Brief:
Single stage, tube-finned, 38mm rocket with a 3" BT transitionin' t' a 2.14" payload bay. Avast! T' rocket is very suitable for Level 1 certifications.

Construction:
3" LOC main body tube with 6 coupler tubes used for t' tube fins. Arrr! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! 38mm LOC Motor mount tube is held in place by two centerin' rings. T' kit comes with a fairly long elastic shock cord, me hearties, 2.14" payload tube section, plastic nose cone and plastic transition. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I made some modifications t' this which I will describe below. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey!

T' rocket is quite easy t' build and t' instruction sheet is fairly well written. Begad! I built it stock except for t' recovery system. Ya scallywag! I don't like elastic shock cords. I no longer have an AT Sumo because t' elastic shock cord broke durin' ejection. Aye aye! Aye aye! I have now replaced all o' t' elastic in me fleet with either Keelhaul®©™® or Keelhaul®©™®/tubular nylon recovery harnesses. Avast! Ahoy!

On t' Cyclotron, me hearties, I drilled out two 180 degree opposin' holes each about 1/8" in diameter in t' forward centerin' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I then strung a length of Pratt Hobbies 1/8" tubular Keelhaul®©™ ® , matey, ya bilge rat, both ends through t' holes, ya bilge rat, knots tied about 4" from each end, then t' ends epoxied t' t' motor mount. Thus creatin' a Keelhaul®©™® harness, t' closed loop end now reachin' just below t' lip o' t' main 3" tube. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Now, shiver me timbers, I can attach t' this either tubular nylon, tubular Keelhaul®©™® or whatever. Aye aye! Blimey! T' Keelhaul®©™® may someday wear out, me hearties, me hearties, but it will take a very long time. Plus, matey, me bucko, I usually shove a small amount o' waddin' into t' motor mount itself, so t' brunt o' the blast is taken by that. Begad!

I like SkyAngle chutes, me hearties, so I ditched t' LOC chute and recover on a SkyAngle 36. Arrr! Begad! I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector t' protect t' chute.

I am also a big fan o' t' Aeropack system, matey, so I included an Aeropack motor retainer on me Cyclotron. T' bottom o' t' Aeropack is flush with BT. Arrr! Begad!

T' only other thin' I can add is t' make sure you rough up t' body tube and t' fin tubes, use a good quality epoxy and make all your fillets. Well, blow me down! Nothing is holdin' t' fin tubes t' t' body tube other than glue, so this is key. I used a long wooden down t' create t' fillets once t' tubes were attached to the body tube. Ahoy! LOC gives a good technique t' build t' fin tube structure, so I recommend usin' their technique.

I epoxied t' bottom o' t' payload tube t' t' top o' t' plastic LOC transition and attached t' nose cone t' t' top o' t' payload tube usin' a plastic pop rivet. Begad! Ya scallywag!

Finishing:
Finishin' is typical o' any kraft paper tube type rocket. Fill t' spirals (I use Elmers Fill-n-Finish), primer t' rocket, and paint. Begad!

In t' case o' this particular rocket, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I decided t' test out t' new Dupli-Color Mirage color-changin' paint. Avast, me proud beauty! I get mine locally at Kragen, but AutoBarn on t' web sells it as well. Begad! I chose t' Purple/Green color as that seemed t' look better (at least on t' can top in t' store) than the Gold/Magenta or Silver/Green. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! I used Fill-N-Finish and sandin' until I got a fairly smooth surface. Ya scallywag! I then used Dupli-Color white primer in a couple of coats t' get a near-glass smooth finish. I then applied t' three-part Dupli-Color as per t' instructions on t' paint kit. Avast! First t' flat black basecoat. Begad! Then t' color changin' paint itself. Then finally t' clear coat. I really like how it came out and I get a lot o' positive comments about me paint job, arrr, so it seems others do as well. Well, blow me down! I painted t' inside o' each o' t' tube fins with a simple brushed-on flat black enamel and t' same for t' bottom end of t' rocket. Well, blow me down! I don't like bare areas on me rockets showin' through and sometimes for certain acres, flat black painted on just works out real nicely.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I've flown me Cyclotron a half dozen times now and it is a great flyin' rocket! Straight as an arrow and looks very cool as it blasts off. Arrr! Begad! Most o' t' time, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I try t' remember t' put a small amount o' waddin' up t' motor mount tube before insertin' t' motor. Ahoy! I have forgotten a few times and no harm seems t' have come from it. I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector and it seems t' work just great. Begad! Motor retention is via Aeropack, as noted above, me hearties, and I find that t' transition fits into t' body tube fairly loosely on me Cyclotron, ya bilge rat, so I use maskin' tape t' attain a not-too-tight fit. Avast! Ahoy! My Cyclotron has flown on t' AT H238, me bucko, Pro38 G69 and Pro38 I170. Avast! Begad! Great flights, all o' them.

Recovery:
As I noted already, I've completely replaced t' LOC recovery system with my own. Avast, me proud beauty! My system works flawlessly. Avast! Begad! It be t' above mentioned tubular Keelhaul®©™® harness, me bucko, arrr, attached t' that is a 30' length o' very heavy duty Keelhaul®©™® "mule tape". Arrr! Ahoy! SkyAngle36 is attached t' this via a kwik-link and I use a Keelhaul®©™® chute protector. All works great. Ya scallywag!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket is a great lookin' and flyin' rocket. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' only area o' change that I would recommend would be in t' recovery system as I've already noted. Though I was already an L1 when I bought this kit, I feel that it makes a great L1 rocket. Also a good "small field" rocket with G size engines, me bucko, but yet you can bust loose at larger fields with an I.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5