Brief:
The Eruption is 4-motor cluster from Sunward Aerospace. The motors are outwardly canted. Recovery is via an 18" parachute.

Construction:
The kit includes a balsa nose cone, one BT-70 body tube, two laser cut centering rings, four motor tubes with clips, parachute materials, four laser cut lite-ply fins, and an elastic shock cord.

Construction was very straightforward. The only difficult part in my opinion was the motor mount. I had a hard time following the method described in the instructions. The instructions say to tape the top tubes and centering disc together and then glue the bottom disc to the tubes. I did the opposite of that. I marked the tubes where they were supposed to meet the bottom disc and taped them in place. I then tack glued the top disc to the forward end of the tubes, before reinforcing all the joints with more glue.

PROs:

• The materials were very good quality.
• It is appears to be a sturdy design.

Cons:

• The wraparound guide for the fins did not line up correctly. There was about an 1/8" gap. I printed my own guide using VCP.
• The instructions and illustrations were a little vague and confusing in some steps. I think a general rule to follow is: read the instructions three times; build once.
• It was a little difficult to discern the orientation of the fins. I recommend marking the leading edge for each one after you figure it out.

Finishing:
I finished the tubes, fins, and nose cone with two coats of Elmer's Wood Filler. The fins began to warp each time while applying the filler. I kept them straight by pressing between glass plate and books.

I used Aves Fixit compound (same as epoxy clay sold by Apogee Rockets) to fill in the gaps between the motor tubes and the body tube.

The only con is that it doesn't come with any decals. It didn't really matter though because I came up with my own design. I'm a big fan of the Adult Swim cartoon, "Metalocalypse". On the show there is a recurring character called Dr. Rockzo, the rock and roll clown. He is very loud and wears bright fluorescent colors. I modeled the finish design after him. I painted the nose cone and fins florescent pink and the body yellow. I printed images of Dr. Rockzo onto Staples brand white label paper using an inkjet printer. After applying the stickers I sprayed on a couple coats of acrylic clear coat. I made the mistake of adding stickers over the course of a few days, and some of them started to peel. To avoid this, I recommend having all the stickers you are going to use together and apply them at the same time.

I would probably rate the construction and finishing a 2 or 2-1/2 due to the poor instructions and wraparound guide. I think the design and parts quality were great though so I gave a higher score.

Construction Rating: 3 out of 5

Flight:
The first flight was great even though only 3 motors lit. It flew at a slight angle after leaving the pad but otherwise had a straight flight.

Recovery:
The 18" parachute was fine. The shroud lines seem unusually long, and I wasn't sure if I should cut them down some. It seems to work fine as is. I've not seen any damage from landing.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
PROs: I love the design. The four canted motors along with the overall shape make this stand out. The parts are very good quality.

CONs: My main gripe is the instructions. I think they could have been presented better. Also, the parachute shroud lines seemed a little long.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5