(Contributed - by Andy Hobbs - 01/17/07)

Brief:
Lance covered t' components and construction o' t' rocket very well in his excellent review. Begad! I also built t' model exactly t' t' plans t' kit is rated skill level 5. Avast, me proud beauty! I agree with this, me hearties, although it maybe is nay as detailed as a Saturn V, me bucko, but it's probably nay recommended for t' impatient type builder.

Construction:
T' components are top quality. Begad! All o' t' tubes are thick wall 3" with a 3 x 12 LOC nose cone. Begad! T' canopy is a Sig WW-2 style 7". Begad! Ahoy! T' kit includes a 29mm x 17" motor mount tube, matey, 2 chutes, me hearties, shiver me timbers, lots o' nose weight, bulkheads, and centerin' rings. Begad! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Those last 2 items are made o' 5 ply aircraft grade plywood. Begad! There are lots o' other parts and details as noted. Most wood parts are pre-cut but, t' wings, rudder, matey, tailplane, ya bilge rat, finette, etc., arrr, have t' be edged with 1/4" hardwood, me bucko, shiver me timbers, rounded, me bucko, matey, and all trailin' surfaces have t' be heavily beveled. Blimey! T' rudder alone requires 1/4" balsa, hard wood, ya bilge rat, arrr, and ply t' complete--that's me kind o' kit! I used yellow wood glue througout t' construction except for t' canopy attachment and nose weight. Avast! I used epoxy in those cases. Blimey! I am very impressed with t' quality and fit of components and t' inclusion o' 2 ripstop chutes (they appear t' be standard Top Flight brand.) Cuttin' t' shapes from the heavy wall tubes for t' intakes with a X-Acto was nay fun, but I couldn't think o' an easier way, however, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, after several passes they were done.

On t' busines end, me hearties, I lined t' interior with aluminum tape from t' hardware store. Begad! This helps t' aft end from gettin' charred. Aye aye! T' tape was applied with a very thin coat o' epoxy. Begad! T' adhesive on t' tape was strong but started t' unpeel after a few days, me hearties, so I knew it wouldn't hold up t' heat well, shiver me timbers, hence the epoxy. Begad! Problem solved. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Lastly, ya bilge rat, I used a T-nut and mirror clip for motor retention.

T' model has an integrated 1/4" launch lug. Avast, me proud beauty! I would have preferred rail buttons but I stuck t' t' stock kit instructions and it has worked very well.

Finishing:
Phred o' Excelsior decals did an amazin' job o' creatin' a decal sheet for me from some vector files I combined together. Well, blow me down! He is typically very busy and I appreciate him takin' t' time out t' get it done. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! He runs a top notch service!

I opted for a military scheme. For t' canopy glass I masked off t' frame structures, me bucko, cleared t' tape t' reduce leaking, then I sprayed a Duplicolor chrome. Once that dried a bit, arrr, arrr, I sprayed iridescent blue with t' airbrush. Avast! Begad! It's hard t' tell from t' pic, ya bilge rat, but it has a sort o' glass-like sheen from a distance. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! (That's t' idea anyway.) The Excelsior decal worked very well by followin' t' included tips. They have a "painted on" quality. Ahoy! I put my NAR# on t' tail.

Flight and Recovery:

I flew it first on t' G64-7W and t' delay was way too long. Aye aye! Blimey! It barely inflated t' chutes in time and t' shock cord broke both aft wings from t' abrupt seperation.

I repaired it and flew again on t' G64 drilled t' a 5 second delay and it was beautiful. It be a perfect flight. Ahoy! Arrr! T' body chute was a little slow comin' out so I will pack it on top o' t' nose cone chute next time. Avast, me proud beauty! However, it recovored just fine this time around as it even went into a short horizontal glide before ejection...

Summary:
This is an excellent and very cool kit. Avast! I would really like t' see Fat Cat return t' t' rocketry world with their very interestin' line up o' kits!