Brief:
The Binder Design Samurai is a single stage, high powered sport rocket available with either a 38mm or 54mm motor mount. My kit is the 38mm version. The rocket features 8 cut, matched, and sanded plywood fins with a fin alignment guide, mid-separation with a 34" payload bay, a pre-marked booster for cutting fin slots and placing lugs or buttons, and a 45" parachute.

Construction:
The kit comes in the best packaging in the business and with all of the components necessary to complete the rocket for flight. The packaging is very well laid out with all of the smaller parts in sub-packages within the main bag. The kit included the following parts:

• 1 Binder Design 4:1 plastic ogive nose cone
• 1 payload tube, 34" long x 4.0" OD heavy kraft paper tube
• 1 booster tube, 34" long x 4.0" OD heavy kraft paper tube, pre-marked slots for through-the-wall attachment of the main fins, and pre-marked for attachment of the provided 1/2" launch lug
• 1 6" long heavy paper (kraft) tube coupler
• 1 38mm motor mount tube, heavy kraft paper
• 1 thick paper 1/2" launch lug
• 4 pre-cut and sanded forward fins, 3/16" aircraft plywood
• 4 pre-cut and sanded rear fins, 3/16" aircraft plywood
• 2 centering rings for the motor mount to the 4.0" airframe. Mine were made from fiberboard
• 1 bulkhead plate, pre-drilled for the eyebolt, 1/4" lite ply, for attachment inside the tube coupler
• 2 #6 eyebolts for shock cord attachment, complete with 4 washers and 4 nuts
• 20' of low-stretch tubular nylon for the shock cord
• 45" premium Top Flite heavy-duty rip stop nylon parachute
• 7 pages of very well illustrated instructions
• A fin alignment template
• 1 vinyl "SAMURAI" decal. My decal was in block white lettering.

The Samurai was the fourth Binder Design rocket that I've built. That said, my expectations were high going in and I was certainly not disappointed.

The provided instructions are very thorough and well illustrated without overdoing it. No longer a "newbie" to building rockets like this one, I'm fairly certain that I could have successfully built my Samurai without the instructions and only a dimensional drawing. This time, the instructions felt to me more like a coach looking over my shoulder with words of encouragement with enough detail to bring along the first timer without being too tedious for someone who has done this before. Truly excellent.

The build sequence is well spelled out, logical, and without a single "gotcha":

• Build the motor mount, including recovery harness attachment
• Measure and cut the fin slots
• Install the motor mount
• Install and fillet the fins
• Assemble the coupler and payload (including recovery harness attachment)
• Install the rod/rail guidance (e.g., lugs)
• Finish and fly the bird!

Sure, this rocket is a nice and big, but in the end, it is a simple high powered rocket that goes together easily with a great set of instructions to walk you through it.

A couple of things that I did to vary from the instructions:

1. I used wood glue on wood components. The structural components of this rocket are made from kraft paper and plywood. I did all of the fin attachment and fillets using wood glue, not the recommended epoxy. The result is a light and very sturdy build.
2. I replaced the 1/2" lugs with ACME conformal rail guides. Personal preference here. I attached them to the airframe on the pre-marked line with JB Weld after sanding off the glassine with 80 grit sandpaper.
3. I omitted the rear centering ring and replaced it with a machined aluminum ablative plate, formerly available direct from Binder Design. I emailed Mike Fisher of Binder Design and he was able to make one for me.
4. I added an Aero Pack 38mm retainer for motor retention as no positive retention is provided with the kit.

The use of wood glue is the strongest recommendation that this reviewer can pass on to anyone reading this. It is easier to work with, clean up, and is the strongest adhesive available for the components provided. The other modifications were strictly personal preference and not a noted deficiency to the kit.

This would also be the place to comment on the excellent customer service and support that Mike Fisher provides for his customers. I made a severely failed attempt to bevel the provided set of fins on my bench router. I completely barbecued them. An email to Mike had a fresh set on the way and the project was quickly back on track.

PROs: The best packaging in the business, instructions that are well suited for a wide range of experience levels, and great quality parts make for a sturdy rocket that is easy to put together.

CONs: If you can't stand cutting fin slots, you've got 8 on this one. I dig doing it but some folks don't.

