Brief:
This is a classic Estes kit that has been in production for quite some time. It is a single staged rocket with a large length to width ratio and the launches are impressive for a low power kit.

Construction:
The long airframe is built by coupling four standard BT-60 body tubes. The kit comes with four die-cut balsa fins and two cardboard centering rings. Recovery is done with a 3/16" shock cord nearly 3 feet in length. A parabolic plastic nose cone is also provided.

This kit comes nicely packaged with cardboard reinforcement in the bag to protect the five BT-60 body tubes. All the parts listed in the instructions were there and undamaged. The instructions were clear and easy to follow, typical of most Estes kits. This kit can be easily built with no special tools but I had recently bought the tube marking tool kit from Estes, so I didn't need to use the included body tube wrapper. The "hold down strap" (just a strip of paper) template was useful in gluing down the engine hook but not really needed. The kit was extremely easy to build--it could almost be a level 1 kit. With a bit of sanding, all the parts fit together well. In hindsight I should have used custom tube couplers instead of the ones provided as the stock ones are much too short. I guess that Estes wanted to put a priority on keeping weight down over durability. The centering rings also look a little flimsy.

The plastic tools I bought helped with gluing the fins on perfectly but of course homemade marking guides and fin gluing jigs work just as well. This rocket is already very heavy, so no priming coats or sealing was put on the body tubes, just a thin coat of black paint. Painting it black was a very bad idea. Paint it another color instead. Once I flew it in 90 degree weather and it got too hot to handle. It warped a bit, too. Once finished, it looked pretty lean and, well, mean.

PROs:

• Easy construction. It could even be a skill level 1 kit.
• Looks good even with the simple decals provided.

CONs:

• Tube couplers could stand being at least an inch or two longer.

Finishing:
The instructions warned against priming the rocket but advised putting sanding sealer on the fins, sanding after the sealer had dried, and then putting on one thin coat of spray paint. I took Estes' advice because this rocket is very heavy for its D motor. Modifying it with a 29 mm motor mount would be great and I know people have done so with good results.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
The recommended motor was a D12-5. It's the only one to consider using as ejection is consistently just after apogee but a D12-3 would be much too short of a delay. You can't put too much wadding in this rocket. I loaded it with 8 squares of wadding. The engine mount and motor hook worked just fine.

My first flight was on a day with calm winds and it went perfectly straight up. I was a little worried when the rocket nosed down and started falling. Then the chute deployed and it came down slowly, only about a hundred feet away. My second flight would sorely test the short recovery range. The launch site was near a baseball field with a game in progress! It lifted off beautifully, arched over at apogee, and landed not 15 feet from the home run fence. Whew! Both times the rocket came home unscathed.

PROs:

• Lift offs look awesome, especially for a low power kit.

CONs:

• The rocket could have been designed for ejection a bit closer to apogee.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
This is really a good rocket. If you're looking for a good addition to your low power fleet, this should be a top choice. Lift offs look good, construction is easy, and it looks pretty good. The main improvement I would make is using longer tube couplers. The rocket would be more durable and the extra weight might help better coordinate apogee with ejection.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5