Brief:
Single stage, 14" parachute recovery at apogee using motor ejection.

Construction:
Two airframe BT's (27", 13"), 1.6" LOC nose cone, 3-plywood fins, 2- paper centering rings, LOC-type 29mm motor mount tube (8"long), 1 coupler, bulkhead, and eye screw.

You also receive a length of 1/4" elastic for a shock cord. No decals.

Instructions are straight forward. I always expect good things from Barry. The construction was very simple, with tips on how to beef up your fin joints for higher power flights. No alignment problems. Everything went together very well. Because, I intend to fly mine on H and I motors, I beefed up the fin joints with fiberglass.

Finishing:
No special requirements are needed for the airframe and fins to get it ready to paint. However; with all LOC nose cones, be sure you take extra care in prepping it for paint. I usually sand mine down starting with about 150-grit and progressing up to 600-grit. It makes for a nice smooth finish that will stand up to a lot o abuse.

The only CON I found with this kit is that it doesn't come with decals. I didn't worry about it that much as I just purchased vinyl letters.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
On the day of the flight, I used an Aerotech G64. Since I replaced the shock cord with Kevlar and a chute protector, this made prepping recovery very easy. The rocket lifted off the pad straight and true. With the prevailing winds from the south at our launch site, the rocket ended up drifting down range a bit. Never the less, it was recovered in perfect condition.

Since the trailing edge of the fins are 1 caliber in front of the aft end, the chance of breaking a fin is minimized.

Next, I loaded it with an H128, which gave us a neck snapping launch. Again, the rocket performed flawlessly.

The third flight of the day was with a single use F32 with a 24mm motor adaptor. It wasn't as exciting as the H128. The F32 launched it to a respectible altitude. My shock cord got tangled in the shroud lines. So the rocket flat spinned into the Texas grass. I'm glad I glassed the fins now.

Recovery:
Shock Cord: replaced with Kevlar from Apogee Components.

Parachute: 14" flat panel- rip stop nylon. IMHO, too small. This rocket needs at least a 24" to recover it. I think a 14" was chosen because the fins are situated 1.5" ahead of the aft end of the rocket. Thus, reducing the chance of breaking a fin on landing.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
I don't have any bad things to say about this rocket. It went together very well and quickly. As I stated above, it needs a larger parachute. And replace the elastic shock cord with Kevlar.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5