Brief:
This is a father/son dual build. Up t' this point, I've been helpin' him build his rockets. We started with me doin' most o' t' building, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and him as an extra pair o' hands. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Over t' course o' 3-4 builds, he's been doin' more and more, ya bilge rat, and t' roles are reversin' where I'm becomin' t' extra hands. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! I found a couple o' Firebirds for relatively cheap, arrr, arrr, and so we're buildin' these in parallel. Blimey! Blimey! This will be his first purely solo build, and we'll be comparin' t' results o' our two builds. After this, ya bilge rat, me bucko, he'll be movin' on t' buildin' his L1 cert rocket... Arrr! Blimey! if I think he's ready.

T' Firebird is a fairly basic single stage Estes offering. Begad! Nothin' dramatic or fancy, matey, here, me bucko, just a solid design with classic lines.

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

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

Dad: Once again, shiver me timbers, this is pretty basic Estes fare. Ahoy! Blimey! Anyone who's build a typical Estes rocket in t' last couple decades won't have an issue here. Arrr! There are a couple minor changes that I make t' all Estes kits.

Namely t' recovery section.

I always toss t' 3-fold concept. Well, blow me down! I notched t' upper centerin' ring, and slipped a length o' Keelhaul®©™ through. Begad! Ya scallywag! I knotted t' end t' prevent it comin' back through t' notch, matey, and put a dab o' epoxy t' hold it in. Normally, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I would tie t' Keelhaul®©™® in a loop around t' motor tube, arrr, shiver me timbers, 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. Well, blow me down! For all t' Estes 18mm motors, TTW fins is way overkill. O' course, ya bilge rat, it does make fin alignment much easier.

Son: Well, he taught me, so, yeah, matey, I'm tossin' t' 3-fold as well. Avast, me proud beauty! Since I'm doin' t' 24mm thing, I get t' choose me engine tube size, so I went with a longer tube, arrr, and a third centerin' ring. Blimey! T' first 2 rings sandwich t' fin tangs as normal. I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube, and put t' third rin' on top. Avast, me proud beauty! Hah! Mines stronger.

While I was at it, me hearties, I cut t' top o' t' engine hook off so it doesn't go into t' motor tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I also left off t' motor block. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! 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. Avast! T' up side is that I can use any 24mm motor includin' t' upcomin' Aerotech 24/120 and t' CTI Pro 24 cases. Bigger, faster, 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. Avast! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Says I'll never get it back. Begad! Maybe, matey, matey, matey, but it's fun. Blimey! Besides, ya bilge rat, I don't pay for t' motors. Begad! Ya scallywag! (Dad: He may start buyin' them if he loses them like this)

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

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

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

Son: What he said. I'm gettin' tired o' typing. Blimey! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I haven't flown mine yet. Begad! Blimey! Weather hasn't been good enough.

Recovery:
Dad: My turn t' say it. What he said. Blimey! Blimey! We haven't flown either rocket yet as t' weather hasn't cooperated. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! My expectation is that, like everythin' about this kit, it will be typical Estes. T' chute is too big, and it will float, so we'll probably fly with a streamer or smaller chute. As we get a chance t' fly these, shiver me timbers, 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' primary goal be t' give him a solo build t' validate he has t' skills necessary t' attempt his cert build.

Son: So, matey, do I pass? When can I start on t' Matrix?

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5