Brief:
This is an interesting rocket from Estes. It is basically just a plastic fin canister with a large Mylar balloon on the front. It comes with a launch pad and a launch controller and can be ready to fly in a few hours.

Construction:
This rocket comes packaged with its launch pad and controller in a very brightly colored box. The rocket's parts are bagged and the launch set is taped to a piece of cardboard. The instructions are very concise and have drawings of the assembly and launch prep next to the text. Both the box and instructions are printed in English and French. The three fins are made of a plastic framework with Mylar glued to it. The motor mount is a 24mm plastic tube with a bend in the top, and a paper tube inserted into the bend. This comes with a locking ring to hold the motor in. The balloon is Mylar and about six feet long. The balloon replaces a conventional body tube, and is very simple to inflate. The fins and motor mount slide together and glued in place, then they attach to the balloon via a plastic framework (which is glued together and then to the fins), and tape. The launch lugs are plastic and tape on aligned with the balloon's seam. The parachute is 12" diameter and attaches to a long nylon thread which resembles fishing line, but thicker. This attaches to a ring which is taped to the balloon at the top. The parachute is deployed from the paper tube attached to the motor mount.

The instructions are very simple and easy to follow, and the pictures are helpful. The fin-motor mount assembly is simple, but the canister that attaches to the balloon kept coming apart when I tried to slide it in place, even after I let it dry overnight. The balloon blows up with a straw and is fairly simple to inflate, if you follow the instructions. The launch lugs tape on and require more than one person to attach. The upper ring also tapes on and also requires more than one person to attach. The nylon "shock cord" is difficult to tie in the proper loop, especially because it's wrapped around a piece of card stock when you get it and has a tendency to try and re- wrap itself. The parachute comes pre-assembled and is fairly easy to tie on, once you have the nylon cord tied together. All-in-all, I agree with Estes' decision to give it a Skill Level 2 rating.

Finishing:
The fin canister parts are of a molded red plastic which requires no finishing. The fins themselves are molded as well, with Mylar pre-attached. The motor mount is molded red plastic, with a white tube which you could probably paint if you wanted to. The balloon, obviously, requires no finishing, as it is just metallic Mylar. Really this rocket requires no finishing whatsoever.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
One word of caution before I go on. The Electron Beam launch controller that comes with The Dude has the safety key tied to the controller. Do take the time remove it so you can keep it separate. I could have gotten my fingers burned off because, on launch day, one of my non-rocketeer friends picked up the controller and said, "How do you launch this thing? Just press the button?" I proceeded to tell him that he couldn't launch yet because I had taken the above precaution and had the key with me. Thank you, and on with the review!

This rocket has only one recommended motor which is one of the Estes "Mighty D" series, the D12-3. This gives a very low flight, maybe 200-300 feet if you're lucky. Launch day was clear with a light breeze blowing, These are actually decent conditions for this rocket if you have people to help you. Setting up for launch is supposedly very simple if you do it right. I, unfortunately, tried to pound in the stake that comes with the pad using a hammer. This resulted in the holder for the launch rod breaking off. I just pounded the rod into the ground and then slid the blast deflector over it.

Prepping for flight was simple. First I put the recovery wadding into the little tube as recommended, and then I folded the parachute, wrapped the lines once, and stuffed it in on top of the wadding. I then deviated from the instructions again and put the motor into the retainer ring, and then put in the igniter and plug. I then put the motor into the mount, having some difficulty fitting the top past the mouth of the mount, and locked the ring in, again having difficulty because the ring did not slide into position well. The rocket was very difficult to get on the pad because of a light breeze that was blowing (I had decided once again to go against the instructions and just launch anyway). I didn't have any tape, so I decided to do without. Once it was on the pad, it blew around a little, so I had one of my friends hold it in place while I hooked up the micro clips. I then backed up to the launch controller and had everybody stand behind me. When we were safely away, I proceeded with the countdown and launched.

The rocket lifted off the pad, turned slightly into the wind, and climbed until the motor burned out. The rocket hovered for a moment at burnout altitude, then started to drop just as the ejection charge fired. The chute took awhile to deploy, but was safely open when the rocket had reached half of the distance to the ground. The rocket hit hard and bounced once on its tail, then flopped over. After we recovered it, we flew two other rockets, but "the big one" held the most interest. By the time we had it prepped again, the rocket had lost pressure so we re-inflated it and took it out to the pad. We re-inflated it once more on the pad and could find no leaks, so we decided it was go.

The second flight went much the same way as the first, but when we got the rocket back, the pressure was low again, so we decided to pack up and go home. All-in-all, this rocket is fun to fly, but very difficult to hold still in a breeze. Also, the impact of recovery seemed to damage the balloon. I have not found the leak, so it must have been the stress of the hard impact creating pinhole leaks in the balloon. Another problem I noticed is the occurrence of minor charring on the tube the recovery system fits into. I haven't figured out what causes this either. Look out for those if you buy this rocket.

Recovery:
The recovery system is very simple to assemble on this rocket. All you do is slip the upper ring on and tape it in place with the included tape, then extend the nylon cord which is molded into the ring itself, and tie the pre-assembled chute in place. Recovery itself is another matter. There is a little tube that leads out the side from the motor mount, and the 'chute goes in there. When the ejection charge activates, it blows the chute out and into the open air. The chute then swings away from the rocket and deploys. The nylon cord is there just to connect the 'chute to the rocket. The 'chute is too small for the rocket's weight, and the rocket hits hard. The fins are resilient, but I wouldn't trust them for too many flights. Also, the balloon is easily damaged by the impact. It deflated rapidly on me after hitting the ground. It might be a good idea to replace the stock 'chute with an 18" or even a 24" one.

Flight Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary:
This rocket is fun to fly, even in a light breeze. I like the idea of a balloon rocket, but it needs a slightly stronger balloon. It's fairly simple to build, but some parts could be a little tighter or a little looser. The fact that it doesn't need finishing is a plus. Another plus is that this rocket can be flown on fairly small fields. It needs a bigger parachute, the 12" 'chute doesn't cut it. The D class motor is cool, though. If somebody could devise a better launcher, that would be good. Overall, I'd recommend this rocket because it's the kind of thing that makes people go "wow".

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5