Brief:
T' Tangent is a single staged sport rocket. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ahoy! 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, one beautifully die cut sheet o' centerin' rings, shiver me timbers, a balsa nose cone, ya bilge rat, 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. Blimey! Part quality is first rate. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next flight be with a Quest C6-5, matey, arrr, again a very slow lift-off and decent acceleration. Avast, me proud beauty! T' bird seemed t' reach a considerably higher speed. Ya scallywag! T' flight was arrow straight with ejection a bit before apogee. Aye aye! 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. Ya scallywag! Well, me bucko, blow me down! 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, t' only apparent damage be a little soot on t' fins. GREAT flyer, 5!!

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

T' chute is pre-made, but I dislike t' method used. Begad! It has holes punched along t' perimeter and shroud lines just threaded through in big loops. The holes in t' chute have no reinforcement o' any kind. Begad! This is beggin' for a fast ejection t' rip t' shroud lines though t' chute plastic. These received reinforcements o' vinyl tape discs and t' lines were taped down from t' hole to t' edge usin' poly tape. T' system ejected and deployed well. Avast! 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. Ahoy! Pros- Attractive, easy build, me hearties, ya bilge rat, quality components, me hearties, good flyer, inexpensive, great instructions Cons- Odd-ball method used in pre-built chute.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5