Finishing:
I ordered my Samurai from a distributor/vendor rather than from Binder directly. This was about the time that Binder Design switched to a new website and/or upgraded their original site. That said, all of the pictures that I'd seen of the Samurai were of a red and black rocket with a lot of decals. When my kit arrived, it had one decal that was simply the word "SAMURAI" in block white lettering. I emailed Mike Fisher and he explained that the rocket I had in mind had the "advanced decal package" that was not advertised on his old site but would be on his new one. I wanted it. I ordered that package and asked if I could get it in silver rather than the red I had seen before. I'm so glad that I did.

The "advanced package" includes 24 cut vinyl decals for the booster and fins plus a sweet "SAMURAI" decal in a very appropriate "Asian" font for the payload. Too sweet. Going with the silver just made everything stand out. Black booster with silver decals. Silver payload with black decals. The chrome wrap on my rocket is something I added myself although a chrome wrap is pictured on a lot of Binder Design rockets. Mike explained that the chrome decal gets scratched too easily and has been dropped. I like the look of it so I put one on myself.

It should be noted that the "advanced decal package" is now directly available on Binder Design's website in any color that they have. You get to pick at the time of order!

PROs: The suggested two color scheme is easily achievable with standard spray paints and no crazy masking because of the construction of the rocket. The advanced decal package sets the rocket apart from any other--it just looks fast and mean lounging in the basement, waiting on the flight line, or sitting on the pad. What a sweet looking bird.

CONs: If you do go with the advanced decal package, you've got 24+ cut vinyl decals to apply. Again, patience and tedium. I dig it, some don't.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
My first planned flight(s) for the Samurai were rained out, so naturally I was very excited to get to fly it at the next month's club launch. I couldn't decide what to fly it on though. After completely finishing and weighing my rocket in flight ready configuration (minus motor), I ran all the sims on RockSim and figured that just about any load for the AT 38/600 case would be ideal.

When I arrived at the club launch, I found that Wildman's (Tim Lehr, our on-site vendor) had received a new AT shipment that included the (relatively) new "black max" reloads for the 38mm line. When I saw the box of I305FJ reload kits, I had to have one. FJ means gray/black smoke and I've got a silver/black rocket, so I decided to stay with the theme and go for it. The I305 was assembled and loaded in no time, and the Samurai was on the pads.

Boost was nice, if not a shade wobbly. There was a slight spin on the way up, but I get that a lot with split fin designs. I'm thinking it is builder/flier error (due to fin misalignment down at the nth degree.) Sweet whistle on the way up.

On the I305, the smoke and boost were super impressive. At apogee, the Samurai laid over, separated smoothly, and drifted down on that 45" chute. Mine landed precariously on some power lines but that wasn't that big of a deal. I got it all back with no electrocutions or anything. Nice, nice flight.

The second flight was the next day (our club does 2-day weekend launches). This time I went with the I366R-M, also for the 38/600 case. Much snappier boost on the 5 grain Redline--no wobble at all--but still the spin (surely it's my fault) and that killer whistle. Deployment seemed a shade early for me. We'll call it "deployment at apogee, nose up" but an otherwise perfect and nominal flight.

PROs: I was complimented on this rocket before it flew, after it flew, and while it sat on the flight line. Gotta love the whistle and any rocket that flies this good.

CONs: None.

Recovery:
The provided Top Flight parachute is very nice. The delay selections on my flights were spot on and deployment was nice and gentle. I used a Sunward Nomex® parachute protector and everything worked out great.

PROs: My flights recovered perfectly with acceptable drift and no damage.

CONs: Can't think of any!

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
The Samurai is yet another solid and stunning offering from Binder Design. The rocket has excellent styling and is a real attention grabber at the launch. The design is expandable for even more versatility--the addition of an electronics bay (available from Binder Design) would easily convert this into a very capable dual-deploy rocket for the experienced flyer. The standard 38mm mount gives some nice power options for the high-powered (Level 1/Level 2) sport flier. Based on my flight experience I am confident that it will easily handle the 38mm J motors, including the big 9 grain AT reloads (although a longer delay would probably be better for those.) The optional 54mm mount would provide even more punch for those that want it. This rocket has been a part of the Binder Design stable for some time now, and I highly recommend it anyone looking for a stylish sport rocket to add to their high-powered fleet!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5