Brief:
This be t' fiberglass Arrrrrrrcas HV from Madcow. Avast! Aye aye! I bought it because they were givin' away CTI Pro29 3g motors with purchase, so it becomes close t' a no brainer if you're in t' market for t' case (I was) and a fiberglass kit.

Construction:
Aside from it bein' fiberglass, this kit is almost as simple as a rocket can be. Avast, me proud beauty! Sure, it's sport-scale, but it really is just 4FNC.

T' body tube is a single full length unit. Avast, me proud beauty! Nose cone, shiver me timbers, me hearties, ya bilge rat, fins, me hearties, motor mount, matey, and centerin' rings are also all fiberglass.

Recovery hardware isn't fiberglass, which is a good thing. Eyebolts, arrr, strap nylon, and various washers and nuts complete t' package. Begad! I ordered mine without t' recovery system because I already had appropriately sized Nomex® and chutes.

I dumped t' nylon in favor o' Keelhaul®©™® and added an Aeropack 29 for motor retention duty.

Bein' a fundamentally simple kit, t' instructions were fairly sparse, matey, me hearties, but adequate.

Washin' everythin' is mandatory with all t' fiberglass parts in order t' remove and residual coatings.

In me kit, ya bilge rat, t' fin slots were a tad narrow, ya bilge rat, o' t' fins a tad thick. Aye aye! A quick pass with a nail file widened the slots nicely. T' only other fit issue I had was t' bulk plate that goes into t' nose cone. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' plate was fairly loose, me bucko, though it has t' be because o' t' way t' fiberglass is laid up inside t' cone: it's pretty rough on the inside.

I used epoxy clay t' solve that one. Ahoy! I ran a bead inside t' cone, and pressed t' bulkhead into it formin' a fillet on t' interior side. I then ran a bead o' t' clay around t' visible side, and pressed t' clay into t' gap basically sandwichin' t' bulkhead betwixt two fillets. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! It's nay goin' anywhere. Luckily, I remembered t' attach the eyebolt, washers, and nuts prior t' makin' said sandwich.

For t' fin can, me hearties, I dry fit all t' parts outside t' tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' attach t' top centerin' ring, arrr, I put epoxy on the top rin' while everythin' be dry fit together. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! Thinkin' I was brilliant, I then followed by usin' JB Weld on t' motor retainer and t' lower centerin' ring, me hearties, me hearties, me hearties, knowin' that t' gap betwixt t' two rings would be perfect.

Roughly 24 hours later, I was feelin' pretty dumb, as I no longer had any means t' do internal fillets on the fins. Begad! Well, matey, blow me down! Whoops. Aye aye! Remember t' take a page from t' PML instructions on this one - give yourself some kind o' handhold on t' lower ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Attach t' upper as I did, then put t' mount in t' body tube gluin' in only t' upper ring. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! When that's dry, remove t' lower ring, and install t' fins. Ahoy! Now you can fillet t' fins internally, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, or fill it with expandin' foam, or... Aye aye! Ahoy! lots o' other options. Begad! Finish by reinstallin' t' lower rin' and sandwich t' fins betwixt the two rings. Begad! Install motor retention, me bucko, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and call it good.

Finishing:
I can't really comment on finishing. Aye aye! Begad! I tend t' fly me rockets prior t' paint and finish. Basically, they earn their paint. Ahoy! I find that if I'm goin' t' lose a rocket for some reason, ya bilge rat, it tends t' happen in the first few flights. Ahoy! Begad! So, me hearties, I don't bother with finishin' until I feel that t' rocket is goin' t' stick around.

Since this Arrrrrrrcas ended up bein' me L1 flight, ya bilge rat, arrr, it's definitely earned paint, so it will be goin' into t' paint booth soon.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' best part about this rocket be t' wide range o' motors that it can fly on. Aye aye! While I haven't tried it, I've run sims, matey, and it looks like it will fly just fine on a high impulse F like t' F52T. Begad! On the opposite side o' t' spectrum, shiver me timbers, this rocket is fiberglass, and is as close t' bulletproof as it gets. Aye aye! I would have no hesitation flyin' this on t' largest 29mm motor available, which is currently a small I.

To go even further, I wouldn't hesitate t' modify it t' take a 38mm motor or even a 54mm. Ya scallywag! Begad! It would definitely need t' aid o' dual-deployment, ya bilge rat, though as you would be lookin' at some fairly extreme altitudes.

Recovery:
With nearly 4' o' 2.6" tubin' available, me bucko, preppin' and packin' this rocket for flight is about as easy as it could be. Begad! T' Nomex® chute protector always does it's job, and for me L1 flight, arrr, matey, I even went down t' a 24" chute from t' recommended 30. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' field be fairly soft, me bucko, and also somewhat small for t' H motor, so I went small t' reduce drift knowin' that t' rocket would do more damage t' t' dirt than vice versa.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a solid rocket. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Simple, rugged. It was me first fiberglass rocket, me bucko, and I know it won't be me last. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I've always disliked t' fact that rockets were essentially designed t' fail because o' t' wear and tear on t' paper body tubes. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! T' constant stream o' repairs just isn't really fun after a while. Aye aye! I want t' build new rockets, arrr, nay keep rebuildin' old ones. Begad! This is one rocket I know I won't have t' rebuild ever. Avast! Avast! It thar's ever any damage t' this rocket, shiver me timbers, arrr, it will likely be destroyed at t' same time.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5