Brief:
This is a single stage, payload type rocket. A basic skill level one 3 fins and a nosecone kit.

Construction:
Parts list:

• White body tube with fin slots
• Motor clip
• Blue thrust ring
• Yellow motor mount tube
• Red centering rings(2)
• Plastic nose cone
• Clear plastic payload tube (mine was red)
• Tube coupler
• Launch lug
• 21 inch white elastic shock cord
• 18 inch Kevlar® shock cord
• 3-26 inch shroud lines
• 2 strips of 3 Tyvek gripper tabs
• 14 inch parachute
• Decal sheet
• Die-cut balsa fins (mine were laser cut)

The kit also came with a card stock building and display stand.

In a world of plastic fin cans and pre-painted body tubes, this kit went back to the idea of a basic kit that has to be built and finished.

The instructions are very easy to read and cover the entire process from building to finishing. The kit was so simple to build with pre-slotted tube and color coding of parts that I was surprised that placement of the launch lug was basically left to eyeballing. The instructions say four inches from the base and in line with the motor clip. I went ahead and centered it between the fin cutouts and use my small angle iron to get a straight line.

I was surprised how nicely the fins were laser cut with only 3 little tabs holding them to the sheet. They were all the same size and only required minimal sanding to make uniform.

Overall, it was a quick build. I had to wait for glue to dry more than anything.

Finishing:
The instructions go into detail about finishing more than most. They say to seal and sand the fins, prime, sand, then paint. I sealed the fins with white glue applied straight from the bottle then smoothed with a very wet paint brush. I then sanded them smooth. Nothing was said about the spirals in the instructions but I went ahead and filled them with light wall spackling. This dries quick and sands very smooth. I then primed with cheap white primer. Sanded the body tube smooth, then painted gloss white. Just a note: the coupler, payload section, and nose cone were not painted. I kept the paint stock and painted 1 fin orange. I didn't place the decal exactly where shown, but that was my decision.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
The motors that are recommended are all Quest. In my area they are not available so I used Estes. I was in a hurry when I went to launch at a local field so I only brought enough igniters for what I was launching. Luckily all of them worked. I used dog barf for wadding in all flights and packed the chute per instructions. I have had some bad luck with Quest chutes in the past, but this one worked fine.

Flight 1: Estes A8-3. Straight up . Nice low flight. Nose up at apogee.

Flight 2: Estes B6-4. Straight up. Good altitude but not out of the park. Short walk for recovery.

Flight 3: Estes B6-4. Straight boost. Ejection came on time but it was very loud. I heard the cone hit the body and when it landed it had a small ding in the body tube. Nothing major. Love those Estes shotgun ejections.

Recovery:
I like the use of the Kevlar® in Quest kits. I do all of my shock cord mounts in my scratch rockets with this method.I also like the fact that Quest gives such a long total shock cord length in this kit. It probably saved the rocket from more damage when it had the hard ejection. The chute is better than some Quest chute in the past. The plastic canopy is more pliable and less likely to stick together. The chute on this kit is about right except it may need a small spill hole if flown with C6s.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
This is a great basic kit. I'm sure it will have plenty of insect passengers in the future.

PROs:

• Ample instruction
• Slotted airframe
• Laser cut fins

CONs:

• That darn launch lug keeps me from giving it a perfect score.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5