Brief:
This is the classic Estes Honest John. This is the middle kit, between the Little John, and the Maxi Honest John. This kit is standard with an 18mm motor mount, but I put a 24 mm in mine. It uses parachute recovery, but I use a streamer for AT engines.

Construction:
This rocket comes with the standard BT-55 and the BT-20 motor mount. It has an engine block and a clip for retention, as well a rubber band shock cord and a 12 inch chute. It also has 2 centering rings made from cardboard. There are 4 fins, and 2 standoffs for the launch lugs. This is the plastic nose cone model, the original came with balsa.

This kit is extremely easy to build. It would be great for a re-release. The fins are balsa that need to be sanded and filled, but other than that it is straight forward. I did throw out the rubber band shock cord and used regular elastic nylon. The instructions are very easy to follow.

Finishing:
I painted mine the standard olive drab on the package. The water slide decals deserve a coat of clear to protect them when you are done. It looks great since it is an OOP kit and you don't see them all the time, just their big brothers now.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
I used C6-7's on mine when I was a kid and they always went great. I use D12-5's now that the D12-7's are gone. If it is a real calm day, I put E30's in mine. I use a streamer for those, as they tend to be out of sight flights. This kit goes straight up, no problems at all, always flies great.

Recovery:
The provided 12 inch chute works great, but you may opt for a streamer for windier days since it is so light, and goes over 1000 feet on C motors. I actually designed mine without a engine hook so I could 2 stage it, but have not done that yet.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
Excellent OOP kit that flies great.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5