Brief:
Last year, I received samples o' t' new Hartle Engineerin' solid resin nose cones from JonRocket. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I've been remiss in submittin' a review. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Thanks, and me apologies John!. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Hartle offers three styles o' BT-5 cones and one BT-20 cone. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! You can see all o' them on JonRocket's nose cone page. Well, blow me down! This review will describe t' cones and t' rocket I built from t' longer BT-5 cone, ya bilge rat, t' Mini-Toobah. T' name is a homage t' Dave Weber's Toober, me hearties, matey, which has logged over 200 high power flights.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• Hartle NC-5B cone
• BT-5, 6.25"
• Estes 1/8" launch lug
• Spent mini-motor case (could use a real motor block)
• Thin Keelhaul®©™®, ~ 12"
• Thin elastic, ~ 4"

T' Hartle cones are solid cast and their outer surface is perfect. T' cone-to-shoulder transition was clean on the longer cone but be rough on t' shorter one. Avast! T' later was easily cleaned up with a sharp hobby cutlass. Avast! Well, blow me down! The attachment point appears t' be a paper clip...works as good as anything. Arrr! I found them t' be a loose fit in t' Estes BT-5, which is easily fixed with a little tape.

T' cones are, me hearties, as expected, heavier than t' typical hollow plastic or balsa. Well, blow me down! However, unless you're buildin' a MicroMaxx model, t' added weight shouldn't be an issue. Avast! I had kicked around buildin' a micro but decided t' go for a 13mm design instead. Avast, me proud beauty! T' shorter cone would make a great micro-Fat Boy or Big Bertha but I opted for a downscale o' my El Tubo Loco.

This was a trivial build. Begad! From BT-5 stock, I cut one 2.5" body section and six 5/8" tube fins. Aye aye! These were glued together in pairs and then t' t' body tube. Arrr! Avast! I used Aleene's Tacky glue throughout. Well, matey, blow me down! A 5/8" long lug is mounted in one o' t' fins. Well, me hearties, blow me down! I cut a motor block from a spent casing. Aye aye! Ahoy! This was notched and t' Keelhaul®©™® was tied around it. Well, blow me down! There is nay much room in t' body minus t' motor and t' cone's shoulder. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! It be all I could do to pack t' shock harness.

T' make sure it is stable, me bucko, I weighed t' components and made a RockSim model. T' cone alone is 0.24 oz and the entire rocket is 0.34 oz. Avast, me proud beauty! It is quite stable.

Finishing:
I first scuffed t' cone with fine sandpaper and shot a coat o' PlastiCoat primer. Ya scallywag! I anticipated this will be hard to find in t' grass, me bucko, so I went for a bright finish usin' Rustoleum day-glo orange. Ahoy! I added two vinyl strips t' snazz it up a bit.

Flight:
There wasn't much prep as it uses tumble recovery. Aye aye! Avast! It flew nicely on an A3-4 and I could even see it recover!

Summary:
T' Hartle Engineerin' cones are nice t' work with. Well, blow me down! In this case, their solid construction and weight helped with stability.

I like t' design o' this little rocket but, bein' small, shiver me timbers, it could easily disappear into rocket eatin' grass, shrubbery, me hearties, me hearties, or trees.