Brief:
The HyperX is an "Ready to Fly" (RTF) that has a nose cone that comes down as a helicopter. The body tube uses a 'chute for recovery.

Construction:
The HyperX, on the outside, is a basic 4FNC rocket. Pulling the nose cone out reveals three blades attached to the nose cone. Each blade is about 4 inches long. The motor mount uses a retainer ring instead of the usual Estes motor retainer clip. Due to the length of the blades, the shock cord is mounted WAY down the body tube.

Since this is an RTF, there is very little construction. Even the chute was preassembled and attached to the shock cord. The only assembly required was to attach rubber bands to the nose cone blades. The rubber bands provide the tension necessary to unfurl the blades after the nose cone has been ejected from the body tube. The fin unit/motor mount is molded plastic. While it is no fun for modeling purposes, the plastic is very durable and can withstand hard impacts. The same applies to the plastic nose cone. The "launch lug" is a molded piece of plastic, with two rings to guide the launch rod. One major drawback to the construction is the very slender shock cord mount (probably 1/8"). Like I said, the shock cord is mounted very deep into the body tube to give the nose cone fins some room. This places it closer to the engine's ejection gases. No doubt this shock cord is going to be burned off soon. Remounting the shock cord at the same depth might be tricky.

Finishing:
No finishing necessary.

Construction Rating: 3 out of 5

Flight:
Recommended motors are the B4-2, B6-2/4, and the C6-3. I used the fins on the nose cone to pack the recovery wadding as far as possible into the body tube. The parachute and shock cord were then put into the tube. The nose cone blades were collapsed, and the nose cone slid easily into place. The motor retainer ring twisted off easily, the motor was inserted, and the retainer ring twisted securely on. The first flight was on a B6-2. Shortly after leaving the launch pad, the rocket took off on a 45 degree angle. It probably didn't get more than 100' off of the ground. The ejection charge kicked in, and the nose separated. The nose dropped like a rock for about 15 feet before the blades kicked in. The nose cone's descent rate was pretty slow, and on a windy day it will definitely drift quite a bit. The body tube came down rather quickly on a 12" chute. The second and third flights were better, also on B6-2s, but not straight up. The HyperX flies each time like it is weathercocking, except that it does not necessary point into the wind. Each time the nose cone drifted a lot. This is definitely not a rocket to fly on a windy day. It's also a fairly heavy rocket, so the flights are not that high. Launch it on a C if you have the room to recover the nose cone unit. Still, the helicopter recovery makes this a fun rocket to fly. It is one of my son's favorite rockets to watch.

Recovery:
Like I said, the nose does drift quite a bit. But after several flights, the only noticeable wear is the typical scorch marks on the shock cord.

Flight Rating: 3 ½ out of 5

Summary:
The HyperX is not a great flying rocket, but it is a lot of fun, especially for kids. It seems to be a very sturdy rocket. The only things that might wear out are the shock cord, and the rubber bands on the nose cone. The biggest con is that is is an RTF! This would have made a great kit.

Overall Rating: 3 ½ out of 5