Brief
54mm minimum diameter high performance rocket. Ya scallywag!

Construction
T' instructions are complete and accurate, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but are somewhat minimalist, arrr, matey, and assume some HPR knowledge. Ahoy! Blimey! This would nay be good for a beginner.

T' tubes are LOC-style, me hearties, and t' kit includes a 54mm t' 38mm adaptor kit. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I added an adaptor for 29mm motors. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Body tubes are 54mm LOC style heavy duty motor mount tube. Well, blow me down! There are two airframe tubes which are joined by a coupler. T' shock cord mount is first tied t' this coupler. Arrr! T' included sleeved Keelhaul®©™® shock cord mount is nice and can survive any stress you might subject it to. T' shock cord is 9 feet o' 9/16th inch elastic. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! This is attached t' a screw eye on t' bulkhead plate o' t' payload section. Aye aye! T' payload section has about 9" o' usable space. Ahoy!

T' fins are pre-cut (thankfully) G-10 fiberglass. A nice touch is the included altimeter mountin' kit and wirin' harness. Ahoy! It is designed for use with the Adept altimeters. Begad! Ahoy! I drilled new holes t' fit a Cannonball Works RRC2 altimeter, and didn't need t' wirin' harness, but did use t' pre-cut foam blocks that came with it. Construction is fairly simple, me hearties, with basic HPR skills needed.

I mounted t' fins as per t' "optional" method which is t' slot half way through t' body tube. Avast! A little more work, matey, me hearties, but a very solid way t' do surface mount fins. Avast, me proud beauty! This technique makes for very strong surface mounted fins. It is achieved by carefully cuttin' through a couple o' layers o' paper at a time and peelin' them out o' t' slits. Well, blow me down!

T' nose cone is LOC-style heavy-duty plastic, and is attached t' the payload section with three screws. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' holes for t' screws are pre-drilled in the nose cone and payload section tube. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' holes in t' payload section tube are already "counter-sunk" so that t' screws are flush with t' tube surface.

Epoxy be used throughout for assembly. I used thin CA t' reinforce t' tube ends and t' vent holes in t' airframe.

T' kit includes a nylon parachute, me bucko, a 3/4" heavy elastic shock cord (replaced later - see below), and a heavy LOC style launch lug for 7/16" rods. Arrr! Avast!

Finishing
Finishin' be as expected for LOC-style tubing. A bit o' work t' fill the spirals, ya bilge rat, and a little bit o' sandin' t' roughen up t' G-10, and a bit more work t' clean up t' excessive mold lines on t' nose cone, then primer, sand, and paint. I used automotive paints and had very good results. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I primed and sanded three coats o' store-brand automotive sandin' primer, shiver me timbers, then used midnight blue metalflake for t' base coats (again store-brand). Aye aye! Blimey! My wife then supervised the application o' t' handprints by me kids with fluorescent acrylics, shiver me timbers, then I applied several coats o' clear over that t' protect it all. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight
Motors Used: G80, me bucko, H128, ya bilge rat, me hearties, H220, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, H115, ya bilge rat, H142, H300, ya bilge rat, I160, J125.

This has been a great flyer on G through J motors, although t' J125 is probably t' limit without fiberglassin' it. Begad! Begad! On t' J125 it went t' 15,500 feet. Ahoy! On t' H's you get high flights, shiver me timbers, but can still see it in t' clear skies out here. Well, blow me down! My favorite motors for this rocket are t' Vulcan H300 ("rippin" flights) and t' Aerotech J125 (bye!). Aye aye!

Recovery
This is me "highest mileage" HPR rocket - it can be flown at non-waivered launches on "F", shiver me timbers, me hearties, shiver me timbers, "G" or small "H" motors, then launched t' incredible altitudes when your waiver allows. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I drilled small holes in t' base o' t' fins t' use as anchors t' wire in reload cases. Ya scallywag! T' maskin' tape method is adequate for smaller single use motors. I replaced t' stock (and by then well used) elastic shock cord with 20 feet of 5/8" tubular nylon for t' "J" flights. T' final prep'ed liftoff weight was still under 5 pounds, me bucko, shiver me timbers, includin' t' Cannonball Works altimeter and (mostly) t' J125 motor. Begad! I flew this configuration at LDRS at the Bonneville Salt Flats - don't try this at home without modifyin' this for drogue/main dual recovery and installin' some form o' tracking. Well, blow me down! You *will* lose it. This disappeared while still under thrust in clear blue skies. We recovered it two miles away on t' salt.

Recovery on F through H flights is fine as it comes. Avast, me proud beauty! Even "I" motors can send this out o' sight. Begad! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I would recommend modifying this for drogue/main 2-stage recovery for any "I" or greater flights. Well built, me bucko, ya bilge rat, arrr, this will survive a J350 or J125, but anythin' more would need to be fiberglassed. Ya scallywag! Then you could lose it on a "K"... Avast, me proud beauty!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary
Pros: versatile, high performance
Cons: none

Most fun for t' loot HPR kit available.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5