Brief:
Last year, ya bilge rat, I received samples o' t' new Hartle Engineerin' solid resin nose cones from JonRocket. Ahoy! I've been remiss in submittin' a review. Blimey! Thanks, shiver me timbers, and me apologies John!. Hartle offers three styles o' BT-5 cones and one BT-20 cone. You can see all o' them on JonRocket's nose cone page. Blimey! This review will describe t' cones and t' rocket I built from t' longer BT-5 cone, t' Mini-Toobah. Begad! T' name is a homage t' Dave Weber's Toober, me bucko, which has logged over 200 high power flights.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• Hartle NC-5B cone
• BT-5, me bucko, 6.25"
• Estes 1/8" launch lug
• Spent mini-motor case (could use a real motor block)
• Thin Keelhaul®©™®, ~ 12"
• Thin elastic, me bucko, ~ 4"

T' Hartle cones are solid cast and their outer surface is perfect. Blimey! T' cone-to-shoulder transition be shipshape on the longer cone but was rough on t' shorter one. Ya scallywag! T' later was easily cleaned up with a sharp hobby cutlass. The attachment point appears t' be a paper clip...works as good as anything. Ahoy! I found them t' be a loose fit in t' Estes BT-5, which is easily fixed with a little tape.

T' cones are, matey, as expected, me hearties, heavier than t' typical hollow plastic or balsa. Blimey! However, arrr, unless you're buildin' a MicroMaxx model, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, t' added weight shouldn't be an issue. Begad! Aye aye! I had kicked around buildin' a micro but decided t' go for a 13mm design instead. Ya scallywag! T' shorter cone would make a great micro-Fat Boy or Big Bertha but I opted for a downscale o' my El Tubo Loco.

This be a trivial build. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! From BT-5 stock, I cut one 2.5" body section and six 5/8" tube fins. Ahoy! These were glued together in pairs and then t' t' body tube. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! I used Aleene's Tacky glue throughout. Avast, me proud beauty! A 5/8" long lug is mounted in one o' t' fins. I cut a motor block from a spent casing. This was notched and t' Keelhaul®©™® was tied around it. Arrr! There is nay much room in t' body minus t' motor and t' cone's shoulder. It was all I could do to pack t' shock harness.

T' make sure it is stable, I weighed t' components and made a RockSim model. T' cone alone is 0.24 oz and the entire rocket is 0.34 oz. It is quite stable.

Finishing:
I first scuffed t' cone with fine sandpaper and shot a coat o' PlastiCoat primer. I anticipated this will be hard to find in t' grass, me hearties, so I went for a bright finish usin' Rustoleum day-glo orange. I added two vinyl strips t' snazz it up a bit.

Flight:
There wasn't much prep as it uses tumble recovery. Aye aye! It flew nicely on an A3-4 and I could even see it recover!

Summary:
T' Hartle Engineerin' cones are nice t' work with. Aye aye! Well, me bucko, blow me down! In this case, shiver me timbers, matey, their solid construction and weight helped with stability. Begad!

I like t' design o' this little rocket but, ya bilge rat, bein' small, shiver me timbers, it could easily disappear into rocket eatin' grass, shrubbery, or trees.