Brief:
I built the Zip quite a while back as a beta test for Red River Rocketry prior to the actual kit production. It flies on 13mm motors and uses streamer recovery. The Zip is a beautiful model that is excellent for flying on small fields.

Construction:
Not much to it! You get a small BT-5, nose cone and motor block, plus launch lug, Kevlar® cord, mylar streamer and tape disc, silver trim Monokote and some zippy decals. My kit was a pre-production version so the fins were actually drawn out onto the balsa and had to be cut out. Also, the nose cone was resin cast with a plastic insert for the base. I believe the production version has laser cut fins and the nose cone is balsa with an eye screw for shock cord attachment.

Mark the fin lines on the body tube using the provided template, install the motor block with a spent motor casing, and attach the fins. Next, cut out the small paper shock cord included on the marking template and install the shock cord. Finally, glue in the base to the nose cone, attach the shock cord and tape the mylar streamer onto the shock cord using the tape disc.

Finishing:
I used Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish to seal the fins prior to attachment and sanded smooth. Elmer's white glue was used for fin fillets. I put on a couple of coats of Krylon primer, sanding between coats, and then finished with Krylon gloss yellow on the entire rocket. With the trim Monokote and decals applied, the rocket looks fantastic.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight and Recovery:
I only got to fly it twice. First was on 1/4A. It zoomed up arrow straight, but I didn't see it eject. It came down fine on the small mylar streamer. Next time, I was a small park after our monthly meeting, and John Dyer of Red River Rocketry and I decided to drag race our models. I had only brought 1/4A motors, but he wanted to fly on 1/2A motors. I thought that was insane, but another club member offered to swap my 1/4As for a pack of 1/2As he had. Oh well, I thought, it'll be one great flight! There was some problem with the motor though as you can see in the launch photo. The exhaust on my motor is much smaller than the exhaust on John's. It didn't travel very far and broke a fin on impact, with the streamer ejecting after it hit the ground. I don't remember if John got his back or not. I know it Zipped out of sight real quickly. I was lucky to catch the rockets just before leaving the pad.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
The rocket is very nice and can be totally completed in one day or only a few minutes if you don't paint it. Although small in stature, the Zip is big on looks!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5