Brief:
This is a father/son dual build. Up t' this point, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I've been helpin' him build his rockets. Avast! Begad! We started with me doin' most o' t' building, arrr, and him as an extra pair o' hands. Begad! Over t' course o' 3-4 builds, he's been doin' more and more, arrr, and t' roles are reversin' where I'm becomin' t' extra hands. I found a couple o' Firebirds for relatively cheap, me hearties, and so we're buildin' these in parallel. Arrr! Aye aye! This will be his first purely solo build, shiver me timbers, and we'll be comparin' t' results o' our two builds. Begad! After this, he'll be movin' on t' buildin' his L1 cert rocket... Begad! if I think he's ready.

T' Firebird is a fairly basic single stage Estes offering. Well, blow me down! Nothin' dramatic or fancy, ya bilge rat, me bucko, here, just a solid design with classic lines.

Construction:
Dad: This is a basic 4FNC rocket. Plastic nose cone, ya bilge rat, pre-cut fins, some flimsy paper centerin' rings and t' usual too short shock cord and plastic chute. Avast! Begad! T' body tube is a good length o' BT-55 1.325" tubing, while t' motor tube be t' cheap blue 18mm tube. Arrr! For standard 18mm motors, everythin' is sufficiently strong. Arrr! For t' 18mm Aerotech D reloads, shiver me timbers, thar could be some extra stress that could test some o' these parts.

Son: Yeah, matey, yeah...what he said. What's with t' wimpy 18mm motor mount? That's got t' go. Begad! Aye aye! I'm goin' t' raid t' parts closet. Blimey! Let's see. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! 24mm motor mount, me bucko, some BT50-55 centerin' rings t' replace t' cheapy paper stuff. Avast, me proud beauty! OK. Begad! I'm good t' go. Avast! Let's get building.

Dad: Once again, this is pretty basic Estes fare. Anyone who's build a typical Estes rocket in t' last couple decades won't have an issue here. There are a couple minor changes that I make t' all Estes kits.

Namely t' recovery section.

I always toss t' 3-fold concept. Begad! Ya scallywag! I notched t' upper centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and slipped a length o' Keelhaul®©™ through. Begad! I knotted t' end t' prevent it comin' back through t' notch, matey, and put a dab o' epoxy t' hold it in. Ahoy! Normally, arrr, I would tie t' Keelhaul®©™® in a loop around t' motor tube, me hearties, but since these fins are through t' wall, me bucko, t' loop would interfere with t' fin tangs.

Speakin' o' which, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I wonder why Estes went with through t' wall fins for this kit and only an 18mm mount. For all t' Estes 18mm motors, TTW fins is way overkill. Ya scallywag! O' course, arrr, it does make fin alignment much easier.

Son: Well, he taught me, so, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, yeah, I'm tossin' t' 3-fold as well. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Since I'm doin' t' 24mm thing, I get t' choose me engine tube size, so I went with a longer tube, and a third centerin' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' first 2 rings sandwich t' fin tangs as normal. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube, and put t' third rin' on top. Begad! Aye aye! Hah! Mines stronger.

While I was at it, I cut t' top o' t' engine hook off so it doesn't go into t' motor tube. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I also left off t' motor block. Ahoy! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' down side is I'll need t' use tape t' make "thrust rings" on t' bottom o' Estes engines t' keep them from goin' through t' rocket. Blimey! Blimey! T' up side is that I can use any 24mm motor includin' t' upcomin' Aerotech 24/120 and t' CTI Pro 24 cases. Ahoy! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Bigger, me hearties, faster, higher! Blimey! I can't wait t' put a 24mm G motor and watch it rip! Blimey! Dad's shakin' his head while I'm typin' this. Begad! Blimey! Says I'll never get it back. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Maybe, ya bilge rat, but it's fun. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Besides, I don't pay for t' motors. Blimey! Blimey! (Dad: He may start buyin' them if he loses them like this)

Finishing:
Dad: Decals are typical o' Estes in this era. Begad! That means peel and stick. Blimey! Arrr! I really don't like them. Ya scallywag! Avast! I much prefer water slide. Arrr! Ahoy! That said, as per me usual superstitious approach, I won't actually paint and decal t' rocket until after t' first few flights. Avast, me proud beauty! Why? Because I've found that t' odds o' me losin' a rocket increase exponentially with t' amount o' time I spend on it prior t' it's first flight. Aye aye! Ahoy! If I build a rocket in 2 hours t' night before a launch, me hearties, it's comin' back. Every time I've spent 2-3 months doin' a painstakin' job o' buildin' and finishing, somethin' bilge-suckin' has happened.

As for t' pre-paint finish work, it's all typical. Well, blow me down! Sand and seal t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! Fill t' spirals in t' tube. Well, blow me down! T' spirals actually aren't too bad, arrr, shiver me timbers, and t' tube is white. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! If you go with t' factory color scheme (white) you could probably get away without filling.

Son: I'm done building, let's go fly. Begad! Seriously. Yeah, I could take some time t' make it look good, arrr, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Ahoy! Let's fly. Arrr! I want t' get started on me cert rocket. Well, blow me down! I'll take more time on that one.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Dad: For all our rockets larger than 1" diameter, we keep a supply o' Nomex t' avoid usin' wadding. Begad! Waddin' can be easier in t' smaller rockets, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but t' larger ones just take too much. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Besides, matey, matey, reuseable Nomex is more eco friendly.

Other prep is standard. Yes, me hearties, thar's a lot o' this review that just says "it's standard issue." That's because this is a pretty standard rocket. Steppin' into high power, many o' t' rockets are pretty "standard" as well. Blimey! Blimey! Just stronger materials. At a certain point, you can't do anythin' too fancy with high power motors, arrr, because t' motors will just shred t' rocket from t' high thrust.

Son: What he said. Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I'm gettin' tired o' typing. Arrr! Blimey! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! I haven't flown mine yet. Weather hasn't been good enough.

Recovery:
Dad: My turn t' say it. Well, blow me down! What he said. Arrr! We haven't flown either rocket yet as t' weather hasn't cooperated. My expectation is that, shiver me timbers, like everythin' about this kit, it will be typical Estes. Begad! T' chute is too big, and it will float, arrr, arrr, so we'll probably fly with a streamer or smaller chute. Begad! Well, blow me down! As we get a chance t' fly these, I'll be postin' t' flight logs, arrr, and updatin' t' review through t' flight log comments. Arrr! Actual flight is just t' last validation o' t' build in this case. Blimey! Ya scallywag! T' primary goal was t' give him a solo build t' validate he has t' skills necessary t' attempt his cert build.

Son: So, do I pass? When can I start on t' Matrix?

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5