Brief:
This is a nice and small 4FNC offerin' by SureFire Rocketry. T' recovery system is a bright yellow streamer. Arrr! It comes bagged, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and is a Level 1 kit.

Construction:
This rocket came with one body tube, me bucko, a one piece nosecone, standard 18mm engine block, arrr, with metal engine hook, matey, me bucko, a simple rubber shockcord and mount, and a bright yellow streamer.

This be an extremely easy build. T' instructions were clear and very easy t' follow. Begad! Avast! It is your simple, basic, me bucko, arrr, 4FNC rocket.

What surprised me be that t' fins, matey, although they were made o' balsa, were nay die-cut. Ahoy! Aye aye! Blimey! They were already cut out and wrapped in an elastic band. When I saw this, matey, I expected them t' be dinged up on t' edges, me hearties, but they were perfect. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! All through t' instructions, SureFire kept sayin' how, matey, unlike other manufacturers, they supplied their fins already cut out.

It did come with t' rubber shockcord and paper mount, ya bilge rat, Estes-style. I was nay thrilled with this at all. Avast! Blimey! Next one I make gets t' Keelhaul®©™.

PRO: Easy build, ya bilge rat, arrr, matey, simple instructions, pre-cutout fins.

CON: Estes-style shockcord. Avast! Aye aye! Blimey! Minus 1/2 point for t' cord.

Finishing:
Finishin' was simple. Standard sandin' o' t' fins. Aye aye! T' body tube spirals were barely noticeable, matey, and did nay need any filling. Avast, me proud beauty! After a white primer coat and sanding, I shot 2 coats o' black. Ya scallywag! T' applied t' 4 color water slide decals, which were nice against t' black o' t' rocket itself.

PRO: Easy t' finish, nay noticeable spiral, good decals.

COn: None

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
We used an Estes A8-3 engine for t' first and only flight. Blimey! used 3 sheets o' wadding, and set her on t' pad. There was a slight delay, but it zoomed off o' t' pad. Begad! It went about 400 feet with this motor. T' ejection charge blew about 1 second after apogee.

PRO: Very nice fast flight.

CON: None

Recovery:
She came down almost straight. Begad! However, it was windy, and a gust caught her about 150 feet from t' ground, matey, arrr, and took her into a tree about 20 feet from t' ground. Avast! Begad! I tried t' get it back, shiver me timbers, but t' tree is surrounded by about 25 feet o' pricker bushes, ya bilge rat, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and me legs were all cut up. Ahoy! Just bad luck that we didn't get it back. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I may try t' get it in another day or so with this big pole I have at home.

PRO: Almost straight up and down flight.

CON: Lousy Estes-style shockcord, shiver me timbers, and just plain bad luck hittin' t' tree.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a very nice Level 1 rocket. Begad! Avast! I was very nicely surprised by t' pre-cut fins, but t' shockcord bothered me. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I would suggest a Keelhaul®©™ shockcord rig. Avast! And you can't beat t' cost at under $ 5.00.

Otherwise, shiver me timbers, a very nice rocket, and one I will definitely buy more of.

Overall Rating: 4 ½ out 5