Brief:
Rocket in a Box has a unique concept. Begad! They indicate that most rockets sustain more damage transportin' t' rocket to and from t' field than actually flyin' t' rocket. Well, me bucko, blow me down! O' course, this has t' exclude any rocket eatin' trees! Their rockets have a 3" tube that then transitions t' a 2" tube half way up. Begad! Ya scallywag! You separate t' rocket and slide the 2" section into t' 3" section. Arrr! But what about t' fins? These are removable t' allow packin' into t' box.

T' Viper 28 is over 5' tall and is powered by dual E9 motors. T' company offers t' sell spare fins, nose cones, and for a fee, ya bilge rat, will actually build t' rocket for you! But that just ruins t' fun for us.

Construction:
T' kit includes t' followin' components:

• 3" body tube with fin slots
• 2" body tube
• 2 24mm motor tubes
• a 3" section o' slotted tube t' make a transition section
• a unique clear plastic nose cone
• a clear plastic 2" t' 3" transition piece
• a short 2" tube insert
• a plywood and a basswood centerin' ring
• basswood fins
• plywood bulkhead
• Keelhaul®©™® cord
• shock cord
• 45" nylon parachute
• dowel
• rubber band
• launch lug
• decals
• nails
• glue stick

T' instructions are about 9 pages long with various pictures t' help show t' construction steps. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' instructions are clear and well organized. Avast! Begad! First t' 2" tube insert is glued into one end o' t' 2" tube. Begad! Arrr! This will be used t' secure the nose cone. T' transition section requires you t' build t' coupler portion. They provide a section o' t' 3" tube with a pre-cut slit along t' length. Avast, me proud beauty! You need t' glue this slit together t' make t' smaller diameter tube t' slide into t' 3" tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Apply t' glue and tape t' tube together. Arrr! Allow this t' dry overnight. Ahoy! Aye aye! I found I needed t' do a little sandin' o' t' joint so it would slide properly into t' 3" tube. You then glue t' plywood bulkhead t' the this coupler tube. Avast! Arrr! There is then a second, me bucko, 2" plywood disk that glued t' t' first disk. And finally a short dowel is glued t' t' center. Aye aye! After this is dry, me hearties, t' 2" disk is glued into t' bottom o' t' 2" tube. Ya scallywag! You then have to drill four 1/16" holes through t' tube into t' disk. Avast! Small nails are used t' reinforce this joint. Well, blow me down! Begad! While the instructions calls out for only white glue, which is what I did, shiver me timbers, you could probably use epoxy and skip t' nails. Begad! The plastic transition piece is then slid down over t' couplin' tube. Begad! You fillet t' top and bottom with white glue to hold this plastic piece in place. Begad! Blimey! You need t' handle t' plastic piece carefully or it will crack (as was t' case with mine), ya bilge rat, me hearties, however, shiver me timbers, t' crack was small and did nay affect t' transition.

T' fins are two pieces with a slot halfway through, shiver me timbers, arrr, arrr, one from t' top and t' other from t' bottom. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This then allows you t' slide t' 2 fins together t' create an X shape. Avast! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Support t' 2 engine tubes with some wood blocks covered with wax paper and place t' X part o' t' fins betwixt t' tubes. Blimey! Blimey! Slide t' plywood engine mountin' rin' (the thicker one) over t' tubes t' 4 3/4". Aye aye! Blimey! Apply glue around t' top o' t' tubes t' secure them t' t' ring. Avast! There is a hole in t' engine rin' t' insert t' Keelhaul®©™® cord through this hole from t' top and tie a knot 1" from t' end. Begad! Turn t' tubes and fins over and apply glue to again secure t' tubes t' t' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! You also glue t' Keelhaul®©™® cord t' t' ring. Arrr! Be careful nay t' glue t' fins t' t' rin' or t' get glue on t' rin' where t' fins sit! Let all this dry. Ya scallywag! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Test fit t' ring/motor tube/fin section into t' 3" tube. Begad! T' fins will just slide up t' slots. Avast, me proud beauty! Check the bottom engine rin' will slide onto t' tubes and fit inside t' 3" tube. Ya scallywag! Push this assembly back out. Ahoy! Slip the Keelhaul®©™® cord back through one o' t' motor tubes t' keep it out o' t' way. Then usin' t' supplied glue stick, shiver me timbers, apply glue inside t' 3" tube, arrr, matey, put a large bead o' glue around t' top edge o' t' engine ring. Avast! Insert t' rin' with t' fins goin' into t' fin slots--these help position t' rin' t' t' correct depth. Slide t' bottom rin' on (DO NOT GLUE) and use t' rubber band around t' outside o' t' 3" tube against t' bottom o' t' fins t' keep the motor mount and fins in t' correct position. They suggest swirlin' t' tube around t' spread t' large bead on the top. Avast! Again, matey, drill 4 holes and insert nails t' stiffen t' top engine rin' mount t' t' tube. Blimey! Begad! You can stiffen t' bottom of t' tube with glue or CA (remove t' bottom rin' & fins first please).

Now, how do t' fins stay in for flight? You put t' fins back in along with t' bottom ring. Begad! You'll need t' make 2 marks 180 degrees apart and in a line t' pass betwixt t' motor tubes. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Drill two 1/4" holes. Arrr! A dowel will pass through these holes t' secure t' bottom rin' and fins. T' supplied rubber band will wrap around t' outside o' the 3" tube t' hold t' dowel in.

