Brief:
Single stage rocket with streamer recovery and the good old fashioned taped in engine.

Construction:
1 body tube,1 balsa nose cone, 3 fins of 1/16" balsa, 1 launch lug, 1 tape strip, 1 screw eye, 1 engine block, 1 cockpit, 1 18" shock cord, 1 gold mylar streamer, and 1 decal sheet.

These instructions are some of the most thorough I have read. Just follow them and you can't go wrong! This kit practically put itself together; all I supplied was the labor. It had to be one of, if not the most enjoyable kit I have ever built. I really had fun with it! There were absolutely no special tools needed. In fact, the instructions specify using an old engine casing marked off to insert the engine block. I was a little concerned about the thin fins with their size though, and found that when attaching them with wood glue, they could bend. If you lay them down back to front, it isn't a problem, just stay on the line. Folding the cockpit was a bit tricky, but just score along the lines with a spoon edge, and it will make the folding much easier. All the fits were spot on! The only thing I changed in construction, was using a pink double streamer instead of the wide gold mylar one included.

Finishing:
I used slow drying epoxy to totally coat the nose cone till it was sealed and a thin coat on the fins to add strength since I was concerned about minimizing any potential damage. After the epoxy coating, I spent a couple hours sanding them down then added 2 coats of sanding sealer just to ensure a smooth finish. I deviated from the pictures and chose Krylon Florescent green over Krylon white primer. I like Krylon paints as they seem to give me the least amount of grief. The long stripes can be a bit of a problem and I did rip one. I used a couple of lightning bolts I got out of a Lockheed Constellation kit for the lightning bolts. The decals are good quality and offered no problems, except the usual finesse need to place them. I definitely prefer them to the "pressure sensitive" stickers. You have to have a glossy finish to put them on and 2 coats of Krylon gloss fit the bill. I also added 2 more coats after the decals to protect them.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
Looking over the recommend motors list, the closest I had to any of these was an Estes A8-3. It has the old fashioned friction fit with tape. I used 2 sheets of wadding, and rolled up my streamer. WOW! Does this thing soar! Even in winds the flight was straight up and beautiful! It went super high for flying on an A motor! It goes up fast, so watching it can be tricky.

Recovery:
Here is where the fly lands in the ointment... The rocket popped the streamer near apogee, but the shock cord separated! The rocket came down in two, but there was no damage! I recovered both pieces, tied the shock cord together, and flew it again. SAME RESULT! This time the shock cord separated at the mount, so I was done for the day. Both times the rocket suffered no damage, even though it came down from 400ft or so!

Flight Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary:
This was a really fun to kit to build! I 'm going to order 1 or 2 more I think. I have no cons about it! I would say that, I think I had it packed too tight with the double streamer, and a longer, more elastic shock cord would be better. Perhaps using an engine with a longer delay would help?

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5