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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next flight be with a Quest C6-5, again a very slow lift-off and decent acceleration. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' bird seemed t' reach a considerably higher speed. T' flight was arrow straight with ejection a bit before apogee. 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. Avast! Blimey! Another long walk was necessary t' get it back!! Blimey! On retrievin' it, arrr, arrr, t' only apparent damage was a little soot on t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! GREAT flyer, 5!!

Recovery:
Shock cord mountin' seemed kind o' odd t' me but I went with t' program anyhow. Avast, me proud beauty! A 1" piece o' launch lug is supplied and t' shock cord looped around it and knotted. Begad! Then it is glued in and filleted. Begad! Arrr! T' shock cord itself at 1/8" seemed thin but be quite long and made o' rugged stuff. Avast!

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

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5