Brief:
Rocket in a Box has a unique concept. Ahoy! They indicate that most rockets sustain more damage transportin' t' rocket to and from t' field than actually flyin' t' rocket. Avast! O' course, this has t' exclude any rocket eatin' trees! Their rockets have a 3" tube that then transitions t' a 2" tube half way up. Blimey! You separate t' rocket and slide the 2" section into t' 3" section. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! But what about t' fins? These are removable t' allow packin' into t' box.

T' Viper 28 is over 5' tall and is powered by dual E9 motors. Ahoy! Avast! T' company offers t' sell spare fins, nose cones, and for a fee, arrr, me hearties, will actually build t' rocket for you! But that just ruins t' fun for us.

Construction:
T' kit includes t' followin' components:

• 3" body tube with fin slots
• 2" body tube
• 2 24mm motor tubes
• a 3" section o' slotted tube t' make a transition section
• a unique clear plastic nose cone
• a clear plastic 2" t' 3" transition piece
• a short 2" tube insert
• a plywood and a basswood centerin' ring
• basswood fins
• plywood bulkhead
• Keelhaul®©™® cord
• shock cord
• 45" nylon parachute
• dowel
• rubber band
• launch lug
• decals
• nails
• glue stick

T' instructions are about 9 pages long with various pictures t' help show t' construction steps. Blimey! T' instructions are clear and well organized. Ya scallywag! Begad! First t' 2" tube insert is glued into one end o' t' 2" tube. Begad! Begad! This will be used t' secure the nose cone. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' transition section requires you t' build t' coupler portion. Aye aye! They provide a section o' t' 3" tube with a pre-cut slit along t' length. Begad! You need t' glue this slit together t' make t' smaller diameter tube t' slide into t' 3" tube. Aye aye! Apply t' glue and tape t' tube together. Begad! Begad! Allow this t' dry overnight. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I found I needed t' do a little sandin' o' t' joint so it would slide properly into t' 3" tube. You then glue t' plywood bulkhead t' the this coupler tube. Well, blow me down! There is then a second, 2" plywood disk that glued t' t' first disk. Arrr! And finally a short dowel is glued t' t' center. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! After this is dry, me bucko, t' 2" disk is glued into t' bottom o' t' 2" tube. You then have to drill four 1/16" holes through t' tube into t' disk. Aye aye! Small nails are used t' reinforce this joint. Arrr! While the instructions calls out for only white glue, which is what I did, you could probably use epoxy and skip t' nails. The plastic transition piece is then slid down over t' couplin' tube. You fillet t' top and bottom with white glue to hold this plastic piece in place. You need t' handle t' plastic piece carefully or it will crack (as was t' case with mine), me bucko, however, t' crack was small and did nay affect t' transition.

T' fins are two pieces with a slot halfway through, one from t' top and t' other from t' bottom. Aye aye! This then allows you t' slide t' 2 fins together t' create an X shape. Well, blow me down! Support t' 2 engine tubes with some wood blocks covered with wax paper and place t' X part o' t' fins betwixt t' tubes. Ahoy! Blimey! Slide t' plywood engine mountin' rin' (the thicker one) over t' tubes t' 4 3/4". Arrr! Apply glue around t' top o' t' tubes t' secure them t' t' ring. Avast! Blimey! There is a hole in t' engine rin' t' insert t' Keelhaul®©™® cord through this hole from t' top and tie a knot 1" from t' end. Turn t' tubes and fins over and apply glue to again secure t' tubes t' t' ring. Ahoy! You also glue t' Keelhaul®©™® cord t' t' ring. Begad! Blimey! Be careful nay t' glue t' fins t' t' rin' or t' get glue on t' rin' where t' fins sit! Let all this dry. Test fit t' ring/motor tube/fin section into t' 3" tube. Blimey! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! T' fins will just slide up t' slots. Blimey! Ahoy! Check the bottom engine rin' will slide onto t' tubes and fit inside t' 3" tube. Push this assembly back out. Begad! Slip the Keelhaul®©™® cord back through one o' t' motor tubes t' keep it out o' t' way. Blimey! Begad! Then usin' t' supplied glue stick, matey, apply glue inside t' 3" tube, me bucko, put a large bead o' glue around t' top edge o' t' engine ring. Well, blow me down! Insert t' rin' with t' fins goin' into t' fin slots--these help position t' rin' t' t' correct depth. Blimey! Slide t' bottom rin' on (DO NOT GLUE) and use t' rubber band around t' outside o' t' 3" tube against t' bottom o' t' fins t' keep the motor mount and fins in t' correct position. Blimey! Blimey! They suggest swirlin' t' tube around t' spread t' large bead on the top. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Again, drill 4 holes and insert nails t' stiffen t' top engine rin' mount t' t' tube. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! You can stiffen t' bottom of t' tube with glue or CA (remove t' bottom rin' & fins first please).

Now, how do t' fins stay in for flight? You put t' fins back in along with t' bottom ring. You'll need t' make 2 marks 180 degrees apart and in a line t' pass betwixt t' motor tubes. Drill two 1/4" holes. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! A dowel will pass through these holes t' secure t' bottom rin' and fins. Blimey! T' supplied rubber band will wrap around t' outside o' the 3" tube t' hold t' dowel in.

Make a line along t' length o' t' 3" tube betwixt 2 fin slots. Ya scallywag! There are 2 spacers that you glue on this line and then you glue t' launch lugs t' t' spacers. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' spacers are needed t' allow space for t' rubber band.

