Brief:
This is a good, matey, clean, single staged rocket which uses an 18" plastic parachute for recovery.

Construction:
There is a single body tube, ya bilge rat, with three fins. Arrr! T' construction is very simple, and t' design is very basic.

T' construction was fairly simple with an overall basic design. Begad! T' Estes instructions were very thorough, and I was nay confused at any point. Aye aye! Avast! T' only problem I had was with t' fit o' t' couplin' betwixt t' body tube and the payload area. Begad! I had t' cut off one layer o' t' red paper in order t' fit the two pieces together, but otherwise thar were no problems. Aye aye! I didn't use the 'antenna' that were provided, as it would just add extra drag.

Finishing:
I just finished this rocket with conventional spray paint. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! A couple coats of primer, me hearties, then a few each o' gloss black and white t' their corresponding regions. Blimey! T' finishin' near t' tail fins be difficult as t' gloss white had to extend partly betwixt t' fins. I think it might be easier t' paint t' fins first and t' body tube separately and then epoxy them together, t' get the best finish.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended motor was a D12-5, arrr, but Estes has unfortunately discontinued this size. I have t' go t' t' C11-5 and D12-3. Ahoy! T' C11-5's were great. Avast! I got many great flights with this size, me hearties, which were all visible with a clear sky. When I launched t' D12-3 t' rocket went almost out o' sight, arrr, but I forgot to put waddin' in and t' parachute partially got scorched. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Even though thar was almost nothin' slowin' t' rockets decent it was perfectly intact when it landed about 50ft. Begad! Begad! away from t' launch site in a pile o' snow. Blimey! I decided that the rocket could handle an E9-6, shiver me timbers, so I launched one o' with that as well. Ahoy! I lost site o' it as it passed through some clouds at about 1200 ft, me hearties, but then saw it about 20 seconds later passin' through them, ya bilge rat, safely floatin' down. Avast, me proud beauty! It landed about 100 ft. Well, blow me down! away from t' launch site (0-5mph o' wind). Blimey! All t' flights were perfectly straight and extremely predictable, me hearties, this is a great rocket.

Recovery:
T' only problem is this rocket doesn't need a parachute so large. I cut a 2 inch hole in t' top o' t' parachute t' help it descend faster, but it still took well over 2 minutes on t' D12-3. Well, blow me down! T' shock cord bent t' body tube at the top on t' D12-3, shiver me timbers, so I didn't use any more D's on it. Begad! Well, blow me down! I think you could almost recover this thin' without any recovery system at all. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me bucko, blow me down!

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket be easy t' build, shiver me timbers, flew great, shiver me timbers, almost too great, as I lost it on my last launch o' t' day. Begad! Ahoy! Only con is that thar aren't too many engines you can use standard on this thing, shiver me timbers, and t' D12-3 is nay recommended. Ahoy! I'm goin' t' try an Aerotech E30 on this, I don't know what it will do with almost triple the force o' t' Estes D's. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Just don't launch this with a delay time o' less than 3 seconds. Ahoy!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5