Brief:
Larger, cooler version of an Estes classic. This thing ROCKS!! I got it for Christmas. I saw it at Ace on December 14,2003 and I can't believe this rocket was still there. It's been OOP for about 3 years. It was a re-release of the original 1979 version.

Construction:
The kit has:

• 3 BT-80 body tubes, 2 long and one short
• 3 red plastic fins
• 2 rings for holding engine tube, fins and connect short body tube to long tubes
• 1 large unpainted nose cone (although it said there was no painting)
• Decal sheet
• Recovery and engine mount materials

This is a pretty easy kit, well deserving of a Skill Level 2. The challenging part of this kit is sliding the motor mount/fins into the large ring that holds the body tube.

I decided to go with the regular shock cord mounting method. I had concerns about the way Estes tells you to attach the shock cord (tying it to the engine ring) ripping out, so I just made a 3-fold shock cord mount out of paper.

This was the second time in one day that there was a knot in the parachute. I was building an OOP AMRAAM missile and it had a knot in it's chute. I got this knot out. It was finished in about 2 hours.

Finishing:
The rocket looks real good when finished. However, there is a lot of advertising. The large decal halves were difficult to apply without any little folds getting in the way. I had to paint the nose cone, even though the face card says "No Painting Required."

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
I flew it once on a D12-3. This is the only engine Estes recommends. It ROARED OFF THE PAD!! Went out of sight. For such a heavy rocket, it sure drifts a lot. It went over the houses and landed in a very low branch. Needed a small ladder to recover. I won't fly it much because it's a wadding guzzler. It needs about 10-12 squares of wadding. It is a good number, but it almost finished off my Blastoff Flight Pack's wadding.

The flight was very stable and high. It hit about 550 feet. This rocket drifts waaaayyyy too much. It's a heavy rocket and it uses a 24 inch chute.

Recovery:
The parachute was good. Lots o' drifting. There was no damage because it landed in a tree. Low branch. Thank goodness! No assembly of the parachute needed. Everything went well.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
This is an excellent rocket that flies well and is a great looker. It's fun to assemble and fun to fly. All in all, An EXCELLENT rocket! Estes needs to bring this rocket back. If I could, I'd rate this rocket a 100!!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5