Brief:
A unique three motor parallel staged rocket.

Construction:
T' Gamma III came in t' usual clear plastic bag packagin' with five smaller packages in addition t' t' tubes, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, nose cones, and fin stock. Ahoy! T' four body tubes were t' brown Estes type, me hearties, matey, but t' three nose cones were rather thin plastic, arrr, which made for rather weak points t' screw in a screw eye (the kit now comes with balsa cones). Avast! Ahoy! A Rockethead Rockets 15" mylar chute, shiver me timbers, and two mylar streamers were also included. Arrr! T' recovery items were very high quality. A DMB Rocketry three motor Clip Whip had been thrown in as well. Aye aye! Basswood fin stock and fiber centerin' rings round t' kit off nicely.

Construction is fairly straightforward for t' experienced modeler. Avast! The included instructions were clear and contained photos and line drawings to illustrate t' steps. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Templates were on a separate sheet. Cuttin' t' fins out of t' basswood stock was a little tricky with a hobby knife, but t' method mentioned in t' instructions works well. Aye aye! I used medium CA throughout t' build and filleted t' fins with epoxy. Aye aye! Blimey! This is definitely a builder's kit as you have t' cut dowels, body tubes, and launch lugs. Ahoy! Aye aye!

Finishing:
There are no special finishin' requirements nor decals included with t' kit. Well, blow me down! I went with purplely-bluey on t' sustainer and green on t' fins and pods.

I'm givin' this four and a half out o' five. Avast! It just misses out on full marks because o' t' nose cones.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' first flight o' t' Gamma III be at BigEARS '05 in Cambridge, England. I loaded it up with a D12-5 and C6-3s in t' boosters. Waddin' be inserted into the boosters and sustainer. Ahoy! I decided t' use an 18" nylon chute in the sustainer due t' t' hard ground. Ya scallywag! I hooked up t' DMB clip whip t' the igniters, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and went out t' t' pads. Avast! Begad! T' wind was gustin' around 7-10mph, and I was a bit nervous about launchin' but I went for it anyway. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! After a quick countdown, ya bilge rat, matey, t' rocket left t' pad with all three motors burnin' then shot over towards t' campin' area, me hearties, matey, matey, goin' close t' horizontal. Aye aye! It managed a tight loop before it hit apogee then t' boosters ejected at about 20ft above ground, while t' sustainer hit t' ground and ejected almost simultaneously. Ahoy! An excitin' flight but nay what I had in mind! After a 20 minute search o' the field for t' boosters (as t' crops were at that annoyin' height when it's easy t' lose smaller rockets in), me bucko, arrr, we managed t' find one booster and t' nose cone from t' other, which had separated and taken t' streamer with it. Avast! Well, blow me down! The sustainer was found a little further down, with t' nosecone about 4" into the hard mud. T' top o' t' body tube was crimped beyond repair and t' motor mount had moved a couple o' inches into t' body. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! It seemed t' crash had been caused by a short launch rod, matey, me hearties, t' wind, and late ignition o' one o' the boosters, me hearties, which be confirmed by lookin' at t' spent igniters: two were completely burnt up but t' other one still had most o' t' paper on it.

After a quick rebuild, me hearties, it was ready for another flight, ya bilge rat, which took place at UKRA '05. It was loaded up again with a couple o' C6-3's and a D12-5. Blimey! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! This time, me bucko, I used Quickmatch (fast burnin' fuse ignited by an Estes igniter) t' light t' motors, which practically guaranteed simultaneous ignition o' all t' motors. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! After worryin' about flyin' it in t' high wind (higher than BigEARS), matey, I loaded it up onto a pad with a long rod. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! All three motors lit at t' same time thanks t' t' Quickmatch and t' Gamma shot off the pad, me bucko, me bucko, barely weathercocking. Arrr! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Right on cue, t' boosters ejected and separated from t' sustainer. Ya scallywag! Blimey! One booster kicked its motor, which was me fault for not securin' it properly, and both nose cones separated from t' tubes. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! The sustainer continued skyward for 3-4 more seconds, and then ejected right on apogee. Aye aye! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! All parts were recovered nicely.

Take-off picture by Dan Westley

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
An excellent kit, with very excitin' flights. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I was slightly let down by the weak nose cones but that has been fixed with t' Rockethead version o' this kit.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5