(08/30/05) RocketPad must be doin' somethin' right in their kit designs, me bucko, because, for some reason, I keep goin' back t' them t' pick up a kit here and there. Well, blow me down! This is me third kit and I have a couple more in the queue. Begad! I am nay a huge fan o' purchasin' clones, however, when I saw an upscale of t' 1960's Estes Pee Wee, I was compelled t' purchase it. T' upscaled two-stager really caught me eye. Ya scallywag! I would probably have over looked t' original 13mm version havin' lost too many single stage 13mm rockets t' altitude, wind, trees, and such. Ya scallywag! Aye aye!

RocketPad is still usin' e-Bay which I'm nay thrilled with because I know t' overhead is made up in t' price o' t' kit. Then again, me hearties, if they had their own site and had t' pay for space and design, shiver me timbers, then I guess I'd be payin' t' same or more for their overhead. Well, blow me down! Nonetheless, ya bilge rat, I bought it through e-Bay. Begad! RocketPad is usin' t' "Buy it Now" feature which improves me feelings since I don't have t' manage bids.

T' kit includes a 7" long, ya bilge rat, 1.6" diameter upper stage body tube, matey, and a 2.75" long, 1.6" diameter booster body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! There is a plastic nose cone (just like an Estes Baby Bertha) and balsa stock t' cut out t' fins from. Avast, me proud beauty! T' motor mounts are 18mm tubes and t' appropriate black fiber centerin' rings. Begad! T' recovery system is made up o' a Keelhaul®©™® shock tether and 25" o' 1/8" elastic shock cord. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! There is also a plastic streamer, shiver me timbers, a coupler, a 3/16" launch lug, clay nose weight, arrr, and a decal sheet t' complete t' make up o' t' kit.

CONSTRUCTION:

T' instructions are printed on a 5 pages of 8½ x 11" paper (single sided). Aye aye! Ahoy! There are 12 more pages with black&white and color photos and some hand drawn illustrations. Ahoy! This has been t' typical instruction package from RocketPad: Written instructions followed by photos. Avast! T' photos are nay interlaced within the instructions.

If you have read me previous reviews of RocketPad kits, you would know that I have commented on t' spellin' and grammar. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I know, based on some o' me reviews, shiver me timbers, that may be like t' Pot calling the Kettle black. Well, blow me down! Avast! With that bein' said, matey, these instructions were t' best that I have had from RocketPad. Avast! Blimey! I actually only came across two spellin' errors both of which a spell checker wouldn't have found (step 6, "sue" instead of "sure"; step 8 "pace" instead of "place").

RocketPad rates this kit a skill level 3. Blimey! Well, blow me down! I think it is easier than 3.

T' assembly o' this rocket had a couple of interestin' twists in it. Begad! Let me describe t' build:

T' motor tubes are marked for "B"ooster and "2nd" (for Sustainer). Arrr! These are then assembled with t' black fiber centerin' rings and t' thrust rin' for t' Sustainer. Avast! I like t' black fiber centerin' rings but they get black everywhere! They fit very nicely. Avast, me proud beauty! It is also nice t' have t' upper centerin' rin' pre-drilled for t' attachment o' the Keelhaul®©™® shock tether. Avast, me proud beauty! I did find t' thrust rin' t' be extremely loose! I packed it with enough glue though, me bucko, so no problem.

Once t' booster motor mount is assembled and the coupler is added, me hearties, then t' upper stage motor mount is glued in place. RocketPad did a nice job explainin' this assembly step (#17). Well, blow me down! Blimey! If followed correctly, t' booster motor tube butts up against t' sustainer's.

T' tubes are marked usin' a 2D tube marking guide. Well, blow me down! I decided t' hook me booster t' me sustainer and extend t' line in a door jam up both tubes. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' instructions had you do each one separately.

Fin time. Well, blow me down! T' fin templates are on card stock and appear t' be hand-drawn. Nonetheless, they work and allow you t' cut out the 6 needed fins.

