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

Construction:
T' parts list:

• Hartle NC-5B cone
• BT-5, matey, arrr, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! T' cone-to-shoulder transition be shipshape on the longer cone but be rough on t' shorter one. Begad! T' later be easily cleaned up with a sharp hobby cutlass. Avast, me proud beauty! The attachment point appears t' be a paper clip...works as good as anything. Well, arrr, blow me down! I found them t' be a loose fit in t' Estes BT-5, which is easily fixed with a little tape.

T' cones are, shiver me timbers, as expected, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, heavier than t' typical hollow plastic or balsa. Aye aye! Blimey! However, me bucko, unless you're buildin' a MicroMaxx model, shiver me timbers, t' added weight shouldn't be an issue. Blimey! Blimey! I had kicked around buildin' a micro but decided t' go for a 13mm design instead. Well, blow me down! Blimey! 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! Well, blow me down! These were glued together in pairs and then t' t' body tube. I used Aleene's Tacky glue throughout. Arrr! A 5/8" long lug is mounted in one o' t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I cut a motor block from a spent casing. Ya scallywag! This be notched and t' Keelhaul®©™® was tied around it. Arrr! There is nay much room in t' body minus t' motor and t' cone's shoulder. Begad! It was all I could do to pack t' shock harness.

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

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

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

Summary:
T' Hartle Engineerin' cones are nice t' work with. Avast, me proud beauty! In this case, me bucko, their solid construction and weight helped with stability.

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