Photo Courtesty of Frank Ross    

Brief:
An Angular, wooden Airframe, with parachute recovery.

Construction:
The kit arrived in the standard plastic bag and all parts were in good shape. The instructions were easy to follow, but it is imperative that you read them thoroughly, a couple of times. The parts were laser cut from a plywood. It is not especially clear how some pieces are formed or attached so do a lot of dry fitting. The fit of the wood changed when the white glue was added. This caused the wood to swell. So I had to scrape the wood, dry fit, and glue again. Taking your time is a must. The nose cone was the most difficult part. Bending the wood to shape and holding it there was a trick. I used CA and a few rubber bands.

Finishing:
There was really no finishing needed, I just used a clear coat, and let the natural wood show through.

Construction Rating: 3 out of 5

Flight:
The kit was baffled and I just use 1 sheet of wadding and an Estes B6-6 for the first flight. There is a Teflon motor holder. The rocket was prepared like most standard kits. The flight was straight and fast with a little spin due to the fin slants.

Recovery:
The shock cord was a rubber tied to an eyelet at the top of the inner bracing / baffle & an eyelet at the nose cone. I felt it may be short, but I built this stock. At apogee there was no 'chute. I lost sight of it coming down, but a crack recovery crew found it. The 'chute never deployed. I looked as if the ejection charge blew past the motor, due to the square shape.

Flight Rating: 1 out of 5

Summary:
This was a very challenging kit to build. The damage was too much to repair. If I were to build this again, I would find a way to keep the gases forward to pressurize the recovery device.

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5