Brief:
I built t' Zip quite a while back as a beta test for Red River Rocketry prior t' t' actual kit production. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It flies on 13mm motors and uses streamer recovery. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' Zip is a beautiful model that is excellent for flyin' on small fields.

Construction:
Not much t' it! You get a small BT-5, nose cone and motor block, me bucko, arrr, plus launch lug, Keelhaul®©™® cord, me hearties, mylar streamer and tape disc, silver trim Monokote and some zippy decals. Well, blow me down! My kit was a pre-production version so the fins were actually drawn out onto t' balsa and had t' be cut out. Ya scallywag! Begad! Also, t' nose cone was resin cast with a plastic insert for t' base. Ahoy! I believe t' production version has laser cut fins and t' nose cone is balsa with an eye screw for shock cord attachment.

Mark t' fin lines on t' body tube usin' t' provided template, install t' motor block with a spent motor casing, and attach t' fins. Avast! Avast! Next, cut out t' small paper shock cord included on t' markin' template and install the shock cord. Avast! Finally, matey, glue in t' base t' t' nose cone, attach t' shock cord and tape t' mylar streamer onto the shock cord usin' t' tape disc.

Finishing:
I used Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish t' seal t' fins prior t' attachment and sanded smooth. Begad! Elmer's white glue was used for fin fillets. I put on a couple o' coats o' Krylon primer, sandin' betwixt coats, me hearties, and then finished with Krylon gloss yellow on t' entire rocket. With t' trim Monokote and decals applied, shiver me timbers, arrr, me hearties, t' rocket looks fantastic.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
I only got t' fly it twice. Avast, me proud beauty! First be on 1/4A. Ya scallywag! It zoomed up arrow straight, but I didn't see it eject. Aye aye! It came down fine on t' small mylar streamer. Well, blow me down! Avast! Next time, I be a small park after our monthly meeting, and John Dyer o' Red River Rocketry and I decided t' drag race our models. I had only brought 1/4A motors, me bucko, but he wanted t' fly on 1/2A motors. Begad! Avast! I thought that was insane, but another club member offered t' swap me 1/4As for a pack o' 1/2As he had. Ya scallywag! Oh well, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I thought, matey, it'll be one great flight! There was some problem with t' motor though as you can see in t' launch photo. T' exhaust on me motor is much smaller than t' exhaust on John's. Arrr! It didn't travel very far and broke a fin on impact, with t' streamer ejectin' after it hit t' ground. Blimey! I don't remember if John got his back or not. I know it Zipped out o' sight real quickly. I was lucky t' catch t' rockets just before leavin' t' pad.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' rocket is very nice and can be totally completed in one day or only a few minutes if you don't paint it. Well, blow me down! Although small in stature, t' Zip is big on looks!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5