Brief:
A high performance, contest quality helicopter rocket. Begad! No burn strings here!

Construction:
Materials were strictly top shelf. Begad! Ya scallywag! Body tube, vacuformed nose cone, balsa fins and rotor blades. Especially important be t' molded hub and piston. Avast, me proud beauty! You might consider buyin' this rocket just for t' quality parts. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' instructions are very good and lead you through logical. T' trickiest steps concern makin' sure you don't glue t' fold-in-half rotor blades t' themselves. Assembly is straightforward, though intricate. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! When you're done t' rocket will look insanely tiny and light and make you think o' competition records that will fall, me bucko, but thar be a catch...

T' instructions are very thorough, arrr, as you would expect, from Apogee. Aye aye! Begad! The rotor blade fold in half lengthwise and are set up on a template. Begad! Take great care that you get t' hinge side and t' elastic sides correct. Aye aye! T' keep the edges o' t' rotor blades from stickin' along t' seam, matey, Apogee suggests vaseline carefully applied t' t' joint. Ya scallywag! Excellent suggestion. Avast! Also take care to trim t' dowel that runs up t' middle t' t' proper length. Ahoy! Begad! This model should be easily built with t' tools and glue that you already have for other rockets. Avast! This is NOT a beginner's rocket.

Finishing:
This is a contest rocket, shiver me timbers, me hearties, finishin' is nay a great idea. Ahoy! However, ya bilge rat, me hearties, somethings will help it's visibility. Ahoy! Try usin' magic markers and/or highlighters t' add color. Ahoy! Aye aye!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Flight is where this rocket has problems. Ahoy! It is simply unstable if thar's any wind. My Micro Whirl-A-Tron and several others have looped when they flew. Well, blow me down! Blimey! The basic dimensions o' t' rocket are those o' t' Centrix, shiver me timbers, which flies great, arrr, but the cast piston moves t' CG too far back t' make this rocket anythin' but a Micro Loop-A-Tron in t' wind. Aye aye! Two flights with Apogee 1/2A2-4 motors and 1 with 1/4A2-4 all looped durin' t' afternoon lull at NARAM 42. Avast! Avast! I saw a few other's fall into t' same trap. I did see one that worked, but t' flyer had extended t' fin span by 3/4". Prep is easy, shiver me timbers, fold t' rotors, place them against t' dowel, shiver me timbers, slip t' piston down until t' toothpicks are inside the booster body tube. Arrr! Go fly. Blimey! This is one o' those designs that might spit the motor. Tape it in good.

Recovery:
This thin' really hangs on t' rotors. Begad! Blimey! If a lighter weight alternative could be found for t' cast piston, me hearties, it would do even better. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! You will be utterly stunned how high this gets on a 1/2A motor (if you've lengthened t' fins). Aye aye! This is not an incredibly rugged rocket because it is intended for competition use. In contest rockets, me hearties, if they last more than 3 or 4 flights, ya bilge rat, they're over-built and therefore too heavy. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey!

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
I saw two mods o' t' Whirl-A-Tron that made them fly in a straight line. First you extend t' fin span. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Second, me hearties, add a rin' o' cardboard around t' fin tips. In both cases, t' rocket flew very straight, and very high. Ya scallywag! Begad! Due t' t' piston, prep is fast and easy. Avast, me proud beauty! This gives you an advantage in competition because when the air is good, matey, you can fly, recover and fly quickly. Also burn strings tend to get hung up on rotors and such. Ahoy! Blimey! T' rocket is light, streamlined and very competitive. Blimey! You'll learn some good techniques just buildin' this rocket.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5