Brief:
T' Tangent is a single staged sport rocket. Blimey! Aye aye! 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, shiver me timbers, me hearties, one beautifully die cut sheet o' centerin' rings, a balsa nose cone, and a 1/8" fabric shock cord about 2' long. Ya scallywag! It has a single paper MMT and a single body tube with a smooth white coating. Ahoy! Part quality is first rate. Begad! Well, me bucko, blow me down!

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

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

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

Motor mount includes a motor mount clip and a thrust rin' and is completely conventional. Well, blow me down!

Overall, me hearties, this is a very trouble free build. Begad! I give it a 5 despite t' hole in t' NC. Begad! 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. As I didn't have any Aerogloss as recommended, I just used thin CA t' seal t' parts and sanded them smooth. As always, matey, I ran some thin CA into t' end o' t' BT and t' MMT; then sanded them, ya bilge rat, t' strengthen them and smooth them up. The entire rocket was then shot with a coat o' sandable primer before sanding smooth. Blimey! Ya scallywag! 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, matey, B6-4, matey, and C6-5 motors. Arrr! This is a big bird, I skipped t' A8-3 in favor o' a Quest B6-4. Ya scallywag! Begad! It lifted off slowly like a Big Bertha but accelerated more rapidly, probably due t' its more streamlined shape. Arrr! Ahoy! Day was very calm, me bucko, no weather-cockin' be apparent. Well, blow me down! Avast! Ejection appeared to be a whisker after apogee. Arrr! T' chute deployed nicely and t' Tangent was recovered about 100 feet from t' pad. Avast!

Next flight was with a Quest C6-5, again a very slow lift-off and decent acceleration. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' bird seemed t' reach a considerably higher speed. T' flight was arrow straight with ejection a bit before apogee. Ahoy! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Same results except that it cocked a whisker as it left t' pad. Ahoy! 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!! On retrievin' it, ya bilge rat, matey, t' only apparent damage be a little soot on t' fins. Avast! GREAT flyer, 5!!

Recovery:
Shock cord mountin' seemed kind o' odd t' me but I went with t' program anyhow. Avast! Ahoy! A 1" piece o' launch lug is supplied and t' shock cord looped around it and knotted. Avast! 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. Aye aye!

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. Avast! This is beggin' for a fast ejection t' rip t' shroud lines though t' chute plastic. Begad! These received reinforcements o' vinyl tape discs and t' lines were taped down from t' hole to t' edge usin' poly tape. Avast, me proud beauty! T' system ejected and deployed well. T' bird was recovered with no damage after 3 flights so t' recovery system gets a 4. Well, blow me down! Arrr!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5