Brief:
I opened this package t' try and build it quite some time ago but stopped when readin' t' instructions. Ahoy! Ahoy! Most o' the construction is done with a hot glue cannon and I didn't have one. Ahoy! When me brother in law asked about it sittin' on my desk, I told him I didn't have such a tool. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! A few weeks later, one magically appeared. Well, blow me down! Thanks Toby!

This kit is made from Styrofoam coffee cups, me hearties, foamboard, me hearties, and a few more conventional pieces in t' area o' the motor mount. Ahoy! It is definitely different and quite tall. Avast! Blimey! I built it in a single sitting.

Construction:
Construction began with t' motor mount. Blimey! Well, blow me down! It uses a very long BT-50 tube as opposed t' t' short tubes that are just over standard motor length. A quarter inch was marked off on a spent motor casing, ya bilge rat, matey, me bucko, some white glue was swabbed around the interior and t' spent casin' be used t' push t' thrust rin' into place.

A razor knife was used t' make a slit for t' engine hook and t' hook be put into place. Aye aye! Aye aye! It be secured with several wraps o' electrical tape.

T' kits came with 2 fiber centerin' rings t' mount t' BT-50 motor tube into t' BT-70 airframe. Avast! Avast! Each needed to have a notch put into its inner hole. Ya scallywag! T' instructions recommended usin' a hole punch and that worked great.

Each o' t' rings be slipped over one end o' t' motor tube and glued in place with white glue. Well, blow me down! T' notch on the bottom rin' be t' align with t' motor hook. Arrr! That on t' upper is t' pass t' recovery harness. A fillet o' white glue was placed around both sides o' each ring.

T' kit has both elastic and Keelhaul®©™®. Usually, t' Keelhaul®©™® gets attached t' t' motor mount but that is nay t' case here. An loop be tied into one end o' t' elastic and then an overhand knot be tied in about 10 inches down t' line. Aye aye! Arrr! T' long, untied, end o' t' elastic be then passed through t' notch in t' upper rin' and t' elastic was pulled through until t' overhand knot acted as a stopper at the ring. Begad! Begad! Some glue was then used t' fasten t' harness into place.

T' tube that receives t' motor mount is a longish piece o' BT-70 that has t' have one end trimmed by a few inches. Ya scallywag! I marked t' cuttin' line and then inserted a mandrel t' support t' tube. Begad! T' tube was cut with a razor blade since me hobby knife was missin' at t' time.

T' forward end o' t' BT-70 is t' be blocked by a balsa coupler. Avast, me proud beauty! T' Keelhaul®©™® is supposed t' originate in t' tube, matey, ya bilge rat, pass along one side and over t' top o' t' coupler, matey, shiver me timbers, and then back into t' tube to emerge at t' other end. Blimey! I should have checked for fit first but did not. Ahoy! I smeared white glue around t' end o' the tube and inserted t' balsa and Keelhaul®©™®. T' balsa was a tight fit and I could nay get it all t' way seated flush with t' end o' t' tube before t' glue grabbed.

Next up was work on t' cups. Avast, me proud beauty! Three o' t' cups are singled out for special attention. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! They need t' have the bases o' t' cups cut out t' accommodate t' passin' o' t' BT-70. Blimey! This too was done with a razor blade. Blimey! By cutting just at t' mold line, a very tight, arrr, almost too tight, fit is achieved. Ahoy! Begad! I had t' open t' holes a bit with some sanding.

Now came somethin' really new for me. Blimey! I had never used a hot glue cannon before and two o' t' cups which had their bottoms cut out were t' be joined mouth t' mouth with a got glue gun. Begad!

I plugged it in and let it heat up for a while. Begad! Avast! I gave some test squirts t' see how it fed over a piece o' scrap cardboard and I burned myself several times. Begad! Aye aye! Did you know that globs o' glue at 400 degrees look almost identical to ones at room temperature?

Ready t' take t' plunge, shiver me timbers, matey, I placed two o' t' cups together and began t' pump out a bead o' glue around the circumference. Aye aye! Avast! T' feed was nay steady and some parted got more than others. Blimey! Blimey! I burned myself some more. I worried about meltin' t' foam. Ya scallywag! I eventually got them together and, surprisin' me, they seemed solid enough.

