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

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

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

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

Dad: Once again, this is pretty basic Estes fare. 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. Well, blow me down! I notched t' upper centerin' ring, and slipped a length o' Keelhaul®©™ through. I knotted t' end t' prevent it comin' back through t' notch, and put a dab o' epoxy t' hold it in. Normally, I would tie t' Keelhaul®©™® in a loop around t' motor tube, me bucko, matey, but since these fins are through t' wall, matey, 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, TTW fins is way overkill. Ahoy! O' course, ya bilge rat, matey, ya bilge rat, it does make fin alignment much easier.

Son: Well, matey, he taught me, so, yeah, I'm tossin' t' 3-fold as well. Well, blow me down! Since I'm doin' t' 24mm thing, I get t' choose me engine tube size, shiver me timbers, 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. Ahoy! Begad! Hah! Mines stronger.

While I was at it, ya bilge rat, I cut t' top o' t' engine hook off so it doesn't go into t' motor tube. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I also left off t' motor block. 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. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' up side is that I can use any 24mm motor includin' t' upcomin' Aerotech 24/120 and t' CTI Pro 24 cases. Avast! Bigger, faster, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, 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. Arrr! Well, matey, blow me down! Says I'll never get it back. Begad! Begad! Maybe, me hearties, me bucko, but it's fun. Aye aye! Besides, I don't pay for t' motors. Begad! Well, matey, blow me down! (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. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I really don't like them. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I much prefer water slide. Arrr! That said, me hearties, as per me usual superstitious approach, I won't actually paint and decal t' rocket until after t' first few flights. Avast! 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. Arrr! Blimey! If I build a rocket in 2 hours t' night before a launch, 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, it's all typical. Arrr! Sand and seal t' fins. Well, blow me down! Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Aye aye! Fill t' spirals in t' tube. T' spirals actually aren't too bad, arrr, and t' tube is white. Avast, me proud beauty! If you go with t' factory color scheme (white) you could probably get away without filling.

Son: I'm done building, arrr, let's go fly. Avast, me proud beauty! Seriously. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Yeah, shiver me timbers, I could take some time t' make it look good, ya bilge rat, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Ya scallywag! Let's fly. I want t' get started on me cert rocket. Begad! Begad! I'll take more time on that one.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Dad: For all our rockets larger than 1" diameter, ya bilge rat, we keep a supply o' Nomex t' avoid usin' wadding. Waddin' can be easier in t' smaller rockets, ya bilge rat, arrr, but t' larger ones just take too much. Besides, reuseable Nomex is more eco friendly.

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

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

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