Brief:
This be t' fiberglass Arrrrrrrcas HV from Madcow. Ahoy! I bought it because they were givin' away CTI Pro29 3g motors with purchase, shiver me timbers, so it becomes close t' a no brainer if you're in t' market for t' case (I was) and a fiberglass kit.

Construction:
Aside from it bein' fiberglass, me bucko, this kit is almost as simple as a rocket can be. Arrr! Aye aye! Sure, it's sport-scale, ya bilge rat, but it really is just 4FNC.

T' body tube is a single full length unit. Well, blow me down! Nose cone, fins, matey, motor mount, and centerin' rings are also all fiberglass.

Recovery hardware isn't fiberglass, matey, which is a good thing. Begad! Eyebolts, strap nylon, and various washers and nuts complete t' package. Arrr! I ordered mine without t' recovery system because I already had appropriately sized Nomex® and chutes.

I dumped t' nylon in favor o' Keelhaul®©™® and added an Aeropack 29 for motor retention duty.

Bein' a fundamentally simple kit, t' instructions were fairly sparse, but adequate.

Washin' everythin' is mandatory with all t' fiberglass parts in order t' remove and residual coatings.

In me kit, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' fin slots were a tad narrow, o' t' fins a tad thick. Avast, me proud beauty! A quick pass with a nail file widened the slots nicely. T' only other fit issue I had was t' bulk plate that goes into t' nose cone. Begad! T' plate was fairly loose, though it has t' be because o' t' way t' fiberglass is laid up inside t' cone: it's pretty rough on the inside.

I used epoxy clay t' solve that one. I ran a bead inside t' cone, shiver me timbers, and pressed t' bulkhead into it formin' a fillet on t' interior side. Ya scallywag! I then ran a bead o' t' clay around t' visible side, and pressed t' clay into t' gap basically sandwichin' t' bulkhead betwixt two fillets. Begad! It's nay goin' anywhere. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Luckily, arrr, I remembered t' attach the eyebolt, me hearties, washers, and nuts prior t' makin' said sandwich.

For t' fin can, ya bilge rat, me bucko, me hearties, I dry fit all t' parts outside t' tube. Begad! T' attach t' top centerin' ring, I put epoxy on the top rin' while everythin' was dry fit together. Ya scallywag! Thinkin' I was brilliant, ya bilge rat, matey, I then followed by usin' JB Weld on t' motor retainer and t' lower centerin' ring, ya bilge rat, knowin' that t' gap betwixt t' two rings would be perfect.

Roughly 24 hours later, arrr, I be feelin' pretty dumb, arrr, as I no longer had any means t' do internal fillets on the fins. Begad! Blimey! Whoops. Remember t' take a page from t' PML instructions on this one - give yourself some kind o' handhold on t' lower ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Attach t' upper as I did, me hearties, then put t' mount in t' body tube gluin' in only t' upper ring. When that's dry, arrr, matey, matey, remove t' lower ring, and install t' fins. Now you can fillet t' fins internally, me hearties, ya bilge rat, or fill it with expandin' foam, or... Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! lots o' other options. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Finish by reinstallin' t' lower rin' and sandwich t' fins betwixt the two rings. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Install motor retention, ya bilge rat, and call it good.

Finishing:
I can't really comment on finishing. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I tend t' fly me rockets prior t' paint and finish. Basically, shiver me timbers, they earn their paint. Ahoy! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I find that if I'm goin' t' lose a rocket for some reason, it tends t' happen in the first few flights. Begad! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! So, matey, I don't bother with finishin' until I feel that t' rocket is goin' t' stick around.

Since this Arrrrrrrcas ended up bein' me L1 flight, it's definitely earned paint, so it will be goin' into t' paint booth soon.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' best part about this rocket be t' wide range o' motors that it can fly on. Well, blow me down! Begad! While I haven't tried it, arrr, ya bilge rat, I've run sims, and it looks like it will fly just fine on a high impulse F like t' F52T. Ahoy! On the opposite side o' t' spectrum, shiver me timbers, matey, me hearties, this rocket is fiberglass, and is as close t' bulletproof as it gets. Begad! Arrr! I would have no hesitation flyin' this on t' largest 29mm motor available, which is currently a small I.

To go even further, arrr, I wouldn't hesitate t' modify it t' take a 38mm motor or even a 54mm. Blimey! Avast! It would definitely need t' aid o' dual-deployment, though as you would be lookin' at some fairly extreme altitudes.

Recovery:
With nearly 4' o' 2.6" tubin' available, matey, preppin' and packin' this rocket for flight is about as easy as it could be. Avast! T' Nomex® chute protector always does it's job, shiver me timbers, and for me L1 flight, me hearties, I even went down t' a 24" chute from t' recommended 30. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! T' field be fairly soft, shiver me timbers, and also somewhat small for t' H motor, so I went small t' reduce drift knowin' that t' rocket would do more damage t' t' dirt than vice versa.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a solid rocket. Begad! Simple, rugged. Blimey! Ahoy! It was me first fiberglass rocket, arrr, matey, me hearties, and I know it won't be me last. Well, blow me down! Avast! I've always disliked t' fact that rockets were essentially designed t' fail because o' t' wear and tear on t' paper body tubes. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' constant stream o' repairs just isn't really fun after a while. Well, arrr, blow me down! I want t' build new rockets, shiver me timbers, nay keep rebuildin' old ones. Blimey! Aye aye! This is one rocket I know I won't have t' rebuild ever. It thar's ever any damage t' this rocket, arrr, it will likely be destroyed at t' same time.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5