Brief:

This is a sport scale replica of the Patriot M-104 ground to air missile. It is a single stage, 29mm rocket with a 30 inch parachute for recovery. The components came carefully packaged and in good shape for PEL (Public Enemy). This is a relatively simple rocket, well within the capabilities of most rocket enthusiasts.

Construction:

Construction was very straight forward. I followed the well written instructions through the entire process. There were no hidden "gotcha's". I called PEL about the yellow body tubes to see if there were any special requirements for filleting the fins or attaching the launch lugs. They were cheerful and very helpful. They pointed out that there were nothing special about the tubes except that they were easier to finish than the standard white tubes supplied with other kits. They recommended using 30 minute epoxy for the fillets and the launch lugs and told me that sanding the tube was not required prior to applying the glue.

The motor mount and fin assembly went together with 30 minute epoxy with no special preparation or sanding required. The instructions call for marking the centering ring or one fin and the body tube with an indexing mark to facilitate reinserting the assembly after filleting the internal joints.

I made two changes to the kit during construction. I installed blind nuts for Kaplow clip motor retention and used two Rail Buttons instead of the launch lugs. Both changes are minor. PEL marks the body tube with lines for installing the launch lugs so positioning the buttons was a breeze. I used medium CA to attach the buttons and 30 minute epoxy to fillet around the bases and to cover the exposed threads in the body tube.

Total construction time was about 4 hours, most of that was waiting for the epoxy to set. This wasn't my first high powered kit but I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone just starting into this phase of the hobby.

Finishing:

I finished the rocket using Bondo body putty to fill the spiral grooves in the body tube and the low spots on the nose cone. The rocket was primed with Duplicolor White Primer and then a gloss coat of white was sprayed the main body tube and payload section. The nose cone was painted bright red. This is where I stopped and began to research the different paint schemes for the real Patriots.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:

OROC’s Summer Skies launch at Brothers, OR, was my first opportunity to fly the Patriot. I still hadn't finished all of the surface preparations and fillets but decided to throw a coat of paint on it and put it up. PEL recommends any G or H motor. I launched it on an H128-10 with light winds. Boost was arrow straight, ejection was right at apogee and recovery on the 30 inch chute was less than half a mile from the pad. The flight was very rewarding for a kit this simple to build.

Recovery:

I stuffed the tube with about 8 inches of dog barf to protect the shock cord and parachute. The recovery was damage free. Considering the high desert terrain and vegetation at the Brothers launch site, this was a very good match between the rocket weight and the parachute size. I wouldn't recommend using a smaller chute even in windier conditions. The walk would be well compensated by the lack of landing damage.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:

This was a rewarding kit to build and fly. PEL has done a very good job of producing an easy to assemble MPR/HPR rocket that makes a good transition rocket for someone looking to move to bigger motors but still have the option of flying on a small field.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5