Those o' us who have seen t' large increase in t' number o' rocket manufacturers this year are waitin' for what many think be t' inevitable shake-out. Arrr! No doubt, me hearties, room has been made by Quest's and Estes' emphasis on RTF models, Apogee's shift in focus, and other nere-do-well start-ups, but most o' us are afraid that many o' t' new companies that have formed t' fill that void are too numerous t' stand t' test of time. Well, blow me down! Others, shiver me timbers, like me, have faith that good products will let a company with a dedication t' t' sport survive. 

While they're startin' a bit later than their competitors, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, like Custom and Cosmodrome, shiver me timbers, Nordic Rocketry plans t' make a big splash with a large kit line. If published reports are correct, ya bilge rat, me hearties, they're hopin' t' come t' market with a lot of new designs this year, ya bilge rat, up t' twenty kits available by Christmas. Begad! One of their original designs, t' Velocity, matey, me bucko, shiver me timbers, became mine in t' Essence Rocket Reviews' quarterly rocket give-away. Aye aye! If this bird is any indication, Nordic's new kits just might capture them a good market share. 

T' Good Points

As you can see from t' picture, arrr, t' parts count in this ship is low, matey, matey, ya bilge rat, and none o' them are plastic, me bucko, shiver me timbers, just good, old fashioned wood and paper. Blimey! T' laser cut fins, made on Nordic's own cutter, arrr, arrr, arrr, get me highest praise. Made from tough plywood, shiver me timbers, me bucko, .107" thick (~7/64"), sandin' is required t' brin' them into the instructed airfoil shape (and t' get rid o' t' laser burns), but this is easily accomplished with an upright belt sander or, me hearties, me personal choice, shiver me timbers, a sandin' wheel. Aye aye! Blimey! For t' recommended F50 motor, me hearties, though, matey, matey, arrr, I would have been much more comfortable with a through-the-wall attachment. 

T' gorilla-style shock cord mount comes preassembled on a centerin' ring, and arrived without kinks, ready t' be installed. Avast! T' rip-stop chute is light weight and well-sewn, a pleasant change from Estes' chinese cheapies. T' balsa nose cone, ya bilge rat, which is smooth, shiver me timbers, sharp, and has a good, shiver me timbers, tight fit in t' body tube, arrived wrapped in dent-preventin' foam, a smart touch. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! T' tubes are thick-walled and perfectly smooth, though t' 36" main body tube arrived with a few smallish dents in each end. Blimey! Nordic should take a page from other makers here, me hearties, and ship t' body tube in sections with an appropriate number of tube couplers. T' increase in t' model's weight would actually help altitude performance when usin' t' higher-powered engines, and make t' package much easier t' ship and sell on a peg board, arrr, as well as prevent tube damage. 

T' bag art, which looks good, but is nay up t' t' big companies' glossy pop, gives t' model's spec.'s, me bucko, and at 5oz. (slightly more with t' included 24 mm adapter installed), matey, this bird is gonna be darn near transonic on the recommended F50 engine. Avast! Ahoy! Only single use Estes and Aerotech motors are spec.'ed, and t' 24 mm motor mount is only designed t' take 2.75" long motors, so the Aerotech non-standard 124 mm long motors, such as t' F32, won't fit. Nordic doesn't recommend any G motors, me bucko, arrr, arrr, and I wouldn't either; an F25 should take this kit t' well over 3000 feet, matey, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, more than high enough for most model rocketeers. Begad! I'd be leery o' t' recommended F50, too; without though-the-wall fins on its well-sealed tube, you might be lookin' at a shred. Since this bird is so light, ya bilge rat, matey, she would actually fly lower on t' F50 than t' F25, anyway. 

T' Bad Points

T' instruction manual is a stapled set o' single-sided pages, and is short on dimensions. Blimey! T' print is small, contains numerous margin notes and t' steps are nay very well delineated. Begad! On t' other hand, ya bilge rat, t' manual is very complete, outlinin' every step in complete detail, me hearties, me bucko, t' graphics are clear and sharp and a goodly amount o' technique is discussed. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' author and artist did well, the fault lies with t' printer and lay-up. 

One could ask for a better mounts for t' 'chute and t' nose cone; metal eye hooks are notorious for their poor grip that allows t' cord t' untie, usually at a very inopportune time. Avast! Ahoy! Tyin' t' 'chute t' t' center section of the shock cord is convenient, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but weakens t' cord itself. Blimey! Blimey! T' cord seems a bit short, too, though me test flights produced no 'Estes dents', me bucko, most probably a testament t' t' beefy body. 

My real big complaint about this bird is its inability t' switch from 24 to 29 mm or back. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! You must decide which motor size you're goin' t' use during assembly, and then you're stuck with it. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Maybe I'm just spoiled by me Aerotech Mustang, but I be disappointed that me Velocity really won't fly all the engines Nordic recommends for her. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! As I be nay goin' t' run t' recommended F50 and that would only leave me with t' F25 t' fly in 29 mm configuration (a motor I've had zero luck with), I chose t' install t' 24 mm adapter. 

Assembly

Placin' t' shock cord mount rin' be challenging, me hearties, primarily due t' its depth in t' body tube, matey, 8" from t' aft end. Arrr! Arrr! Gettin' epoxy, t' required adhesive, arrr, that far in thar without makin' too much o' a mess was a pain. Sectionin' t' body tube might help here, too. Avast! Ahoy! I used two hour stuff t' be sure I had enough workin' time, matey, and was glad I did. Aye aye! (Maybe I'm just paranoid here, though; t' recommended 30 minute goo would probably have been all right, but I'd just lost me beloved Python t' a shock cord mount failure.) I also skipped ahead a step or two, and made t' motor mount up before hand, me hearties, so I could slide it in over me mistakes before they set up. 