I didn't like t' arrangement o' t' upper fins. Blimey! Aye aye! I have always been taught t' ensure that your balsa grain is parallel t' your leadin' edge. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! In this case, RocketPad had t' balsa grain perpendicular t' the leadin' edge. Blimey! Perhaps thar are other schools o' thought, ya bilge rat, matey, but I didn't like it. I didn't notice it until I had finished cuttin' them out and was sanding them.

With t' above grain problem, perceived or not, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and me desire t' try t' have a better way t' finish balsa fins, I decided to try a new technique. I first took t' fins and cut out newspaper covers. Then, I used a foam brush and brushed on Modge Pog evenly on each fin, me hearties, covered it with t' newspaper cover. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I then slipped it betwixt some wax paper and pressed with t' edge o' a paperback t' squeegee excess glue out. Arrr! Blimey! I then moved to new wax paper and put under a few books for a day.

Once dry, each fin be glued into place and a fillet was added usin' wood glue.

T' recovery system includes a Keelhaul®©™® shock tether. Begad! This is tied through two pre-drilled holes in t' upper centering ring. A 25" piece o' 1/8" wide elastic shock cord it tied t' it. Arrr! This is tied t' t' nose cone. Aye aye! T' 37" long, 1.25" wide bright orange plastic streamer is attached t' t' shock cord.

T' nose cone is finished after t' clay nose weight is packed into its tip.

RocketPad gives some basic guidance to finishing, matey, includin' sandin' and sealing. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! They suggest paintin' t' rocket all white except t' nose cone, ya bilge rat, me bucko, which should be red. Avast! Well, blow me down!

I finished this rocket rather smartly due to the newspaper coverin' for t' fins and t' plastic nose cone it came with. Aye aye! Begad! I used me typical multiple coats o' Plastic-Kote Primer and sandin' in-between. T' fins finished great, me hearties, with just a bit o' clean up t' do on t' edges. Aye aye! Aye aye! I then used Walmart White and Yellow paint (additional comments about Walmart paint).

T' decals were water-transfer decals and they look and applied nicely.

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4 points. T' instructions are capable o' walkin' a novice builder through t' assembly o' this rocket. Ya scallywag! T' quality o' parts is good. Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' fit of the parts, shiver me timbers, other than t' very loose thrust ring, was good. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! T' balsa fin grain concerns me, but I took steps that strengthen t' fins anyway. Well, blow me down! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! Recovery system is set up nicely. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! Love t' decals.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

RocketPad recommends t' B6-0 or C6-0 for the booster and an A8-5, matey, B6-6, me hearties, or C6-7 for t' sustainer.

RocketPad indicates t' finished rocket should weigh 2.7 ounces. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! My finished rocket weighed 3.1 ounces.

My first flight be on a Quest A6-4 in a single-stage configuration. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! I did this primarily because I wanted t' test altitude. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' sustainer flew great and recovered smartly on t' streamer. Avast! Begad! I'm ready for t' 2-stage configuration!

My next flight was in t' 2-stage configuration. Begad! I used me first ever Quest B6-0 for t' booster and a Quest A6-4 for the sustainer. Blimey! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I didn't want this thin' t' go out o' sight. Aye aye! So, me bucko, t' flight be set up and ready t' go. Upon ignition t' rocket lifted straight and at maybe 50 feet t' sustainer ejected and t' A6 took off. T' booster fell just t' the right o' me, while t' sustainer kept on going. Avast! Glad I used an A6. Ahoy! With the streamer it be easy t' track and recover. Begad! Nice flight.

I'm lookin' forward t' flyin' some more and after a few flights, I'm goin' t' try a C6 t' C6 combination. Aye aye! Outta-here!

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I would rate this rocket 5 points. This is a nice little flier. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' booster adds enough weight to ensure that you can see t' stagin' and allow recovery o' it. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! I'll add information as I get more flights.

I give t' rocket an OVERALL ratin' o' 4 points. Avast! Again, a nice little rocket with some nice decals. Well, blow me down! Needs some refinement t' be perfect, me hearties, but I'd recommend it.