Brief:
Single stage 18mm payloader. Ahoy! Single 12" parachute recovery. Avast! Arrr! 6" long payload section.

Construction:
T' kit contains two sections o' body tube: one for t' booster and one for the payload section, matey, four laser cut balsa fins, shiver me timbers, balsa nose cone, me bucko, balsa tube coupler, motor tube, arrr, matey, two centerin' rings, thrust ring, arrr, motor retainin' hook, launch lug, screw eye, me hearties, Keelhaul®©™® cord, arrr, matey, shiver me timbers, elastic cord, 12" colorful plastic parachute, matey, me hearties, and decals. Blimey! All materials were very high quality and some components, arrr, such as t' motor mount, parachute, Keelhaul®©™® and elastic cord, shiver me timbers, all come packed in sub-assemblies makin' them easier t' find and small parts harder t' lose. I ordered me kit directly from Semroc, and it arrived so well packed in packin' peanuts and air bubble packin' you could've dropped an anvil on it and it would've come through OK. Semroc obviously cares about their products and their customers.

Semroc's instruction booklets are superb. Well, blow me down! I have built three o' their kits and each shows their obvious attention t' detail. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! There is a complete pack list with illustrations and labels for each part, matey, arrr, makin' it easy t' be sure everythin' is there. Begad! Ahoy! A nice list o' needed tools is on t' first page. Begad! Blimey! The instructions are broken down into logical sub-assemblies with check boxes next to each step so you know right where you left off. Aye aye! Each step is well illustrated so thar be never any confusion. Avast! Begad! All t' parts fit like they are supposed to, ya bilge rat, construction was straightforward with only a basic hobby knife, glue o' choice, ruler, ya bilge rat, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and sandpaper, required for t' build. Arrr! Ya scallywag!

Finishing:
There's nothin' special about finishing, arrr, ya bilge rat, just follow t' directions. Aye aye! Filling and sandin' t' balsa takes a little time, but is well worth t' effort. Ahoy! I didn't fill t' spiral gaps in t' body tube, but you can hardly tell as they are so smooth anyway. Ahoy! Arrr! I didn't use t' decals, matey, me hearties, which is just a personal preference. Aye aye! They really didn't go with me color scheme either. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! I really like the long sleek look o' t' model with t' sharp point o' t' nose cone. Avast, me proud beauty!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew it once on each o' t' recommended motors. Aye aye! All were very good flights, although I had a little trouble with parachute deployment. Begad! Blimey! This was by no fault of t' kit, matey, ya bilge rat, however, it just got wrapped too tight and tangled. Begad! Arrr! I used about five sheets o' waddin' per flight, me hearties, me hearties, t' motor hook makes for quick and easy flight prep and turnaround times for t' next flight. It had a little wobble when launched on t' B motor for some reason, me hearties, t' rest o' t' flights were real straight t' whole way. Arrr! It didn't quite achieve t' altitudes I thought it might (just by eye-ballin' it, me bucko, thar was no trackin' or altimeter) but then again, I be launchin' with me brother who be flyin' a Quest Aerobee-Hi kit, so obviously he was gettin' much higher on t' same motors with his smaller, lighter kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Overall though, me bucko, a very pleasin' performance.

Recovery:
T' Keelhaul®©™® cord is attached t' t' motor retainin' rin' and is longer than t' booster section. Avast! Arrr! T' Keelhaul®©™® cord and t' elastic cord are then knotted together. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I really like t' Keelhaul®©™®, since whenever t' elastic cords go t' far down they get burned through. When the chute did deploy on t' last flight, shiver me timbers, me hearties, it performed fine with an average rate of descent. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! On t' flights where t' parachute didn't deploy, it came down sideways and was recovered with no damage. Aye aye! Looks like it will be a durable rocket that has a lot more flights in it.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a great second rocket but ease o' construction would make it fine for a first time builder as well. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' payload section isn't huge, but I usually don't fly anythin' in mine anyway. Arrr! It would still probably easily accommodate some of the smaller altimeters though, me hearties, such as t' AA powered one available from Apogee Components. Avast! I haven't found much about t' rocket that I don't like yet.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5