Brief:
Single stage mid-power rocket.

Construction:
All o' t' parts were contained in a plastic bag and they were all intact and high quality. Begad! T' airframe had a very small spiral groove, t' fins were top quality plywood, and t' nose cone be sturdy plastic. Avast! T' centerin' rings were also quality plywood. Begad! T' parachute provided be hot pink in color and 15" diameter.

T' instructions were contained on t' back o' t' title card that was in t' bag. There was nay a great deal o' detail in t' instructions and for t' simple design o' t' Onyx, it was nay necessary. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' parachute retention be contained in a small bag by itself and had its own instruction sheet. T' airframe be pre-marked for t' placement o' t' fins and t' launch lug and assembly was straight forward and simple. Aye aye! This rocket is a good choice for someone that is new t' mid-power rocketry. Avast, me proud beauty! No surprises or unexpected troubles. Begad! T' parts were all glued together usin' 2 ton epoxy, matey, me hearties, t' instructions direct you t' use epoxy throughout. After everythin' be glued, I applied healthy epoxy fillets t' each fin and t' t' launch lug.

There is a note on t' instruction card for t' 24mm motors, arrr, that says they are t' be used with LOC's MMA-1 adapter. Begad! This adapter is nay included.

T' recovery system has a nice hot pink rip stop nylon parachute with ample gage nylon leaders sewn t' it, t' 3/8" elastic shock cord is about 72" long and is secured by LOC's standard method o' attachment. Blimey! This entails a nylon strin' that is looped, matey, matey, tied, me hearties, me bucko, and then epoxied t' t' inside o' t' airframe. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Then, me hearties, t' end o' t' shock cord is tied t' t' end o' t' loop that protrudes from t' top. Avast, me proud beauty! Just make sure t' glue t' nylon strin' down far enough t' fit t' nose cone it without interference.

Finishing:
I asked me son how he wanted t' have this one finished. Avast! Begad! For some strange reason, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, he wanted green. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! (go figure) Green it shall be I said, but it's goin' t' be fluorescent green and nay grass green or leaf green. Blimey! After a few coats o' sandin' sealer followed by primer, shiver me timbers, arrr, me hearties, I sprayed on some fluorescent green paint. Strange thin' about that fluorescent paint, ya bilge rat, it doesn't finish very smooth. T' compensate for that, me bucko, I sanded t' paint after each coat with 400 grit sandpaper. Begad! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Once I be satisfied with t' amount o' paint, I coated t' finished rocket with clear paint. Avast! I applied t' LOC decal and be finished.

I got t' self stick decal by a little bit o' callin' around. Aye aye! T' kit did nay originally come with any decals but, Magnum's website says that thar be one included with every kit. Ahoy! I e-mailed them and was told that thar should have been one and t' call LOC t' get one. Avast, me proud beauty! Upon callin' LOC I be told that they were discontinuin' t' decal so that all o' their rockets didn't have a "predetermined" personality. Arrr! Blimey! But, shiver me timbers, matey, they also told me that they had about a dozed or so left that they had just sent t' Magnum. Avast, me proud beauty! I e-mailed Magnum again and was told that he would mail a decal t' me. Ya scallywag! I wanted t' LOC decal because I wanted everyone t' know that t' quality product that they were lookin' at was, in fact, arrr, a LOC/Precision rocket.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Recommended motors are D12-3, E30-7, F50-9, arrr, G40-10. I chose t' go somewhat bold with t' first flight, matey, so I used t' F-50. There was nay retention provided and I didn't take t' opportunity t' add anything. It is just as easy t' use maskin' tape for motor retention sometimes. I just poured some parachute protection in and packed t' chute in. Begad! Blimey! It lifted off fast, shiver me timbers, real fast. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Flew straight and true and went out o' sight; well out o' me sight because I'm nearsighted. Arrr! Blimey! But, me hearties, when t' chute popped, ya bilge rat, we followed it t' t' ground for a nice landing. Avast, me proud beauty! No trouble at all.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5