Brief:
This is Estes representation o' t' British surface t' air missile used in t' Falklands war in 1983. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! It is a single stage rocket with standard parachute recovery. Begad! It was only in t' 1983 and 1984 catalogs. Arrr! Blimey! They are gettin' harder t' find. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! This was t' second rocket I ever had.

Construction:
T' kit comes with t' main body tube, me bucko, me hearties, matey, a long motor tube, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and 12 fins and 4 strakes. Begad! Begad! It has a plastic nose cone and a molded plastic aft unit. Avast! It has t' standard cardboard centerin' rings and a unique nose. Aye aye! It comes with t' older Estes elastic nylon shock cord and mylar parachute. It also has an engine hook.

These were t' typical Estes directions, very easy t' follow. T' rocket is very easy t' put together, arrr, me hearties, me hearties, it is a level 2 kit. Avast, me proud beauty! T' toughest part o' t' whole rocket be t' paint scheme. I built t' forward and aft sections seperately, and then glued them together. Ya scallywag! It was a lot easier t' paint and t' build this way. Ahoy! I did use 5 minute epoxy for t' building, ya bilge rat, as I plan t' have it for a long time. I coated t' ends o' all t' tubes with CA for strength, matey, as well as t' fins. Well, blow me down! I did nay add spruce edges t' t' fins, as I will nay be flyin' it that much, and increased t' size o' t' chute.

Finishing:
PRO - Straight forward finishing, t' toughest part is removin' t' balsa grain. Begad! No real surprises here.
CON - T' aft fins are prone t' break on hard landings. Ya scallywag! You may want t' change t' Basswood on them. Avast! Also, don't fly on windy days and you can increase t' size o' t' 12 inch chute t' 18 inches. Avast! Aye aye! Oh, and it is OOP by t' way, shiver me timbers, me bucko, arrr, I have 5 so I decided t' build one. Aye aye! It looks real nice finished.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I used a C6-5 on t' first flight, ya bilge rat, arrr, it went loop-de-loop into t' pavement. I guess I needed nose weight. Avast! Also, had a very small zipper. Arrr! I added about 1/2 ounce nose weight and now it flies great! I guess t' epoxy added more weight t' t' aft than I thought. T' original still flies great with no nose weight.

Recovery:
Classic Estes recovery, me hearties, works great. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' original rocket motor tube burned through after 11 years and 63 flights. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! I added a coupler and put it right back together.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I love this kit, it is one o' me all-time favorites. Begad! It looks real good, and is somewhat a challenge t' build. Avast! It also is nay a kit you see everyday, me bucko, so it gets noticed. Arrr! T' main con is they only made it for 1 year 17 years ago!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5