Brief:
This is a new kit from FlisKits with cool missile stylin' includin' three sets of fins and six struts at t' bottom. Ahoy! It flies on 18mm B4-2, me hearties, matey, B6-4, me hearties, and C6-5 motors and recovers with a parachute. Arrr! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' kit came from BRS Hobbies. Ahoy! Ahoy! My kit was also hand numbered serial #06. A nice touch.

Construction:
T' kit includes:

• 1 sheet o' assembly instructions
• 1 BT-60 main body tube
• 1 BT-50 lower body tube
• 1 balsa nose cone
• 1 motor mount tube
• 2 sheets o' 3/32" balsa stock for fins
• 2 launch lugs
• 1 thrust ring
• 2 BT-50 centerin' rings
• 1 special centerin' ring
• 2 BT-60 centerin' rings
• 2 balsa sticks for struts
• 1 16" plastic unassembled parachute
• 1 screw eye
• 1 36" long shock cord, me bucko, shroud line, and tape disks

T' instructions for this kit were very easy t' understand, me hearties, had lots of illustrations and text, and were written in a very logical order. Ahoy! No templates were included in t' instructions as they were included on a separate sheet. This rocket is rated as skill level 2 which means that t' builder is assumed to have some previous buildin' experience.

The construction begins with assemblin' t' motor mount. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I marked t' locations for the centerin' rings and glued them into place and then glued t' thrust ring into place. Ahoy! No motor hook is included with this kit so don't spend any time lookin' for one.

I then cut out t' BT-50 fin markin' guide from t' template. Begad! Well, matey, blow me down! I recommend that you slightly scuff t' surface o' t' body tubes with 320-400 grit sandpaper before markin' them. Avast, me proud beauty! That tends t' give t' glue some more bite when you attach t' fins later. Aye aye! After t' motor mount dried, I glued it into place in t' BT-50 tube. I then marked t' locations shown for t' three centering rings that get mounted t' it. Ya scallywag!

First I slid t' special centerin' rin' into place. Ahoy! T' make it easier to get it positioned, arrr, shiver me timbers, I pushed it down t' tube usin' one o' t' BT-60 centering rings. Begad! This made it easier t' get it positioned properly and make sure it wasn't crooked. I then attached t' other two rings at t' locations as intended.

T' next step calls for t' BT-60 t' be cut down t' approximately 11 1/2 inches. Blimey! Blimey! It is recommended that t' tube be marked at this location and that you wrap a single layer o' maskin' tape around t' tube as a guide for a nice, clean, matey, me hearties, even cut. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I then scuffed up t' surface and marked it.

After all t' rings on t' lower assembly be dry, arrr, I glued it into place in the shortened BT-60 tube. Care must be taken durin' this step t' make sure that all t' fin markin' lines are lined up correctly.

You now cut out t' main, ya bilge rat, mid, matey, and upper fin templates from t' template sheet, shiver me timbers, trace them onto t' 3/32" balsa sheets provided and carefully cut out all t' fins. There is a total o' nine o' them so be prepared t' spend some time durin' this step. Avast! Ya scallywag! I then stack-sanded each set t' flatten t' edges. Well, blow me down! Well, matey, blow me down! I then marked t' tube at t' locations shown for t' upper fins and glued them onto t' tube one at a time. You then do t' same for t' mid fins and the bottom main fins. Begad! Well, arrr, blow me down! After all o' t' fins were dry, arrr, I then glued t' two launch lugs into place. Avast, me proud beauty! After everythin' be dry, arrr, shiver me timbers, I applied generous glue fillets to all t' fins especially t' bottom ones and t' launch lugs. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy!

I then cut out t' shock cord mount from t' template sheet. I assembled it with a small length o' Keelhaul®©™® and then tied t' elastic shock cord t' it t' complete t' assembly. Ahoy! It is then mounted into t' body tube.

T' screw eye is mounted into t' base o' t' nose cone and then assemble the parachute. Aye aye! One thin' I really like about FlisKits parachutes is that they are premarked and if desired, they can be cut down t' two smaller sizes. Ya scallywag! I decided t' leave it as is. Well, blow me down! Blimey! That pretty much concluded t' construction. Well, blow me down! It is recommended in t' instructions that t' struts be attached after t' model is finished.

PROs: Easy assembly and logical assembly order.

CONs: None.

Finishing:
I started t' finishin' process by sandin' everythin' smooth. Ya scallywag! Arrr! It is recommended that you use sandin' sealer but I decided t' pass. Begad! I sprayed t' entire model with grey primer and sanded betwixt coats. I then sprayed t' body o' t' model gloss white and t' nose cone gloss black. T' next day, matey, I masked off everythin' and sprayed t' mid fins a dark gloss blue. Arrr! Blimey! T' day after that, I masked t' model once again and painted t' main and upper fins gloss red. Ya scallywag! I painted t' struts gloss red also. I found it easier t' gently poke sewing needles into one end so that you can hold onto them.

After all t' paint be dry, ya bilge rat, I then cut t' struts as shown, test fitted them and then glued them into place. Be sure t' take some time and line them up carefully as this step can be a bit tricky.

PROs: Easy t' finish

CONs: Finishin' can take a while if you choose t' stock scheme. Took me 3 days.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended motors for this kit are t' B4-2, shiver me timbers, me bucko, B6-4 and t' C6-5. Avast, me proud beauty! They are friction fit into place and this kit does require recovery waddin' t' protect the parachute.

For t' first flight, I went with a B6-4. Begad! Arrr! T' rocket took off faster than I expected. Ya scallywag! As a result, matey, me launch photo was only smoke. Avast! Well, blow me down! It was a nice straight flight up t' about 400 feet.

On t' second flight, me bucko, I wanted t' see what this rocket could really do and decided t' go with t' C6-5. Great motor choice. T' rocket took off fast and straight and went maybe 650-700 feet up.

PROs: Flies great, very stable.

CONs: None.

Recovery:
This rocket uses a 16" parachute for recovery. Arrr! Arrr! On t' first flight, me hearties, arrr, I left the chute as is. Begad! It brought t' model down slowly, a little too slow for my liking. Ahoy! Aye aye! It could probably be cut down one size smaller or reefed.

For t' second flight when I used t' bigger motor, matey, shiver me timbers, I decided t' reef it, which was a good thin' too as I still had a rather long walk t' recover it.

PROs: Recovers well if a smaller o' reefed chute is used.

CONs: Recovers just a little too slowly if a full size chute is used, ya bilge rat, would be prone t' excessive driftin' in windy conditions.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I really liked this rocket, shiver me timbers, matey, it be easy t' build, me hearties, looks great and it flies great too. This was t' winner o' FlisKits' Design o' t' Month May 2003 contest. Arrr! Blimey! T' contest winner, me bucko, Darren Humphries clearly has a winnin' design here and FlisKits also did a great job on convertin' this into kit form, shiver me timbers, however, I would only recommend it if you've built a few kits already as thar are a few steps in this kit that a beginner could find confusing.

I would also like t' thank Brian Swanson of BRS Hobbies for providin' this kit. He did a great job packin' and shippin' it.

Main PROs: Easy t' assemble, me hearties, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, great looks, ya bilge rat, and impressive flight performance.

Main CONs: Recovery just a bit on t' slow side with t' provided chute.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5