T' rocket comes with a nice 45" nylon parachute. Take t' chute lines and loop them through a small supplied ring, then pass t' chute through t' loops. Begad! Blimey! Tie t' stretch cord t' t' rin' a little over a foot from the one end. Blimey! Blimey! Tie this end t' t' screw eye. Drill a small pilot hole in t' plywood disk o' t' transition section, insert a drop o' glue, ya bilge rat, and screw in t' screw eye. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Tie t' loose end o' t' stretch cord t' t' Keelhaul®©™® cord that was secured t' t' motor ring.

Lastly, thar be another piece o' cord. Ahoy! Glue this t' t' inside o' t' nose cone (at least 1" above t' end) and t' other end uses a standard Estes style tri-fold paper mount. Aye aye! Since t' rocket separates at t' transition, me hearties, me bucko, this cord and mount are just t' help keep t' nose cone from fallin' off and gettin' lost. Begad! It is nay glued on since it needs to be removed t' allow packing.

One item that is missin' from t' kit is any type o' motor retention--not even a thrust ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' instruction tell you t' rely on a friction fit only.

Finishing:
T' tube does nay have spiral grooves. Aye aye! Instead, t' way t' tube is constructed thar be an overlap o' t' material causin' a bump instead o' a groove. Ya scallywag! I did nay want t' risk sandin' this bump and wreckin' t' tube so I just decided to leave it as is. T' nose cone is unique in that it is a clear plastic. It almost looks like one o' those cheap plastic fluted champagne glasses with t' bottom base removed. Avast, me proud beauty! I decided nay t' paint t' nose cone thinkin' I could install some LEDs later. Begad! I did some light sandin' on t' fins and primed it with Krylon. Well, blow me down! I decided t' paint t' fins and transition silver, me bucko, t' 3" tube black, ya bilge rat, arrr, and t' 2" tube blue. Begad! Ya scallywag! Bein' a basic 4FNC rocket, me hearties, t' paintin' be very simple. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It did come with a decal, me bucko, but I decided nay t' use it.

Overall, ya bilge rat, t' construction is fairly simple with a few special considerations t' allow for t' dissassembly and packing. I didn't give t' kit a full 5 due t' t' lack o' any motor retention or thrust ring.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
With t' fins off and laid flat, matey, t' 2" tube slid into t' 3" tube, shiver me timbers, and everythin' back into t' original shippin' carton, off I go t' t' NEPRA launch site. Avast, me proud beauty! I got thar and t' weather started t' turn iffy, matey, ya bilge rat, so I quickly prepped t' rocket. Begad! Blimey! Make t' fins into an X, slide in, slide on t' bulkhead, dowel, and rubber band t' secure that end. Nose cone onto t' 2", some wadding, and t' parachute. Avast, me proud beauty! Install t' two E9-4 motors and Estes igniters and off t' t' launch pad. Begad! Begad! Due t' t' cluster and t' fact t' rocket won't be stable if only one motor ignites, they called for a heads up flight. Aye aye! Countdown and both motors ignite. It has a fairly slow take off but goes up nice and straight. Blimey! Arrr! At apogee, me hearties, t' ejection charge goes off and t' chute comes out. Blimey! But one o' t' 8 leads t' t' chute came undone. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket came down a bit fast but escaped unharmed. Begad! T' weather then turn sour so I was unable t' launch it again.

My next launch be at NERRF 3. I double checked t' chute ties rememberin' me first flight. Aye aye! Unfortunately, I lost the rubber band. Begad! Blimey! I decided t' secure t' dowel into t' tube with a couple o' wraps o' maskin' tape. Begad! As it launched, it weathercocked into t' wind. Begad! T' ejection charge went off and t' rocket separated. Blimey! Arrr! T' parachute hung up in t' tube and did nay come out. Begad! As t' rocket fell, matey, shiver me timbers, I kept hopin' t' parachute would pull out. Blimey! Aye aye! It went down behind some trees so I don't know what happened. Begad! I went searchin' for it and finally find it about 25' up in a tree. Aye aye! Worse, arrr, t' tree is on the edge o' a river that is about 20' wide. Ya scallywag! T' branch it be hung up on is right over t' middle o' t' river! I borrowed a pole they had and tried t' work from t' bank, matey, but t' angle t' reach out over t' river made handlin' the pole very difficult. Blimey! After a half hour o' tryin' plus puttin' a strain on a bad back, matey, I decided t' give up. I figured even if I did knock it loose, it would just fall into t' river and get ruined anyway. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! I plan t' try some o' their other kits t' replace this one. Aye aye!

I ended up 0-for-2 on completely safe returns. Ya scallywag! Begad! I should have checked t' chute for t' ties for t' first one, and while I don't know exactly what happened on t' second flight, I will take t' blame for t' chute hangin' up (maybe it was t' way I packed it). Aye aye! T' mixture o' t' Keelhaul®©™® and shock cord and t' nose parachute, me hearties, arrr, I will score t' flight/recover as t' 5.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' rocket has some interestin' build techniques (I had never used nails at least before in a low power rocket). Bein' over 5' tall it looks impressive and has a nice, slow launch. Ahoy! Aye aye! I would prefer some motor retention, at least a thrust ring. Arrr! And while t' concept t' disassemble is interesting, I have definitely lost or damaged many more rockets when flyin' than when transporting.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5