Brief:
This is an interestin' rocket from Estes. Ya scallywag! It is basically just a plastic fin canister with a large Mylar balloon on t' front. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! It comes with a launch pad and a launch controller and can be ready t' fly in a few hours.

Construction:
This rocket comes packaged with its launch pad and controller in a very brightly colored box. Arrr! T' rocket's parts are bagged and t' launch set is taped t' a piece o' cardboard. Arrr! T' instructions are very concise and have drawings o' t' assembly and launch prep next t' t' text. Both t' box and instructions are printed in English and French. Ahoy! T' three fins are made o' a plastic framework with Mylar glued t' it. Avast, me proud beauty! T' motor mount is a 24mm plastic tube with a bend in t' top, and a paper tube inserted into t' bend. Aye aye! This comes with a lockin' rin' t' hold t' motor in. Well, blow me down! T' balloon is Mylar and about six feet long. Avast! T' balloon replaces a conventional body tube, and is very simple t' inflate. Well, blow me down! T' fins and motor mount slide together and glued in place, then they attach t' t' balloon via a plastic framework (which is glued together and then t' t' fins), me bucko, and tape. T' launch lugs are plastic and tape on aligned with t' balloon's seam. Ahoy! T' parachute is 12" diameter and attaches t' a long nylon thread which resembles fishin' line, me hearties, but thicker. Ya scallywag! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! This attaches t' a rin' which is taped t' t' balloon at t' top. Begad! T' parachute is deployed from t' paper tube attached t' t' motor mount.

T' instructions are very simple and easy t' follow, and t' pictures are helpful. Well, blow me down! T' fin-motor mount assembly is simple, but t' canister that attaches t' t' balloon kept comin' apart when I tried t' slide it in place, even after I let it dry overnight. T' balloon blows up with a straw and is fairly simple t' inflate, if you follow t' instructions. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' launch lugs tape on and require more than one person t' attach. T' upper rin' also tapes on and also requires more than one person t' attach. Aye aye! Begad! T' nylon "shock cord" is difficult t' tie in t' proper loop, especially because it's wrapped around a piece o' card stock when you get it and has a tendency t' try and re- wrap itself. Blimey! Ahoy! T' parachute comes pre-assembled and is fairly easy t' tie on, me bucko, once you have t' nylon cord tied together. All-in-all, arrr, I agree with Estes' decision t' give it a Skill Level 2 rating.

Finishing:
T' fin canister parts are o' a molded red plastic which requires no finishing. Avast! T' fins themselves are molded as well, with Mylar pre-attached. Blimey! T' motor mount is molded red plastic, with a white tube which you could probably paint if you wanted to. Ya scallywag! T' balloon, matey, obviously, requires no finishing, as it is just metallic Mylar. Really this rocket requires no finishin' whatsoever.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
One word o' caution before I go on. Ya scallywag! T' Electron Beam launch controller that comes with T' Dude has t' safety key tied t' t' controller. Arrr! Avast! Do take t' time remove it so you can keep it separate. Blimey! I could have gotten me fingers burned off because, me bucko, on launch day, one o' me non-rocketeer friends picked up t' controller and said, me hearties, "How do you launch this thing? Just press t' button?" I proceeded t' tell him that he couldn't launch yet because I had taken t' above precaution and had t' key with me. Aye aye! Thank you, shiver me timbers, and on with t' review!

This rocket has only one recommended motor which is one o' t' Estes "Mighty D" series, t' D12-3. Begad! Blimey! This gives a very low flight, maybe 200-300 feet if you're lucky. Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Launch day was clear with a light breeze blowing, These are actually decent conditions for this rocket if you have people t' help you. Settin' up for launch is supposedly very simple if you do it right. Begad! Blimey! I, unfortunately, matey, tried t' pound in t' stake that comes with t' pad usin' a hammer. Begad! This resulted in t' holder for t' launch rod breakin' off. Begad! Blimey! I just pounded t' rod into t' ground and then slid t' blast deflector over it.

