Brief:
Scale HPR parachute recovery rocket.

Construction:
Components include:

• 2 4" diameter body tubes
• 29mm motor tube
• thick fiber centering rings
• plastic nose cone and boat tail
• 1/4" plywood fins
• 36" nylon chute
• bungee shock cord
• 1/2" brass launch lugs

I like the way this went together. First off, the kit was designed to have a 38mm motor mount and I asked Public Enemy for 29mm and he made the mods to the fins for me. The instructions were complete and easy to follow. I liked the method of fin construction. They are glued directly to the motor tube before the motor tube/boat-tail assembly is glued to the airframe which makes it easier to complete a sturdy connection.

A nylon strap is included to be glued to the motor tube for the recovery (in typical fashion). More on that later.

The instructions direct you to fill the completed boat-tail with foam for rigidity. Since I used a 29mm mount and will never be able to put more than and "I" impulse in it, I did not fill it. I did use blind tee-nuts for motor retention that were not included with the kit.

My glue of choice these days is System 3 epoxy which I used exclusively throughout construction.

The upper canards are attached by first marking the location and then removing the outer layer of paper on the airframe.

The last thing that I did in the construction phase was to drill small holes through the airframe and secure the nose cone onto the payload bay with small screws, that was a nice touch.

Finishing:
The finishing was straightforward. After filling, sanding, and primer, I used white semi-gloss paint from a rattle can. Several coats of white later and it was dry time. The only decal that came with the kit was the lettering "U.S. AIR FORCE" in high quality 1" lettering. But that's not quite enough for this kind of rocket, is it? I went to the ROL website for more information and found a WORD document for a 3" Bullpup. I scaled that up to 4" and printed it on self-adhesive decal paper and applied them. After several flights over many months, I was so impressed with the look of this one that I needed a more realistic look. I used black automotive pin striping and thin cut lengths of silver monokote for the rings around the airframe. When those were applied, I masked off and hand painted some of the red details on the side. I am very happy with the overall look of the finished product. The ONLY thing that could be improved upon would be more scale data included with the instructions.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
This rocket flies great - straight and true. The first flight was at NYPower 2000 on an H238 for my Level 1 certification attempt. I first purchased a Nomex® heat shied from one of the many vendors in attendance, next I built the reload and waited in line. On the first attempt, I did not pack the 'chute properly. It did separate at apogee normally but the 'chute was tangled. Always make sure you have the proper packing prior to a certification flight. Fortunately, the rocket was undamaged as a result of my ignorance.

For my second attempt, I asked for guidance from our club president. That flight was flawless. Since then it has had numerous flights on 29mm H's and I's.

Recovery:
I indicated what was included for recovery in the beginning of this review, I made some modifications out of both preference and necessity. I did eliminate the bungee cord and I replaced it with tubular nylon. But, it wasn't quite as simple as that. On one particular flight, the ejection charge burned through the nylon strap that was glued to the motor tube. Apparently, I did not make sure that the strap was clear of the top of the motor tube (my mistake). The rocket fell from the heavens without a chute. IT fell quite a way too because it happened on the I-200 flight. With crossed fingers, I retrieved the two sections and to my relief, NO damage was incurred. (WHEW!) I wasn't going to allow that to happen again so I crafted a bulkhead out of 1/4" plywood , secured an eyebolt in the center and glued it down inside the airframe. While I was making mods to the recovery, I ditched most of the bungee and replaced it in two parts. Part one was to replace the shock absorbing section. I used an 8' section of the bungee and threaded it into a 12' piece of tubular nylon, attached a quick link to the end and hooked it to the eyebolt in the bulkhead. The section from the chute to the nosecone is a 12'-14' piece if tubular nylon without the internal bungee.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
This rocket is a nicely priced kit for the strength of materials provided. I would rather have the price reduced and use my own detailing materials to make. I feel that it leaves some of the creative license to me. The copper launch lugs are a small part of the total kit but very nice. I didn't like the bungee cord but that was easily rectified.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5