Brief:
A three fin long rocket with a transition from 40 t' 25mm. Designed for the German market, shiver me timbers, it uses a non standard motor mount and body tubes. 500mm parachute recovery.

Construction:
T' kit consists of:

• Three cardboard fins
• Vacuum formed transition
• Three 40mm diameter body tubes
• Two 25mm body tubes
• 25mm nose cone
• Engine hook
• 25mm engine mount
• Centerin' rings
• Elastic cord
• 500mm parachute sheet (bin bag quality)
• Parachute cotton
• Two launch lugs
• Waterslide transfer decals
• Waddin' (dog barf)
• Instructions in German

T' quality o' t' kit is relatively poor. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! This is especially true for the transition which is a very thin vacuum formed affair. Avast! T' transition itself can easily be squashed by light finger pressure. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Blimey! T' body tubes are study but have deep spirals which will require a lot o' finishing. Avast! Blimey! T' fins are made o' some sort o' composite cardboard, which is reasonably firm but t' edges are rough and little can be done t' sand t' leadin' edges. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I used these for me rocket, although I would use these as a template for balsa fins next time.

T' instructions are in German and appear t' be generic for several rockets as thar are motor mount configurations for 3 different size motors, although only one motor mount tube is supplied. Aye aye! Blimey! T' instructions also show a four fin model whereas this is three finned rocket. Aye aye! Blimey! However, t' model is a straight forward affair and provided you have built one or two rockets before the instructions are okay.

T' motor mount tube supplied is longer that t' one in t' instructions, therefore do nay measure t' slit for t' engine hook from t' back as suggested. Aye aye! Otherwise t' hook will nay fit. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! After I had built t' model, matey, I found t' 24mm D motor t' wobble around very loosely. Although I did nay check this before, shiver me timbers, if I was t' build t' rocket again I would either use a 24mm mount or glue a 24mm mount inside o' t' 25mm mount.

T' transition has t' be cut out o' t' vacuum formed sheet. Begad! Part o' the transition acts as a coupler t' t' top part o' t' rocket. This coupler is quite shallow so you have t' take care in alignin' t' top half correctly.

T' shock cord supplied is only 22 inches long, matey, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I swapped this for 3 meters of Keelhaul®©™® with a 1.0 meter long elastic shock tied onto t' Keelhaul®©™®. T' shock cord attachment is similar t' t' Estes paper system. Ahoy! Foolishly I followed t' instructions and used them--don't do this (the first flight report will explain why). Aye aye! Avast! Later I replaced t' paper mounts by epoxyin' snap swivels to t' body tubes.

Swap t' launch lugs. Avast! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! They are too small for a 5mm rod.

Finishing:
T' tubes have very deep spirals in them. Even with two primer coats and 3-4 spray coats with rub downs in between, t' grooves still show. In t' end I gave up and accepted that t' grooves were t' stay.

T' decals were poor. T' striped transfer that goes around t' body tube be too short and the other transfers were low quality.

After all that, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, she does nay look that bad a rocket. Begad! Avast! At over six feet tall, she has pad presence for a D motor.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
Recommended motor is a D7-3 which is a German motor and is impossible to obtain. Ahoy! Physics o' Flight, an English rocket vendor that be t' sole vendor of Das Modell rockets in England, matey, arrr, recommended a D12-5. Avast! I disagree with this: a D12-3 be t' perfect motor choice.

I swapped t' plastic parachute for a 24inch nylon parachute and attached it with a snap swivel t' t' top part o' t' shock cord.

I use Aramid cloth, ya bilge rat, me hearties, a type o' Nomex®, as a heat shield, usin' two 8 inch strips tied t' t' shock cord at t' bottom. T' body tubes are large so everythin' fits in neatly. Ahoy! T' 24mm motor requires about four wraps o' maskin' tape t' fit t' mount. Avast, me proud beauty! SpaceCAD said that it will reach over 100 meters, me hearties, matey, me hearties, although I think it went a tad higher.

First flight: 15 mph winds and 3 mm rod used. T' rocket was naked, ya bilge rat, I did not wrap t' motor up, shiver me timbers, and did nay have any tape with me. Arrr! T' launch lugs supplied are too small for t' 5mm rod that I fly D and E motors on, so I foolishly used a 4 foot long 3mm rod. Begad!

This is a heavy, long rocket and t' 3mm rod bent at a 20-30 degree angle from t' normal. Blimey! Arrr! A sensible member o' me club suggested we leave it for another day. Avast! T' rest o' us ignored this sound advice and launched anyway.

It be a straight flight off t' pad and then weathercocked t' a near horizontal path. She was travelin' at speed when deployment occurred. Ahoy! Blimey! T' deceleration was too much for t' paper mounts and t' bottom mount ripped free. Begad! Blimey! T' top half recovered very well on t' parachute with t' bottom half givin' t' club the best core sample that it has ever seen. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! There be a small char on the parachute.

Second flight: 5 mph winds and 4 mm rod used. Ya scallywag! After repairs and a paint job, matey, she was now prepped with a fully wrapped motor, shiver me timbers, three lengths o' Aramid and t' shock cord mounts fully upgraded. Begad! T' rocket also now splits in between tube lengths and nay at t' transition like most rockets. Aye aye! I stupidly packed the parachute in t' top part o' t' rocket with t' waddin' and cord it t' bottom half.

T' flight was perfect: straight up, matey, pure, and true. Avast! Ejection was right at apogee but t' parachute did nay deploy. Ahoy! Arrr! Fortunately t' rocket landed in a tree (it's nay often you hear that). Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! On retrievin' thar was very little damage, me hearties, mainly scratches t' t' paintwork and a small puncture t' t' lover body tube from a thorn.

Third flight: 5 mph winds and 4 mm rod used. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Third time was t' charm. After a refinishin' she be prepped t' fly. Parachute in t' lower half this time. Well, blow me down! Flight was as before exactly: no parachute deployment and she hit the ground sideways and hard. Begad! A coupler split, matey, but no damage t' t' tubes. A fin was ripped off cleanly too. Avast! On inspection at home, t' fin and its fillets had remained intact. Begad! Begad! It was t' paper tube that had come apart--poor quality tubes. T' ejection charge had pushed t' parachute up into t' top section where it got stuck.

Fourth flight: 10 mph winds and 4 mm rod used. After repairs and a paint touch up, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I retrofitted a spare motor mount rin' t' t' top half o' t' body tube. Blimey! This was t' stop t' parachute from hidin' in there. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! This time t' flight was straight and true with ejection at apogee, perfect deployment o' parachute, and t' rocket calmly drifted onto t' sports hall roof 400 meters away. Avast! It was recovered later that day and thar was a lot o' damage, but this was from draggin' t' rocket across a roof with a 10 meter pole. Arrr! She is repaired now.

Recovery:
PROs:

• Recovery is at a slow t' steady rate with a 24 inch parachute. Ya scallywag! You could use a 18 inch parachute.

CONs:

• T' shock cord needs upgrading.
• T' parachute needs upgrading.
• T' shock cord mount needs upgrading.
• T' upper section o' t' lower body tubes needs a bulk head fitting.
• This was nay a well thought out kit.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
Despite t' quality o' t' components and t' flaw in t' recovery system, matey, this rocket actually flies well and looks good in t' air. Well, blow me down! I would be tempted to clone t' kit with better quality tubes and mount.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5