Make a line along t' length o' t' 3" tube betwixt 2 fin slots. Begad! There are 2 spacers that you glue on this line and then you glue t' launch lugs t' t' spacers. Blimey! T' spacers are needed t' allow space for t' rubber band.

T' rocket comes with a nice 45" nylon parachute. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Take t' chute lines and loop them through a small supplied ring, then pass t' chute through t' loops. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Tie t' stretch cord t' t' rin' a little over a foot from the one end. Tie this end t' t' screw eye. Blimey! Drill a small pilot hole in t' plywood disk o' t' transition section, matey, insert a drop o' glue, me bucko, me hearties, arrr, and screw in t' screw eye. Tie t' loose end o' t' stretch cord t' t' Keelhaul®©™® cord that was secured t' t' motor ring.

Lastly, shiver me timbers, thar be another piece o' cord. Aye aye! Glue this t' t' inside o' t' nose cone (at least 1" above t' end) and t' other end uses a standard Estes style tri-fold paper mount. Begad! Since t' rocket separates at t' transition, ya bilge rat, this cord and mount are just t' help keep t' nose cone from fallin' off and gettin' lost. Begad! It is nay glued on since it needs to be removed t' allow packing.

One item that is missin' from t' kit is any type o' motor retention--not even a thrust ring. T' instruction tell you t' rely on a friction fit only.

Finishing:
T' tube does nay have spiral grooves. Avast! Arrr! Instead, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, t' way t' tube is constructed thar be an overlap o' t' material causin' a bump instead o' a groove. Arrr! I did nay want t' risk sandin' this bump and wreckin' t' tube so I just decided to leave it as is. Aye aye! Begad! T' nose cone is unique in that it is a clear plastic. It almost looks like one o' those cheap plastic fluted champagne glasses with t' bottom base removed. Well, me hearties, blow me down! I decided nay t' paint t' nose cone thinkin' I could install some LEDs later. I did some light sandin' on t' fins and primed it with Krylon. Avast, me proud beauty! I decided t' paint t' fins and transition silver, t' 3" tube black, and t' 2" tube blue. Ahoy! Bein' a basic 4FNC rocket, t' paintin' was very simple. Arrr! It did come with a decal, arrr, but I decided nay t' use it.

Overall, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, t' construction is fairly simple with a few special considerations t' allow for t' dissassembly and packing. Begad! I didn't give t' kit a full 5 due t' t' lack o' any motor retention or thrust ring.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
With t' fins off and laid flat, t' 2" tube slid into t' 3" tube, matey, and everythin' back into t' original shippin' carton, off I go t' t' NEPRA launch site. I got thar and t' weather started t' turn iffy, so I quickly prepped t' rocket. Make t' fins into an X, me bucko, ya bilge rat, slide in, slide on t' bulkhead, dowel, ya bilge rat, and rubber band t' secure that end. Avast, me proud beauty! Nose cone onto t' 2", some wadding, shiver me timbers, arrr, and t' parachute. Ya scallywag! Install t' two E9-4 motors and Estes igniters and off t' t' launch pad. Avast! Blimey! Due t' t' cluster and t' fact t' rocket won't be stable if only one motor ignites, arrr, they called for a heads up flight. Ya scallywag! Countdown and both motors ignite. Blimey! It has a fairly slow take off but goes up nice and straight. Avast! Begad! At apogee, arrr, t' ejection charge goes off and t' chute comes out. But one o' t' 8 leads t' t' chute came undone. Well, blow me down! T' rocket came down a bit fast but escaped unharmed. T' weather then turn sour so I was unable t' launch it again.

My next launch was at NERRF 3. Well, blow me down! I double checked t' chute ties rememberin' me first flight. Unfortunately, I lost the rubber band. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I decided t' secure t' dowel into t' tube with a couple o' wraps o' maskin' tape. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! As it launched, me bucko, arrr, it weathercocked into t' wind. Begad! Aye aye! T' ejection charge went off and t' rocket separated. T' parachute hung up in t' tube and did nay come out. As t' rocket fell, I kept hopin' t' parachute would pull out. Blimey! Aye aye! It went down behind some trees so I don't know what happened. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I went searchin' for it and finally find it about 25' up in a tree. Begad! Blimey! Worse, me hearties, arrr, t' tree is on the edge o' a river that is about 20' wide. Aye aye! T' branch it was hung up on is right over t' middle o' t' river! I borrowed a pole they had and tried t' work from t' bank, but t' angle t' reach out over t' river made handlin' the pole very difficult. After a half hour o' tryin' plus puttin' a strain on a bad back, arrr, I decided t' give up. Aye aye! Blimey! I figured even if I did knock it loose, me hearties, it would just fall into t' river and get ruined anyway. Aye aye! I plan t' try some o' their other kits t' replace this one.

I ended up 0-for-2 on completely safe returns. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! I should have checked t' chute for t' ties for t' first one, and while I don't know exactly what happened on t' second flight, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I will take t' blame for t' chute hangin' up (maybe it was t' way I packed it). Ya scallywag! T' mixture o' t' Keelhaul®©™® and shock cord and t' nose parachute, me bucko, I will score t' flight/recover as t' 5.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' rocket has some interestin' build techniques (I had never used nails at least before in a low power rocket). Bein' over 5' tall it looks impressive and has a nice, slow launch. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I would prefer some motor retention, at least a thrust ring. Arrr! And while t' concept t' disassemble is interesting, me hearties, arrr, ya bilge rat, I have definitely lost or damaged many more rockets when flyin' than when transporting.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5