Brief
Vaughn Brothers - Ballistic or Bust - 29mm, 30" nylon parachute, recommended F25-H70, pre-cut fiberglass fins, plywood centering rings, thru-the-wall fin attachment.

Construction
I could look into the clear plastic bag and see all of the parts so there was no way of getting short changed.

The only special tool needed was a razor knife which helped greatly. I also used a paint brush for applying the epoxy.

Overall the kit was fairly easy to assemble. The downfall was the instructions. Instructions were text with no pics so it was kind of confusing. I prefer pictures just in case the jargon gets a little deep. If you've never built a rocket chances are you wouldn't put this one together correctly.

The kit comes with a paper template to mark fin position. You have to cut the slots for thru the wall fins. There are four 1/8" thick fiberglass fins that appear indestructible..

Two coated cardboard body tubes to make up the 70" length of the rocket, with separation right in the middle. They appear to be very strong. A 1.9" x 6" plastic nose cone sits on top to make up the remaining length of the kit. There are two 1/4" lugs. Motor mount includes a 12" tube, plywood centering rings and baffle.

For me, about 4 ounces of 5 minute epoxy and 2 hours got this thing together in time to fly the next day. The most impressive things about the kit are materials and the weight (18 ounces). The plywood, fiberglass, cords, parachute, tubes are all very well made. Unless it becomes a high altitude lawn dart this kit will last a long long time

Finishing
I primered it, sanded it, painted it copper and Testors metallic blue. I also put two American flags at the top and bottom of "Ballistic"...which I used vinyl letters from Walmart.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight
The maiden was on a NCR Darkstar F64-4, and it was picture perfect. It launched majestically from a cloud of dense black smoke straight as an arrow to about 1000ft. Recovery was a snap since I cut the 5" hole in the parachute. I walked about 20 yards and did it all over again with a G40W.

It required 5 sheets of high impulse wadding.

Recovery
The shock cord component that mounts inside the aft section of the airframe can be the difference between life and death of the rocket. If it is mounted improperly you can bet the ejection discharge will send it into the wild blue yonder. It is simply a chord epoxied to the inner side of the tube.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary
This puppy is solid! I want to get another so I can paint it differently.

The main "PRO" about this rocket is the way the engine mount and fins are configured. It would be awfully hard to destroy that part of the rocket due to the way it's structured and the addition of all the epoxy in one small area.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5