Brief:
Military Style Sport Rocket with 3x24mm cluster. Begad!

Construction:
T' kit comes with 2 sections o' high quality, matey, matey, glassine coated BT-80 paper tubes. Avast! T' two body tube sections are held together with a standard modroc tube coupler and centerin' rin' which serves as t' mountin' point for t' Keelhaul®©™® and elastic shock cord. Avast! T' motor mount is a 3 x 24mm arrangement usin' high quality paper tubes and laser cut light ply centerin' rings. All o' t' fins are balsa and are cut from sheets o' 1/8" thick balsa usin' t' supplied templates. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' nose cone is also a high quality balsa piece. T' parachute that came with me beta test kit is a very nice 24" dia. piece made from rip-stop nylon. (T' production kits will come with a similar chute except in 30" diameter.)

T' illustrated instructions made construction a breeze. Cardstock templates are included for tracin' t' fins onto t' balsa fin stock. Ahoy! A body tube marking guide is also included. Ya scallywag! Avast! This is a large model rocket, so be prepared for a lot of sanding. Ahoy! There are a 12 fins on this one, but it goes together nicely if you take your time. Ahoy! I had no problems at all durin' t' construction. Avast! T' quality of t' included parts are very nice. I used TiteBond yellow carpenter's glue for most o' t' build. Begad! Ya scallywag! Be sure t' sand off t' glassine coatin' before you attach t' fins. Avast! Avast! This will provide a better glue joint and help keep t' lower fins attached when it lands on recovery.

The one thin' that may be a bit different is that t' instructions recommend coatin' t' fins with thin CA glue. This improves t' strength o' t' balsa, plus saves a bit o' fillin' when it's time t' finish it. Well, blow me down! I followed the recommended procedure and it turned out great. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Just be careful with t' CA fumes when you do this.

Finishing:
T' only special technique on fillin' was t' use o' thin CA as mentioned above. Avast! I then used two coats o' Kilz spray primer, shiver me timbers, sandin' in betwixt coats to fill t' rest o' t' balsa and body tube spirals. Avast, me proud beauty! You're on your own for pickin' a paint scheme as no decals are included. Avast, me proud beauty! Since this one has a military look t' it, I decided t' give mine a camo scheme. Ahoy! Krylon flat spray paints and a lot o' blue painter's tape were used for t' winter splinter camo pattern on my MIKE IX.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended motors are C11-5's and D12-5's. Arrr! Arrr! T' motors are friction fit usin' maskin' tape. Blimey! I used "dog barf" waddin' t' protect t' chute. This is a BT-80 sized bird so it does take quite a bit. Begad! T' supplied chute is very nice. Begad! It folds up neatly and thar be no problem fittin' it into t' large body tube. Blimey! Plenty o' space in this one.

T' maiden flight was at NSL 2004 in Hearne, arrr, Texas. She flew beautifully on three C11-5's. Ahoy! Avast! It was me first flight that morning. Aye aye! There was a slight breeze out o' t' south. Ahoy! Well, matey, blow me down! It leapt off t' pad and climbed straight up t' approx. 700 feet. Ejection was right after apogee and t' chute came out perfectly. Begad! A textbook flight. T' flame, smoke and noise from three 24mm black powder motors is impressive.

Recovery:
All o' t' materials in t' recovery system are first rate. Avast! T' shock cord consists o' a heavy Keelhaul®©™® thread attached t' a centerin' rin' mounted midway up t' length o' t' body tube. T' centerin' rin' acts as a 'sort-of' baffle, matey, me hearties, plus it keeps helps keep the parachute toward t' top o' t' rocket durin' flight. Well, blow me down! T' Keelhaul®©™® thread is attached t' a very long piece o' elastic which is tied t' a screw eye in t' nose cone. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' chute comes pre-assembled with a snap-swivel, arrr, and is made of rip-stop nylon and Keelhaul®©™® shroud lines.

T' beta kit that I built came with a 24" dia. chute. Durin' me test flights, I estimated descent at 15 ft/sec, maybe a bit more. Ahoy! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! It seemed t' come down a little too quickly, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and t' manufacturer has decided t' supply the production kits with a 30" chute instead, a good move in me book. Ya scallywag! My second flight on D12-5's and t' 24" chute landed on a gravel road and resulted in a cracked fin, arrr, ya bilge rat, however that be easily repaired. Ya scallywag!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
In typical ThrustAero tradition, me hearties, this is a "builder's" kit. The quality o' materials is first rate, but you must be prepared t' cut your own fins and have a little imagination when it comes t' finishing. Blimey! Aye aye! T' end result is a very handsome rocket that commands attention at t' flight line. I love cluster rockets and this is a tough lookin' rocket. Avast! It absolutely roars off the pad on three D12's. Ahoy! It has a large profile in flight and is very stable as it goes up. Ahoy! I can't think o' any CONs t' this kit...

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5