Brief:
This rocket is a skill level 2, and is fairly easy to build despite its unique design. It has three (3) fins and a wood dowel comes down off each, making very long legs.

Construction:
All of the parts for this rocket came in perfect shape and had no problems. It included:

• 1 BT50 body tube
• 1 two (2) part plastic molded nose cone
• 3 fins/ribs/dowel attachments
• 1 BT80 tube coupler
• engine hook
• 2 centering rings
• engine block ring
• engine mount tube
• three wood dowels
• shock cord
• 18” parachute
• instructions

The construction for this rocket was fairly easy. Everything fit together well and I had no trouble at all with the construction. Throughout the model I used a technique called double jointing, which is when you apply a thin layer of glue on each surface and wait for it to dry before gluing the parts together. This smooths out the surface providing a very strong attachment. I did think that sanding the edge onto the dowels was very tedious, especially because I had run out of rough sandpaper, so I had to use fine. But other than that, construction was easy.

Finishing:
I did not paint this rocket, so this does not apply to me.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
So far I have only flown this rocket twice. The first flight was on a B6-4 motor, and was nice and stable, although it did have a slight corkscrew on the way up. The second flight was on the same motor but I could see the rocket more clearly. It also corkscrewed on the way up a little more than the first flight. It is really a great sight to see this thing in the sky.

Recovery:
The recovery on this rocket is an eighteen inch ‘chute. The shock cord is attached using a paper mount attached to the inside of the tube. The first time the parachute ejected perfectly and on time, but on the way down it hit a post in the field, and splintered a dowel, easily repaired. The second time, the parachute ejected slightly late but recovered perfectly. The parachute size for this rocket is perfect; the rocket comes down at just the right speed. The only thing I don’t like is that you have to make the parachute yourself, including cutting the parachute shape and tying on the shroud lines.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
Overall, this is a great rocket, I highly recommend it. It would be better if the ‘chute came preassembled. It is a real crowd pleaser; all my launching buddies love it.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Other:
This was my test kit for double jointing, and it showed me just how much you can get out of double jointing.