I gave t' glue a few minutes t' harden up and then fit t' BT-70 into t' joined cups. Avast! I pushed it down so that the cups were at t' end opposite t' t' plug and allowed t' body tube t' protrude from t' cups for just a little bit. Ya scallywag! T' glued cannon was then used t' glue t' lower cup into place.

Included in t' kit is a template for markin' t' fin locations. Ya scallywag! Arrr! I was cut out and taped into place on the bottommost cup. Blimey! T' lines for each face and each side o' t' three fins was then transferred t' t' cup. T' template was removed and a steel straightedge be used t' extend t' lines.

T' kit also came with a template t' cut t' fins from t' foamboard. At this point, me bucko, a decision had t' be made. T' fins could be mounted on t' cup or they could be mounted directly t' t' BT-70 hidin' inside t' cup. Begad! T' latter, naturally, shiver me timbers, matey, yields a stronger connection and that is what I chose t' do. Aye aye! That bein' t' case, I laid t' full template out on t' foamboard, transferred t' outline, shiver me timbers, and cut t' fins out with a steel ruler guidin' a razor blade. Had I elected t' do a surface mount, t' same template would have been used but a shaded area would have been removed from the template first.

A razor blade be used t' cut slots for t' fins in t' bottom cup, followin' t' lines transfered from the markin' template. Begad! T' template be sized so that it fit around t' cut right up t' t' lip but did nay extend onto the lip. I learned at this step that t' lines should have been extended all t' way t' t' edge o' t' cup. This was simple t' do.

T' fins themselves were mounted by t' simple expedient o' runnin' a bead o' hot glue along t' root edge and pressin' them into place through t' slot cut for t' purpose. Begad! When in place, shiver me timbers, a fillet o' hot glue be run along the seam betwixt t' cup and t' fin on each side. Begad! It was all much easier than I had supposed.

You will recall that thar were three cups which had their bottoms cut out. Two had been used thus far and it was time for t' third one. Begad! It was mated with an unmodified cup in t' same way that t' first two were. Begad! T' cut end was then slid over t' projectin' section o' BT-70 so that its base was flush against that o' t' upper cup o' t' first pair. Begad! Begad! Hot glue was then used t' join t' two sections together.

From thar on, shiver me timbers, it was just a matter o' hot gluin' pairs o' cups together and then gluin' t' butt end o' a pair to t' butt o' t' precedin' pair. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! It was easy.

T' last construction step was t' installation o' t' launch lug, a long, heavily built 3/16" job. Ya scallywag! It was just hot glued into place at t' seams o' t' two lowest pairs and with that, construction be complete.

Finishing:
No finishin' is really needed on this rocket. I suppose that I could find some foam safe paint and get rid o' the yellow from t' glue but its nay all that noticeable from any distance. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I decided t' leave mine bare.

Nay long after completin' this rocket, ya bilge rat, I saw a post from Jim Flis on TRF about finishing. Arrr! He mentioned that electrical tape can be used t' provide a little color and t' strengthen t' joints betwixt cups. Avast! Blimey! That seemed like a good idea t' me and would cover up much o' t' glue mess.

I didn't have any colored tapes but I decided that I would be satisfied with black. Accordingly, arrr, I wrapped each cup joint with tape and t' appearance was greatly improved.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I was a bit worried when t' time came for t' maiden flight. Arrr! Blimey! T' wind had kicked up a bit. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Mostly, I be worried about t' rocket bein' torn away from t' lug on t' launch rod. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! That did nay occur.

I mounted a 12" chute and a C11-3. Arrr! It was nay a kid magnet because thar were no kids present at that time, but it sure magnetized t' adults. It took off well, did nay weathercock at all, shiver me timbers, and ejected very nicely. Begad! It looked kind o' funny comin' down. Arrr! Usually t' rocket hangs under t' chute canopy. Begad! This one kind o' let its chute droop down below it. There be no damage. Ahoy! Begad! A video o' t' maiden flight can be seen here.

T' second flight was on a D12-3. Avast, me proud beauty! It was a repeat o' t' first one except higher. A good time be had by all. A video o' t' second flight can be seen here.