Brief:  This single staged forward swept finned rocket is designed to break mach.  it's also an altitude grabber for sure.  It came with a streamer, but I made it a parachute for the sake of visibility. I fly it with both 29 and 38mm engines.

Construction:Everything was there and in good shape.  However, the ad had said that the rocket had through the wall fin design, but it didn't. The fins are 1/8 inch plywood. The fins are 1/8 inch plywood. The body tube is spiral wound kraft paper. I had the option of all-around fiberglass, but for a greater cost, so I opted for paper. The launch lug is spiral wound paper with one side diagonally cot to a bevel, to reduce drag.  The instructions were simple and clear with good illustrations. Since the fins are attached right to the body tube wall, I made the model sturdier with extra epoxy fillets. I used a rotary sander to smoothen the wood and create my airfoil shape on the fins. I also glassed them with a coat of epoxy, giving them a shiny, hard, glasslike feel.

Finishing:  The rocket came with nifty red decals, the kind that slide off when put in water, and I applied them over an overall orange paint job. My favorite decal of the lot says, "Experimental. "  They went on smoothly and look nice.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:I used a 38 to 29mm motor adapter and flew the rocket with an Aerotech G80-7T. Prepping was easy and fast.   Worm bed wadding was used. The engine was retained with taping.   The rocket screamed up high and straight.

Recovery:The shock cord used is 3 feet of black, flat, 1/8 inch wide elastic attached to the inner wall of the main body tube using a folded paper mounting. A Kevlar® cord loop I supplied to attach the elastic to the paper mounting. The recovery occurred at apogee, so it was just right. The chute only partly deployed because of line entanglement, but the descent was at an acceptable rate. No damage occurred to the rocket.  

My chute is a hemispherical, 8-gored broadcloth homemade red and orange print of tomatoes 26 inches in diameter.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:Speedy, loud, and altitude reaching. Speedy, loud, and altitude reaching. I have no real cons. Has anyone out there dared to fly this one with 38mm motors?E-Mail me if anyone would like to tell me.

Overall Rating: 4 ½ out of 5