Brief:
Single stage mid-power rocket.

Construction:
All o' t' parts were contained in a plastic bag and they were all intact and high quality. Avast, me proud beauty! T' airframe had a very small spiral groove, t' fins were top quality plywood, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and t' nose cone was sturdy plastic. Blimey! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' centerin' rings were also quality plywood. Blimey! T' parachute provided was hot pink in color and 15" diameter.

T' instructions were contained on t' back o' t' title card that was in t' bag. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! There was nay a great deal o' detail in t' instructions and for t' simple design o' t' Onyx, it was nay necessary. Arrr! Aye aye! T' parachute retention was contained in a small bag by itself and had its own instruction sheet. Ahoy! T' airframe was pre-marked for t' placement o' t' fins and t' launch lug and assembly be straight forward and simple. Avast, me proud beauty! This rocket is a good choice for someone that is new t' mid-power rocketry. Avast! No surprises or unexpected troubles. Ya scallywag! T' parts were all glued together usin' 2 ton epoxy, matey, t' instructions direct you t' use epoxy throughout. After everythin' was glued, I applied healthy epoxy fillets t' each fin and t' t' launch lug.

There is a note on t' instruction card for t' 24mm motors, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, me bucko, that says they are t' be used with LOC's MMA-1 adapter. This adapter is nay included.

T' recovery system has a nice hot pink rip stop nylon parachute with ample gage nylon leaders sewn t' it, me bucko, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' 3/8" elastic shock cord is about 72" long and is secured by LOC's standard method o' attachment. Ya scallywag! This entails a nylon strin' that is looped, tied, ya bilge rat, and then epoxied t' t' inside o' t' airframe. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Then, t' end o' t' shock cord is tied t' t' end o' t' loop that protrudes from t' top. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Just make sure t' glue t' nylon strin' down far enough t' fit t' nose cone it without interference.

Finishing:
I asked me son how he wanted t' have this one finished. For some strange reason, arrr, he wanted green. (go figure) Green it shall be I said, matey, but it's goin' t' be fluorescent green and nay grass green or leaf green. After a few coats o' sandin' sealer followed by primer, I sprayed on some fluorescent green paint. Avast, me proud beauty! Strange thin' about that fluorescent paint, it doesn't finish very smooth. Blimey! Arrr! T' compensate for that, I sanded t' paint after each coat with 400 grit sandpaper. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Once I was satisfied with t' amount o' paint, me hearties, I coated t' finished rocket with clear paint. Aye aye! I applied t' LOC decal and was finished.

I got t' self stick decal by a little bit o' callin' around. Avast, me proud beauty! T' kit did nay originally come with any decals but, shiver me timbers, arrr, Magnum's website says that thar be one included with every kit. I e-mailed them and was told that thar should have been one and t' call LOC t' get one. Aye aye! Upon callin' LOC I was told that they were discontinuin' t' decal so that all o' their rockets didn't have a "predetermined" personality. Ahoy! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! But, me hearties, they also told me that they had about a dozed or so left that they had just sent t' Magnum. Avast! I e-mailed Magnum again and was told that he would mail a decal t' me. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I wanted t' LOC decal because I wanted everyone t' know that t' quality product that they were lookin' at was, in fact, ya bilge rat, a LOC/Precision rocket.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Recommended motors are D12-3, E30-7, F50-9, G40-10. Ya scallywag! I chose t' go somewhat bold with t' first flight, matey, shiver me timbers, so I used t' F-50. Begad! There be nay retention provided and I didn't take t' opportunity t' add anything. It is just as easy t' use maskin' tape for motor retention sometimes. Begad! I just poured some parachute protection in and packed t' chute in. Ya scallywag! It lifted off fast, arrr, real fast. Flew straight and true and went out o' sight; well out o' me sight because I'm nearsighted. But, when t' chute popped, matey, we followed it t' t' ground for a nice landing. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! No trouble at all.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5