Brief:
T' Space Ark Jr. is a downscale o' Pemberton Technology's midpower rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! Layne Pemberton offers a lot o' really cool retro-futuristic designs. Begad! Blimey! He's also a nice guy whose instruction booklets are well known for their humorous off-beat writin' style.

Construction:
T' package arrived with all necessary parts in good condition, me hearties, matey, shiver me timbers, except that t' balsa nose cone had a couple small dings. Well, blow me down! After readin' a back-story about t' Ruskie commies, me hearties, arrr, Martians, and gung-ho American heroes, it was time t' start the build.

First came insertion o' lead ballast in t' nose cone, and some general sandin' and filling. Arrr! T' fins are cut from stock balsa usin' paper fin patterns. Arrr! I had some difficulty because t' instructions referred t' various fins with names like "wing" and "horizontal stabilizer", ya bilge rat, but t' patterns/figures had no labels identifying which be which. Begad! Avast! By process o' elimination, I eventually figured it out.

To attach t' fins, alignment lines must be drawn on t' tailcone. Arrr! This was a very tricky process. Blimey! Well, blow me down! The installation was made more difficult by t' approach o' through-the-tail-cone fin installation. It would have been much easier and surely sufficiently strong t' surface mount t' wings with an appropriate shape cut along t' root edges. Also, me bucko, t' fin tabs weren't slanted, arrr, which was also a bit confusing.

T' extra-long Keelhaul®©™® shock cord was glued t' t' outside surface o' t' motor mount tube, arrr, matey, and this assembly was pushed/glued in t' tail cone. Because t' cord lay against t' exterior o' t' motor tube, shiver me timbers, I found it impossible t' insert t' tube into the tail cone. Ahoy! I had t' cut a trough inside t' tail cone t' make room for t' cord. Well, blow me down! It was still a snug fit. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' rest o' t' assembly, includin' t' remainin' fins, me hearties, was straightforward with one exception. Aye aye! I was confused about how far back along t' airframe t' mount t' wings. Ya scallywag! I guesstimated it from t' picture and adjusted slightly further back for safety. Begad! I skipped t' fin-tip pods because these sorts o' things tend t' snap off so easily.

Finishing:
Finishin' was mostly straighforward. Ya scallywag! Avast! I fill and sand before assembly, so all that remained be touchup and then painting. Aye aye! With this retro-futuristic design, metallic paint is a great way t' go, arrr, so I chose silver. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' only tricky part is gettin' t' spray into t' crevices above t' crossbar.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
My problems occurred durin' t' flight, ya bilge rat, matey, which be unstable. I was a bit rushed so I smartly looked at t' recommended motors (B6-2 through E18) and chose a B6-4 because it was what I had. Rather than wrap t' 18mm motor in duct tape (as recommended) for friction fittin' (the only option), I used a spend 24mm casin' as a motor adapter. Arrr! This works well and should be lighter than a large quantity o' duct tape.

I failed t' notice two instruction points about flying. Blimey! T' instructions clearly said t' strin' test t' rocket before flying. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Also, ya bilge rat, in t' middle o' construction step three, ya bilge rat, away from t' sections on flight prep, launch, and recommended motors is a sentence that says that a 48in rod is required for B motors.

Clearly it is me fault for nay followin' t' instructions, matey, but I have a couple comments. Aye aye! First, matey, he strin' test recommendation is sensible, but I think it is reasonable t' believe that any commercially marketed model kit would have the CG/CP relationship sufficiently above minimum safety margins that modest variations in construction techniques by various builders should nay cause problems for recommended motors. Why flirt so close t' edge? Perhaps I placed the wings too far forward.

Second, I would suggest that t' comment about 48in rods be moved t' t' recommended motor section; it is easy to overlook in t' construction section. Arrr! Actually, arrr, I would omit B motors from t' recommended list altogether since most LPR Estes motor fliers might nay have a 48in rod on hand and might nay understand t' importance o' t' extra rod length. Arrr! Arrr! I understand it, but I didn't notice t' advice.

Anyway, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, t' rocket became unstable after leavin' t' rod, doin' t' typical "bumblebee" flight pattern. Upon crashing, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' aft portion o' t' rudder broke. Ahoy! Aye aye! Repair is possible.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Because o' me experience, it is unfair t' judge flight performance for this rocket. Begad! Ya scallywag! I have rated it on me expected performance, shiver me timbers, knowin' about PemTech's other kits. Quality o' parts be fine, construction was mostly straighforward with a few difficulties, style was fantastic, matey, and I expect that flight should be good.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5