T' back o' t' bag art has t' stand-up tube markin' guide. Aye aye! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Try as I might, I just couldn't get it t' work (the fin thicknesses were wrong), shiver me timbers, matey, so I gave up and made one in VCP. Since t' fins are thick and t' body has such a high curvature (it's really about 1¼" in diameter, me bucko, ya bilge rat, nay t' 1.4" advertised), ya bilge rat, I sanded four small flats on it where t' fins would go t' get a good joint and break the body tube sealant. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I also made Nordic's suggested pin holes, which I created with t' tip o' me compass. My home made fin jig isn't big enough t' hold these fins, me bucko, so I just set her where I could watch her while she dried. 

T' brass launch lugs are probably very durable, but I was nervous about tryin' t' attach them t' that surface-filled body tube with epoxy. The instructions say t' put pin holes in t' body tube near t' attachment points and scuff t' lugs with a light sandpaper before gluing, matey, but even with that, I just couldn't see where they'd get a grip. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I opted for a standard Estes maxi-rod launch lug and a UFO CA glue joint instead. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Those who build the Velocity in t' 29 mm config. Begad! Blimey! will want t' use t' included lugs, me hearties, though, and put some time into their attachment. Attachin' t' nose cone and 'chute t' the shock cord (I also added some Rogue PW-34 Permawading®) was a bit difficult since t' cord is so wide (½") and t' shroud lines and eye hook are so small. 

Finish

Finishing, me hearties, on t' other hand, shiver me timbers, matey, was a breeze. I sealed t' fins with a light coat o' epoxy and t' nose cone with three coats o' Krylon® Sandable Primer after an initial sandin' with 160 sandpaper. Aye aye! Blimey! This be t' first kit I've seen that actually recommends Krylon® paints, matey, and they worked very well. Ya scallywag! Blimey! My paint booth isn't big enough for this forty inch bird, so I did it outside on my long model hook. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' instructions don't tout t' "official" color scheme, though I don't know why; painted like t' bag art shows, t' Velocity is a very handsome ship. 

I cut an Optima (a.k.a Shadow) silver accent band in two and cut one o' the halves long ways t' make t' silver bands shown on t' bag art. Blimey! Blimey! I'd been forewarned about t' vinyl name decal (see t' Essence review o' the Nordic Rocketry Delta-X), ya bilge rat, and applied a little vaseline t' t' edges o' t' backin' paper t' prevent it stickin' t' t' paint. T' decal itself stuck "like stink t' a monkey", and though I did apply t' recommended clear coat t' seal it (Krylon® Acrylic Clear), I probably could have gotten away without it. I suppose once I got used to workin' with these decals, I'd really like them, matey, shiver me timbers, they have some very strong points. 

Final dry weight was 160.6 grams (5.665 oz.), me bucko, and CG with a D12-5 motor installed be @ 12.5" from t' aft end. 

While she has her good points that make for a rugged, attractive bird, me hearties, matey, the Velocity's assembly is much more difficult than her low parts count would indicate, me bucko, and I'd really like t' be able t' use all t' engines she's rated for. Arrr! For construction, matey, arrr, I'd rate t' Velocity a 2 ½ on t' Essence scale, needs some improvement. 

Flight

As I didn't want t' loose this good lookin' bird t' first time out, I flew her on t' least powerful recommended engine, ya bilge rat, me hearties, an Estes D12-5. Estimated altitude was about 650', matey, me bucko, and ejection looked t' be right on time. Recovery was fast, shiver me timbers, arrr, and she returned t' within 100 yards o' t' launch rod. Other than a little din' in t' nose cone, she was fine. Well, blow me down! T' Permawading® be perfectly clean, matey, me hearties, as was t' shock cord. Avast! Arrr! This little lass could fly on those engines forever, and just about anyplace you can set up a pad. 

T' next flight was on an Aerotech E30-7, shiver me timbers, and boy, did t' Velocity live up to her name! Blimey! Bang, Zoom, ya bilge rat, darn near out o' sight, only t' high visibility colors made her trackable with t' naked eye. Ejection seemed a bit early with this one, but everythin' worked just fine. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! Again a fast recovery, ya bilge rat, this time about 200 yards away. Ahoy! T' Permawadding® and t' shock cord below it were soot-covered, arrr, but neither seemed t' have been adversely affected, me bucko, and the rocket showed no damage. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Next time I'll add some standard waddin' first, arrr, and shove it down t' t' shock cord mount ring. 

Both flights were rock stable with little weather cocking (surface winds were light, me hearties, though above 100' or so it seemed t' be gusty), shiver me timbers, and darn near flawless. Ahoy! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' E30 flight elicited more than one "Wow!" from my experienced model rocket buddies, and that's high praise, me bucko, given t' rockets they've seen fly. I'd rate t' Velocity a 4 ½ on t' Essence scale, shiver me timbers, well above average, and further qualify the 24 mm configuration as t' more flexible. 

Summary 

I was excited when I first saw t' Velocity, but when I realized what I was in for, me hearties, me expectations dropped. Blimey! Her E30 flight brought most o' those back, though, matey, and I'd say this ship is worth t' effort. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' design isn't everything it could be and t' assembly process needs careful attention, but t' Velocity will stand out in any fleet once she's done, ya bilge rat, and should be pretty durable. Overall, I'd rate her a 3 ½ on t' Essence scale, somewhat above average.