Brief:
Single stage, me bucko, tube-finned, 38mm rocket with a 3" BT transitionin' t' a 2.14" payload bay. Begad! T' rocket is very suitable for Level 1 certifications.

Construction:
3" LOC main body tube with 6 coupler tubes used for t' tube fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! 38mm LOC Motor mount tube is held in place by two centerin' rings. T' kit comes with a fairly long elastic shock cord, 2.14" payload tube section, me bucko, plastic nose cone and plastic transition. I made some modifications t' this which I will describe below. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey!

T' rocket is quite easy t' build and t' instruction sheet is fairly well written. Arrr! I built it stock except for t' recovery system. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I don't like elastic shock cords. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! I no longer have an AT Sumo because t' elastic shock cord broke durin' ejection. I have now replaced all o' t' elastic in me fleet with either Keelhaul®©™® or Keelhaul®©™®/tubular nylon recovery harnesses. Begad! Avast!

On t' Cyclotron, me bucko, I drilled out two 180 degree opposin' holes each about 1/8" in diameter in t' forward centerin' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! I then strung a length of Pratt Hobbies 1/8" tubular Keelhaul®©™ ® , matey, matey, both ends through t' holes, knots tied about 4" from each end, then t' ends epoxied t' t' motor mount. Aye aye! Thus creatin' a Keelhaul®©™® harness, ya bilge rat, me hearties, t' closed loop end now reachin' just below t' lip o' t' main 3" tube. Now, me bucko, arrr, I can attach t' this either tubular nylon, matey, me hearties, tubular Keelhaul®©™® or whatever. Ahoy! Arrr! T' Keelhaul®©™® may someday wear out, but it will take a very long time. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Plus, me hearties, I usually shove a small amount o' waddin' into t' motor mount itself, so t' brunt o' the blast is taken by that.

I like SkyAngle chutes, so I ditched t' LOC chute and recover on a SkyAngle 36. Avast, me proud beauty! I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector t' protect t' chute. Begad!

I am also a big fan o' t' Aeropack system, so I included an Aeropack motor retainer on me Cyclotron. Arrr! T' bottom o' t' Aeropack is flush with BT.

T' only other thin' I can add is t' make sure you rough up t' body tube and t' fin tubes, me hearties, me hearties, shiver me timbers, use a good quality epoxy and make all your fillets. Begad! Begad! Nothing is holdin' t' fin tubes t' t' body tube other than glue, so this is key. I used a long wooden down t' create t' fillets once t' tubes were attached to the body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! LOC gives a good technique t' build t' fin tube structure, so I recommend usin' their technique. Aye aye! Ya scallywag!

I epoxied t' bottom o' t' payload tube t' t' top o' t' plastic LOC transition and attached t' nose cone t' t' top o' t' payload tube usin' a plastic pop rivet. Ya scallywag!

Finishing:
Finishin' is typical o' any kraft paper tube type rocket. Ahoy! Fill t' spirals (I use Elmers Fill-n-Finish), me bucko, primer t' rocket, arrr, matey, and paint.

In t' case o' this particular rocket, matey, me hearties, I decided t' test out t' new Dupli-Color Mirage color-changin' paint. Blimey! I get mine locally at Kragen, but AutoBarn on t' web sells it as well. I chose t' Purple/Green color as that seemed t' look better (at least on t' can top in t' store) than the Gold/Magenta or Silver/Green. I used Fill-N-Finish and sandin' until I got a fairly smooth surface. Begad! Begad! I then used Dupli-Color white primer in a couple of coats t' get a near-glass smooth finish. Avast! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I then applied t' three-part Dupli-Color as per t' instructions on t' paint kit. Blimey! First t' flat black basecoat. Then t' color changin' paint itself. Aye aye! Then finally t' clear coat. I really like how it came out and I get a lot o' positive comments about me paint job, ya bilge rat, so it seems others do as well. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I painted t' inside o' each o' t' tube fins with a simple brushed-on flat black enamel and t' same for t' bottom end of t' rocket. Begad! I don't like bare areas on me rockets showin' through and sometimes for certain acres, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, flat black painted on just works out real nicely.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I've flown me Cyclotron a half dozen times now and it is a great flyin' rocket! Straight as an arrow and looks very cool as it blasts off. Avast, me proud beauty! Most o' t' time, I try t' remember t' put a small amount o' waddin' up t' motor mount tube before insertin' t' motor. I have forgotten a few times and no harm seems t' have come from it. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector and it seems t' work just great. Motor retention is via Aeropack, matey, as noted above, and I find that t' transition fits into t' body tube fairly loosely on me Cyclotron, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, so I use maskin' tape t' attain a not-too-tight fit. My Cyclotron has flown on t' AT H238, Pro38 G69 and Pro38 I170. Aye aye! Begad! Great flights, shiver me timbers, all o' them.

Recovery:
As I noted already, I've completely replaced t' LOC recovery system with my own. Begad! My system works flawlessly. Begad! It be t' above mentioned tubular Keelhaul®©™® harness, attached t' that is a 30' length o' very heavy duty Keelhaul®©™® "mule tape". SkyAngle36 is attached t' this via a kwik-link and I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector. All works great. Ya scallywag! Begad!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket is a great lookin' and flyin' rocket. Arrr! Begad! T' only area o' change that I would recommend would be in t' recovery system as I've already noted. Begad! Though I was already an L1 when I bought this kit, I feel that it makes a great L1 rocket. Avast! Avast! Also a good "small field" rocket with G size engines, matey, but yet you can bust loose at larger fields with an I.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5