Preppin' for flight was simple. Avast! Blimey! First I put t' recovery waddin' into t' little tube as recommended, and then I folded t' parachute, wrapped t' lines once, and stuffed it in on top o' t' wadding. Ahoy! Blimey! I then deviated from t' instructions again and put t' motor into t' retainer ring, me hearties, and then put in t' igniter and plug. Arrr! I then put t' motor into t' mount, havin' some difficulty fittin' t' top past t' mouth o' t' mount, me hearties, and locked t' rin' in, arrr, again havin' difficulty because t' rin' did nay slide into position well. Arrr! T' rocket was very difficult t' get on t' pad because o' a light breeze that be blowin' (I had decided once again t' go against t' instructions and just launch anyway). Arrr! Begad! Blimey! I didn't have any tape, so I decided t' do without. Once it was on t' pad, shiver me timbers, me bucko, it blew around a little, matey, so I had one o' me friends hold it in place while I hooked up t' micro clips. I then backed up t' t' launch controller and had everybody stand behind me. When we were safely away, I proceeded with t' countdown and launched.

T' rocket lifted off t' pad, me hearties, turned slightly into t' wind, and climbed until t' motor burned out. Aye aye! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' rocket hovered for a moment at burnout altitude, shiver me timbers, then started t' drop just as t' ejection charge fired. Begad! Blimey! T' chute took awhile t' deploy, but be safely open when t' rocket had reached half o' t' distance t' t' ground. Begad! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' rocket hit hard and bounced once on its tail, then flopped over. Aye aye! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! After we recovered it, matey, we flew two other rockets, me bucko, but "the big one" held t' most interest. Begad! Blimey! By t' time we had it prepped again, t' rocket had lost pressure so we re-inflated it and took it out t' t' pad. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! We re-inflated it once more on t' pad and could find no leaks, so we decided it was go.

T' second flight went much t' same way as t' first, matey, but when we got t' rocket back, shiver me timbers, t' pressure was low again, so we decided t' pack up and go home. Blimey! Blimey! All-in-all, this rocket is fun t' fly, shiver me timbers, but very difficult t' hold still in a breeze. Avast! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! Also, t' impact o' recovery seemed t' damage t' balloon. I have nay found t' leak, so it must have been t' stress o' t' hard impact creatin' pinhole leaks in t' balloon. Another problem I noticed be t' occurrence o' minor charrin' on t' tube t' recovery system fits into. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! I haven't figured out what causes this either. Look out for those if you buy this rocket.

Recovery:
T' recovery system is very simple t' assemble on this rocket. Begad! All you do is slip t' upper rin' on and tape it in place with t' included tape, then extend t' nylon cord which is molded into t' rin' itself, arrr, and tie t' pre-assembled chute in place. Arrr! Recovery itself is another matter. Begad! There is a little tube that leads out t' side from t' motor mount, me bucko, arrr, and t' 'chute goes in there. When t' ejection charge activates, matey, it blows t' chute out and into t' open air. T' chute then swings away from t' rocket and deploys. Begad! Ahoy! T' nylon cord is thar just t' connect t' 'chute t' t' rocket. T' 'chute is too small for t' rocket's weight, and t' rocket hits hard. Ahoy! T' fins are resilient, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but I wouldn't trust them for too many flights. Begad! Also, matey, t' balloon is easily damaged by t' impact. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! It deflated rapidly on me after hittin' t' ground. Aye aye! It might be a good idea t' replace t' stock 'chute with an 18" or even a 24" one.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket is fun t' fly, even in a light breeze. Arrr! Begad! I like t' idea o' a balloon rocket, but it needs a slightly stronger balloon. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, arrr, blow me down! It's fairly simple t' build, matey, shiver me timbers, but some parts could be a little tighter or a little looser. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' fact that it doesn't need finishin' is a plus. Ahoy! Another plus is that this rocket can be flown on fairly small fields. Avast, me proud beauty! It needs a bigger parachute, t' 12" 'chute doesn't cut it. Begad! T' D class motor is cool, though. Avast! If somebody could devise a better launcher, that would be good. Overall, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I'd recommend this rocket because it's t' kind o' thin' that makes people go "wow".

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5