Photo courtesy of Giant Leap Rocketry   

Brief:
This is a single-stage super-sonic capable dirt-simple HPR rocket. A great HPR certification kit for L1 and L2.

Construction:
The kit comes with 1 body tube (phenolic or optional fiberglass extra $$), a 3-fin Acme Fin-can (very solid and easy to install), and is minimum diameter so there's no need for centering rings. The body tube is the motor mount. I recommend the optional Slim-Line motor retainer. It comes with a bright-orange parachute and plenty of Kevlar shock cord. I also recommend the optional Kevlar heat-pad for the chute. It comes with an OGIVE nose cone. The shock cord is tied and epoxied to a "supermount", which is two thick cardboard tubes (one inside the other) with a piece of all-thread through the middle. This is one of the sturdiest shock-cord mounts I've encountered.

The instructions are excellent and virtually unnecessary for anyone but the most novice rocketeer. This kit is so completely easy to build and so bullet proof. The assembly process consists of:

• Epoxy (JB Weld) motor retainer in place (if you are using one)
• Epoxy (30 min. or better) fin can in place
• Attach shock cord to shock cord mount (bowline)
• Epoxy-coat shock cord knot
• Epoxy shock cord mount to body tube
• Attach Parachute and Nose Cone
• Epoxy Launch Lugs to Body
• Paint

That's all there is to it.

Finishing:
This rocket can be flown bare or finished as elaborately as you want. If you do paint it, you'll want to use a good Krylon or other heavy duty heat-resistant paint. (Did I mention a K will get this thing past Mach 2?)

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
Giant Leap has a list of motors they've simmed or tested on their website. The rocket, however, is so well designed, it'll pretty much fly on any HPR motor in the 38-54mm range. I flew it multiple times on an H-242 and J-350. (Unfortunately, I botched an avionics add-on with no motor-backup on it's third flight, and created confetti. This was entirely my fault, however, and the rocket flew very well right into the ground (straight down, perfectly stable)).

Here pictured is the J350 just coming to pressure for lift-off of my Level 2 Certification Flight. Success!

The chute might be a little large. In any wind, you can expect a trek to go get the thing.

Recovery:
The shock cord and parachute are generally of very high quality. Kevlar tube shock cord and Nylon chute. The "technique" is a very strong mounting on the body-tube end and a very long shock cord. The only possible complaint about the recovery system is the slow descent can lead to a long recovery trip. However, this is a trade-off, and, for certification, a nice gentle landing is worth the hike.

Recommended Motors:
Almost any 38mm or 54mm H-K.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Pros:

• Very easy to assemble
• Flies great
• Extremely Stable
• MACH+
• Great intro to HPR
• Great starting point for mods and scratch-builds (I've built about 3 more rockets based on the FS54 parts since then).

Cons:

• Long recovery hike due to slow descent
• Maybe too simple... Begs to be modified (or is that a Pro?)

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5