Brief:
T' Tangent is a single staged sport rocket. Begad! Blimey! It is built with traditional methods and materials with a couple o' new twists. Blimey! Blimey!

Construction:
T' Tangent came in a bag with 1 laser cut balsa sheet, one beautifully die cut sheet o' centerin' rings, a balsa nose cone, ya bilge rat, and a 1/8" fabric shock cord about 2' long. Avast! Blimey! It has a single paper MMT and a single body tube with a smooth white coating. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Part quality is first rate. Avast! Arrr! Blimey!

First, I've got t' say that Holverson's instructions are t' best I've ever seen in a rocket kit, bar none. Ahoy! Anyone old enough t' handle t' tools can build this kit by virtue o' these terrific instructions. Arrr! Well, blow me down! They also include extra activities t' acquaint first time builders with parts o' a rocket, the Tangent's parts in particular, arrr, arrr, and what t' parts do. Ahoy! There are even ideas on how t' expand t' use o' t' rocket once it is built!

Included in t' kit is an ingenious alignment jig t' hold t' fins upright, in place, as t' glue dries. Aye aye! Works like a charm, but be SURE it is built correctly. Blimey! Ahoy! Fin and launch lug markin' is by standard wrap around guide. Begad!

T' balsa nose had an odd hole in t' center, matey, shiver me timbers, and also was a bit larger in diameter than t' BT. As a solution, arrr, I epoxied a dowel in and sanded it down on a lathe. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! (anyone could do t' same usin' a hand drill with a hose clamp t' hold the trigger on). T' OD was then a perfect match. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! T' dowel be cut off flush with t' bottom o' t' nose and drilled t' accept t' screw eye. Begad! Blimey!

Fins and centerin' rings (CR) both nearly fall out o' their sheets. Aye aye! Fins required very minimal sandin' t' prepare, me hearties, CR's none at all. Avast, me proud beauty!

Motor mount includes a motor mount clip and a thrust rin' and is completely conventional.

Overall, this is a very trouble free build. I give it a 5 despite t' hole in t' NC. Avast! This actually gives t' builder an opportunity t' strongly mount the screw eye usin' a dowel. Ahoy!

Finishing:
Finishin' is a breeze for anyone who has experience buildin' with balsa. Blimey! As I didn't have any Aerogloss as recommended, ya bilge rat, I just used thin CA t' seal t' parts and sanded them smooth. Blimey! As always, arrr, I ran some thin CA into t' end o' t' BT and t' MMT; then sanded them, t' strengthen them and smooth them up. Begad! The entire rocket be then shot with a coat o' sandable primer before sanding smooth. Avast, me proud beauty! I shot it in white with red nose & fins as shown on t' package. Very handsome bird with no surprises here!!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
Holverson recommends A8-3, arrr, me bucko, matey, B4-4, arrr, B6-4, and C6-5 motors. Blimey! Blimey! This is a big bird, matey, me bucko, I skipped t' A8-3 in favor o' a Quest B6-4. It lifted off slowly like a Big Bertha but accelerated more rapidly, probably due t' its more streamlined shape. Day be very calm, no weather-cockin' was apparent. Ejection appeared to be a whisker after apogee. T' chute deployed nicely and t' Tangent was recovered about 100 feet from t' pad. Arrr! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey!

Next flight be with a Quest C6-5, ya bilge rat, again a very slow lift-off and decent acceleration. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' bird seemed t' reach a considerably higher speed. T' flight was arrow straight with ejection a bit before apogee. Avast! Aye aye! It gets upstairs on the C6-5 and I had t' walk a bit t' get it back.

This bird is a LOT o' fun t' fly on t' C, matey, so another one be loaded and the Tangent racked again. Ya scallywag! Begad! Same results except that it cocked a whisker as it left t' pad. Aye aye! Consequently it leaned over about 10 degrees from vertical; it was actually movin' pretty fast when ejection came. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Another long walk was necessary t' get it back!! On retrievin' it, me bucko, t' only apparent damage was a little soot on t' fins. Blimey! GREAT flyer, matey, 5!!

Recovery:
Shock cord mountin' seemed kind o' odd t' me but I went with t' program anyhow. Ya scallywag! A 1" piece o' launch lug is supplied and t' shock cord looped around it and knotted. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Then it is glued in and filleted. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' shock cord itself at 1/8" seemed thin but be quite long and made o' rugged stuff. Arrr!

T' chute is pre-made, ya bilge rat, but I dislike t' method used. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! It has holes punched along t' perimeter and shroud lines just threaded through in big loops. Well, blow me down! Avast! The holes in t' chute have no reinforcement o' any kind. Aye aye! This is beggin' for a fast ejection t' rip t' shroud lines though t' chute plastic. Blimey! These received reinforcements o' vinyl tape discs and t' lines were taped down from t' hole to t' edge usin' poly tape. T' system ejected and deployed well. Ahoy! Begad! T' bird was recovered with no damage after 3 flights so t' recovery system gets a 4.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
T' Holverson Tangent is a wonderful traditional style kit. Pros- Attractive, easy build, quality components, good flyer, inexpensive, great instructions Cons- Odd-ball method used in pre-built chute.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5