-2s, ya bilge rat, me hearties, B6-4s, arrr, or C6-5s, me bucko, me bucko, with one C11-5 or D12-5. I went for t' full glory for it's first flights usin' two C6-5s and one D12-5. Avast, me proud beauty! I launched it at t' monthly Southeast Alabama Rocketry Society (SEARS) launch, matey, arrr, utilizin' t' large field they have t' launch at. Ya scallywag! I nearly wasn't able to launch it as I knocked a fin off preppin' it. Ahoy! I was able t' bum some CA and do an on t' spot fix and had it ready t' launch shortly thereafter. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! I must say this bird flys like a charm. Arrr! It got out o' thar quick on that engine combo and went nearly out o' site. Arrr! I would say it was at least 1200 feet if nay more.

Recovery:
A 24" blue mylar chute seemed just about right as it didn't drift too much, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but I did worry about it gettin' caught up in a thermal and really drifting. Any smaller and it would come down too fast. Ahoy! Blimey! I also purchased a 24" nylon chute which I might try next time.

T' chute deployed right at apogee. Avast, me proud beauty! It must have taken a good 5 minutes to come back t' t' ground. I was able t' catch it after runnin' it down about 200 yards from t' pad. Ahoy! Blimey! I flew it again a couple hours later and it was pretty much a carbon copy o' t' first flight. Aye aye! I wasn't able t' catch it t' second time though and t' fin I had "fixed" earlier broke off. Begad! It be an easy fix again though.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5