Brief:
A 5.5" dual deployment L3 rocket. Begad! Ya scallywag!

Construction:
T' kit comes with everythin' you need except chutes and electronics. Arrr! Aye aye! It uses 1/4" Baltic birch for t' bulkheads, ya bilge rat, centerin' rings, matey, and electronics board. Well, arrr, blow me down! It uses 3/16" Baltic birch for t' fins. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' airframe is 5.5" Loc tubin' and coupler, shiver me timbers, t' nose cone is plastic. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' 5/16" tubular nylon for t' recovery harnesses is included as well as t' u-bolts and quick links. It also comes with a nice set o' decals, me hearties, fiberglass for t' fin area, milled fiber, me hearties, and a fin alignment guide.

When t' box came, ya bilge rat, everythin' was neatly packaged and after checkin' the parts list everythin' was there. Aye aye! T' instructions are more like a book. Every step is clearly spelled out and thar are a lot o' photos o' t' build. Buildin' it completely stock and followin' t' instructions was a piece o' cake on t' 1st Horizon I built. T' only thin' that you have t' be a little careful with is cuttin' t' fin slots. Begad! I used me compound miter saw and it worked nice but a sharp X-acto knife would do as well. Aye aye! Since this was me second Horizon and my Level 3 rocket I decided t' do some additional reinforcement. It really isn't necessary because it is such a well designed kit, and I've seen a stock Horizons fly on an M1315 (my brother's Level 3) and it worked out fine. For mine I reinforced all the couplers, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, centerin' rings, arrr, shiver me timbers, avionics board, and fins with 4 layers o' 5.7oz carbon fiber. Blimey! I also used a layer o' carbon inside all o' t' couplers, me hearties, added an additional centerin' rin' and a bulkhead plate in t' booster section. Finally, I added a layer o' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube, put in two part expandin' foam and did tip t' tip carbon on t' fins once they were in t' airframe. Ahoy! Once again, matey, nay necessary but for a Level 3 I thought overkill OK, and I intend t' fly EX loads and some o' those are pretty mean.

Finishing:
T' kit came with a nice set o' decals. Aye aye! I wanted t' reverse t' paint scheme so I had some made in reverse o' t' kit. Ya scallywag! Well, arrr, blow me down! Since I didn't glass t' airframe, it took several coats o' primer t' cover t' grooves in t' tubin' but t' finish came out killer.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:

T' first flight I did was with an L1120. Aye aye! It was in a three way drag race. It was last off t' pad by about a second but roared up perfectly straight and looked like it be goin' t' catch t' other rockets. Aye aye! 9800' AGL and perfect recovery. Aye aye! Begad! T' second flight was me Level 3 attempt. Begad! I used an Animal Works M1850 Green Gorilla. Avast! Once again a perfectly straight flight. Ahoy! Arrr! About one second into t' flight it was really movin' and accelerated hard until motor burnout. Gotta love t' AMW trackin' smoke! 11,100' and over 1,000 mph.

SUCCESSFUL LEVEL 3 FLIGHT!

October 18, 2003
MWP1
Rocket - BSD 5.5" Horizon
Weight - 18 lbs
Motor - 75mm Animal Motor Works M1850 Green Gorilla
Altitude - 11,100’

Recovery:
T' recovery was picture perfect other than a slight zipper at t' edge o' the airframe. Begad! I have seen a lot o' Horizon flights (my brothers each have one and I have two) and have never seen this before. Aye aye! Very minor and probably a fluke. Not enough t' keep from flyin' it again or t' nay get me level 3. Well, blow me down!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is just a great kit. Avast! Arrr! It flies perfectly straight no matter what you put in it for a motor. Ahoy! It can weigh as little as 12#'s if built stock or if you are bored and want t' make a tank you can still be under 20#'s. Begad! Mine weighed 18#'s. Can't really think o' any cons except if you don't paint it and take it t' the RSO table with an M in it you might get some looks with no glass on the cardboard tubes.

Please credit Brent Hill for t' photos in t' article. Also, arrr, thanks goes t' Dave Zupan and John Clifton for helpin' me find it in t' corn. Avast! Ya scallywag! Dave used a GPS unit and John used a Walston. Well, blow me down! Dave found it first. Well, blow me down! It would have been combine fodder without those guys help.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5