Brief
This kit was designed to go high on I, J, &k motors. This particular kit was designed for dual deployment, which is an option from Public Enemy.

Construction
All the parts came in a bag. All parts were present, no warps, or broken parts. The parts were as follows: three paper body tubes: 36" booster, 8" mid or drogue tube, and an 18" payload tube. The motor tube was 18" long and resembled mailing tube like that purchased at Office Max. A PML long nose cone, PE's own ripe-stop parachutes (30" chute & 18"), 1/4" wood composite centering rings, and bulkplates, three aircraft grade plywood fins, & bulkplates, 1/2" brass launch lugs, a 110" long, 1/4" bungee and a 72" long, 1" nylon strap for the shock cord, nice eyebolts, nuts, & washers.

Instructions are all on one side of one page, a picture cut-away view was printed on the opposite side...very basic info, experienced modelers only.

Has a neat feature were you build the motor mount assembly w/ fins outside the body tube. Letting you "beef" it up, then you install the whole assembly into the pre-slotted sustainer tube.

Finishing
The instructions said paint model. I personally put one layer of 2oz. glass on the tubes to cover up the "grooves" primed, & primed, & painted a beautiful rocket. No decals, nothing that a little imagination wouldn't take care of.

Construction Rating: 3 ½ out of 5

Flight
Only J & K motors recommended. I used a Hypertek 835cc/.172 orifice (J-300) for a Level 2 certification. Prep time with a Hypertek it takes a little longer, other wise prep is normal for HPR motors. The 835cc motor retains itself. I use biodegradable roof insulation for wadding.

She flew beautifully, straight and true. And yes, I did certify NAR Level 2 on March 27, 1999. The Performer screamed on a Hypertek J-300 to 4,333 ft.

Plan to fly at NSL99 on a HYP K-240 to break a mile in altitude.

Recovery
I modified my recovery to include larger drogue and larger main chutes (22" & 54"). The shock cords were replaced with 24 feet of 1/2" tubular nylon and 16 feet of 1" cargo (comealong) strap. The shock cord now uses quicklinks. The 1" cargo strap was the drogue shock cord, and attached to the booster tube via a reverse coupler.

The original design was that the 1" strap was to be glued to the top 3" of the motor tube, they even made the top center ring w/ a relief slot for this procedure. Since I made the fin assembly removable & chopped the tube to 12 1/8" that negated that step. The reverse coupler was made by mounting the assembled bulkhead-coupler permanently inside the booster tube with the bulkhead inserted first. This called for the eyebolt to be mounted in reverse as to attach the shock cord. The 6" long coupler tube in effect became the drogue compartment. (6"x3.9")

With the Hypertek system you have to have electronic deployment, this was acheived w/ an electronics bay installed in the 18" payload section.

The modifications were to accommodate the extra weight of the rocket at deployment. The original design of the rocket had it weighing in at 3 1/2 pounds approximately. My completed Performer weighed in at just under 9 pounds. The Hypertek motor system (835cc tank & fuel grain) took up 3 pounds of the rocket. This was before 2 pounds of NOX was added.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary
Pro's: Beautiful rocket, finishes nicely, flies even better.

Con's: Instructions are vague, needs more detail instructions and diagrams.

Overall Rating: 3 ½ out of 5