Brief:
Last year, matey, I received samples o' t' new Hartle Engineerin' solid resin nose cones from JonRocket. Aye aye! I've been remiss in submittin' a review. Avast! Avast! Thanks, and me apologies John!. Ya scallywag! Hartle offers three styles o' BT-5 cones and one BT-20 cone. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! You can see all o' them on JonRocket's nose cone page. This review will describe t' cones and t' rocket I built from t' longer BT-5 cone, ya bilge rat, t' Mini-Toobah. Ya scallywag! T' name is a homage t' Dave Weber's Toober, which has logged over 200 high power flights.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• Hartle NC-5B cone
• BT-5, 6.25"
• Estes 1/8" launch lug
• Spent mini-motor case (could use a real motor block)
• Thin Keelhaul®©™®, ~ 12"
• Thin elastic, ~ 4"

T' Hartle cones are solid cast and their outer surface is perfect. T' cone-to-shoulder transition was shipshape on the longer cone but be rough on t' shorter one. Well, blow me down! T' later be easily cleaned up with a sharp hobby cutlass. Avast, me proud beauty! The attachment point appears t' be a paper clip...works as good as anything. Aye aye! I found them t' be a loose fit in t' Estes BT-5, me hearties, arrr, which is easily fixed with a little tape.

T' cones are, me bucko, as expected, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me bucko, heavier than t' typical hollow plastic or balsa. Ya scallywag! However, me hearties, arrr, unless you're buildin' a MicroMaxx model, shiver me timbers, me bucko, t' added weight shouldn't be an issue. I had kicked around buildin' a micro but decided t' go for a 13mm design instead. Begad! T' shorter cone would make a great micro-Fat Boy or Big Bertha but I opted for a downscale o' my El Tubo Loco.

This be a trivial build. Begad! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! From BT-5 stock, matey, arrr, I cut one 2.5" body section and six 5/8" tube fins. Ahoy! These were glued together in pairs and then t' t' body tube. I used Aleene's Tacky glue throughout. Avast! A 5/8" long lug is mounted in one o' t' fins. Avast! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I cut a motor block from a spent casing. This be notched and t' Keelhaul®©™® was tied around it. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! There is nay much room in t' body minus t' motor and t' cone's shoulder. It was all I could do to pack t' shock harness.

T' make sure it is stable, matey, I weighed t' components and made a RockSim model. Avast! Aye aye! T' cone alone is 0.24 oz and the entire rocket is 0.34 oz. It is quite stable.

Finishing:
I first scuffed t' cone with fine sandpaper and shot a coat o' PlastiCoat primer. Arrr! Blimey! I anticipated this will be hard to find in t' grass, so I went for a bright finish usin' Rustoleum day-glo orange. Aye aye! I added two vinyl strips t' snazz it up a bit.

Flight:
There wasn't much prep as it uses tumble recovery. Avast! Blimey! It flew nicely on an A3-4 and I could even see it recover!

Summary:
T' Hartle Engineerin' cones are nice t' work with. Arrr! Ya scallywag! In this case, their solid construction and weight helped with stability. Arrr! Avast!

I like t' design o' this little rocket but, matey, arrr, bein' small, me bucko, it could easily disappear into rocket eatin' grass, shrubbery, or trees.