Well, me hearties, I had become frustrated with me loss o' three small rockets in one day in t' sprin' o' 1997. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I vowed t' never again take a rocket under 12" long seriously. But I had all those 13mm mini-engines left. What t' do? I needed a mini-engine model that wasn't a guaranteed loss. Begad! Ahoy! I was browsin' through t' Discount Rocketry website one day, shiver me timbers, matey, and saw t' Metrix. It looked like it would fit the bill, and for $5, arrr, me hearties, I simply couldn't pass it up.

Construction is very simple and straightforward, shiver me timbers, typical o' a 3FNC (three fins & a nose cone) rocket. This one is made even simpler by bein' minimum diameter, ya bilge rat, and thus requirin' just an engine block, and nay a full engine mount. About t' only trick, and t' instructions do point this out explicitly, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, is that it's very easy t' confuse t' fin's leadin' edge with it's root edge. Makin' such a mistake would require you (assumin' you caught it before t' glue dries completely) t' frantically but carefully pry t' fin off t' body tube, wipe as much glue as possible from both surfaces, me bucko, and re-sand that fin, since you rounded t' root edge, matey, and left t' leadin' edge square. Avast! Arrr! Blimey! Hypothetically speaking, o' course. Aye aye! Blimey! ;-)

Flyin' this rocket for t' first time be a bit o' a surprise, ya bilge rat, arrr, actually. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! It definitely went higher and faster than I had expected, especially with the A10-3T engine. Ahoy! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! That gold mylar streamer did a simply fabulous job o' makin' the rocket trackable. Avast! Well, blow me down! I've launched it several times now, and every flight has been completely trouble-free. Arrr! Ahoy!

All in all, shiver me timbers, this is a fine rocket and a fine kit. Begad! Begad! I can heartily recommend it t' anyone who wants a good mini-engine sport flyer. About the only nitpick is that it's nay exactly t' most awe-inspirin' rocket ever made, but how many really are? I rate it a 4 out o' 5 for construction, matey, a 4 out o' 5 for flight, and an overall, general ratin' of 4 out o' 5.