Brief:
This is a father/son dual build. Ahoy! Begad! Up t' this point, I've been helpin' him build his rockets. Blimey! We started with me doin' most o' t' building, ya bilge rat, and him as an extra pair o' hands. Ya scallywag! Over t' course o' 3-4 builds, he's been doin' more and more, and t' roles are reversin' where I'm becomin' t' extra hands. Arrr! Arrr! I found a couple o' Firebirds for relatively cheap, ya bilge rat, arrr, and so we're buildin' these in parallel. Avast, me proud beauty! This will be his first purely solo build, arrr, and we'll be comparin' t' results o' our two builds. Arrr! 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. Begad! Nothin' dramatic or fancy, me hearties, here, just a solid design with classic lines.

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

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

Dad: Once again, this is pretty basic Estes fare. Avast! 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. Arrr! Blimey! I notched t' upper centerin' ring, matey, and slipped a length o' Keelhaul®©™ through. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I knotted t' end t' prevent it comin' back through t' notch, arrr, and put a dab o' epoxy t' hold it in. Arrr! Blimey! Normally, shiver me timbers, I would tie t' Keelhaul®©™® in a loop around t' motor tube, but since these fins are through t' wall, t' loop would interfere with t' fin tangs.

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

Son: Well, me hearties, he taught me, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, arrr, so, arrr, yeah, I'm tossin' t' 3-fold as well. Since I'm doin' t' 24mm thing, I get t' choose me engine tube size, so I went with a longer tube, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and a third centerin' ring. Begad! T' first 2 rings sandwich t' fin tangs as normal. Avast! Avast! I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and put t' third rin' on top. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Hah! Blimey! 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. Aye aye! Begad! I also left off t' motor block. Blimey! Avast! 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. Well, blow me down! T' up side is that I can use any 24mm motor includin' t' upcomin' Aerotech 24/120 and t' CTI Pro 24 cases. Ya scallywag! Avast! Bigger, arrr, faster, arrr, higher! I can't wait t' put a 24mm G motor and watch it rip! Dad's shakin' his head while I'm typin' this. Says I'll never get it back. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Maybe, arrr, but it's fun. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Besides, I don't pay for t' motors. (Dad: He may start buyin' them if he loses them like this)

Finishing:
Dad: Decals are typical o' Estes in this era. Begad! Blimey! That means peel and stick. I really don't like them. Ahoy! Blimey! I much prefer water slide. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! That said, me bucko, arrr, as per me usual superstitious approach, matey, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I won't actually paint and decal t' rocket until after t' first few flights. Ahoy! Blimey! 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. Well, blow me down! Blimey! If I build a rocket in 2 hours t' night before a launch, it's comin' back. Arrr! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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, ya bilge rat, it's all typical. Arrr! Sand and seal t' fins. Well, blow me down! Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Avast! Fill t' spirals in t' tube. Ahoy! T' spirals actually aren't too bad, and t' tube is white. Arrr! If you go with t' factory color scheme (white) you could probably get away without filling.

Son: I'm done building, ya bilge rat, let's go fly. Begad! Seriously. Yeah, I could take some time t' make it look good, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Let's fly. Ahoy! Arrr! I want t' get started on me cert rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Waddin' can be easier in t' smaller rockets, arrr, but t' larger ones just take too much. Arrr! Besides, reuseable Nomex is more eco friendly.

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

Son: What he said. Arrr! Arrr! I'm gettin' tired o' typing. I haven't flown mine yet. Avast, me proud beauty! Weather hasn't been good enough.

Recovery:
Dad: My turn t' say it. Arrr! What he said. We haven't flown either rocket yet as t' weather hasn't cooperated. Avast! My expectation is that, like everythin' about this kit, arrr, it will be typical Estes. Arrr! Aye aye! T' chute is too big, and it will float, so we'll probably fly with a streamer or smaller chute. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! As we get a chance t' fly these, I'll be postin' t' flight logs, and updatin' t' review through t' flight log comments. Actual flight is just t' last validation o' t' build in this case. Begad! 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