Brief:
This is a father/son dual build. Aye aye! Up t' this point, arrr, arrr, I've been helpin' him build his rockets. Blimey! We started with me doin' most o' t' building, and him as an extra pair o' hands. Over t' course o' 3-4 builds, ya bilge rat, he's been doin' more and more, me bucko, and t' roles are reversin' where I'm becomin' t' extra hands. Blimey! I found a couple o' Firebirds for relatively cheap, ya bilge rat, and so we're buildin' these in parallel. Well, blow me down! This will be his first purely solo build, and we'll be comparin' t' results o' our two builds. Ahoy! After this, he'll be movin' on t' buildin' his L1 cert rocket... if I think he's ready.

T' Firebird is a fairly basic single stage Estes offering. Begad! Nothin' dramatic or fancy, here, shiver me timbers, just a solid design with classic lines.

Construction:
Dad: This is a basic 4FNC rocket. Avast! Plastic nose cone, me hearties, pre-cut fins, some flimsy paper centerin' rings and t' usual too short shock cord and plastic chute. T' body tube is a good length o' BT-55 1.325" tubing, while t' motor tube be t' cheap blue 18mm tube. Ya scallywag! For standard 18mm motors, me hearties, everythin' is sufficiently strong. For t' 18mm Aerotech D reloads, ya bilge rat, thar could be some extra stress that could test some o' these parts.

Son: Yeah, arrr, shiver me timbers, yeah...what he said. Ahoy! Blimey! What's with t' wimpy 18mm motor mount? That's got t' go. I'm goin' t' raid t' parts closet. Let's see. Avast! 24mm motor mount, matey, me hearties, some BT50-55 centerin' rings t' replace t' cheapy paper stuff. Begad! Ahoy! OK. Well, blow me down! I'm good t' go. Avast! Aye aye! Let's get building.

Dad: Once again, this is pretty basic Estes fare. Aye aye! Anyone who's build a typical Estes rocket in t' last couple decades won't have an issue here. There are a couple minor changes that I make t' all Estes kits.

Namely t' recovery section.

I always toss t' 3-fold concept. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! I notched t' upper centerin' ring, me hearties, and slipped a length o' Keelhaul®©™ through. I knotted t' end t' prevent it comin' back through t' notch, shiver me timbers, matey, arrr, and put a dab o' epoxy t' hold it in. Aye aye! Blimey! Normally, I would tie t' Keelhaul®©™® in a loop around t' motor tube, arrr, but since these fins are through t' wall, matey, me hearties, t' loop would interfere with t' fin tangs.

Speakin' o' which, I wonder why Estes went with through t' wall fins for this kit and only an 18mm mount. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! For all t' Estes 18mm motors, arrr, TTW fins is way overkill. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! O' course, it does make fin alignment much easier.

Son: Well, he taught me, me bucko, so, yeah, I'm tossin' t' 3-fold as well. Ya scallywag! Since I'm doin' t' 24mm thing, shiver me timbers, I get t' choose me engine tube size, so I went with a longer tube, and a third centerin' ring. Begad! T' first 2 rings sandwich t' fin tangs as normal. Begad! I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor tube, shiver me timbers, and put t' third rin' on top. Avast! Blimey! Hah! Blimey! Mines stronger.

While I was at it, I cut t' top o' t' engine hook off so it doesn't go into t' motor tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! I also left off t' motor block. T' down side is I'll need t' use tape t' make "thrust rings" on t' bottom o' Estes engines t' keep them from goin' through t' rocket. T' up side is that I can use any 24mm motor includin' t' upcomin' Aerotech 24/120 and t' CTI Pro 24 cases. Bigger, ya bilge rat, faster, higher! I can't wait t' put a 24mm G motor and watch it rip! Dad's shakin' his head while I'm typin' this. Arrr! Says I'll never get it back. Ahoy! Aye aye! Maybe, shiver me timbers, but it's fun. Besides, me hearties, I don't pay for t' motors. Ahoy! Aye aye! (Dad: He may start buyin' them if he loses them like this)

Finishing:
Dad: Decals are typical o' Estes in this era. That means peel and stick. I really don't like them. I much prefer water slide. Aye aye! Begad! That said, matey, as per me usual superstitious approach, ya bilge rat, I won't actually paint and decal t' rocket until after t' first few flights. Why? Because I've found that t' odds o' me losin' a rocket increase exponentially with t' amount o' time I spend on it prior t' it's first flight. Aye aye! If I build a rocket in 2 hours t' night before a launch, me bucko, it's comin' back. Every time I've spent 2-3 months doin' a painstakin' job o' buildin' and finishing, somethin' bad has happened.

As for t' pre-paint finish work, me hearties, me bucko, it's all typical. Well, blow me down! Sand and seal t' fins. Begad! Ahoy! Sand t' flashin' off t' nose cone. Arrr! Arrr! Fill t' spirals in t' tube. Ahoy! T' spirals actually aren't too bad, and t' tube is white. Aye aye! If you go with t' factory color scheme (white) you could probably get away without filling.

Son: I'm done building, let's go fly. Begad! Seriously. Begad! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Yeah, I could take some time t' make it look good, but this isn't one o' those rockets. Let's fly. I want t' get started on me cert rocket. Ahoy! I'll take more time on that one.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Dad: For all our rockets larger than 1" diameter, we keep a supply o' Nomex t' avoid usin' wadding. Arrr! Waddin' can be easier in t' smaller rockets, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, but t' larger ones just take too much. Besides, reuseable Nomex is more eco friendly.

Other prep is standard. Ahoy! Arrr! Yes, arrr, thar's a lot o' this review that just says "it's standard issue." That's because this is a pretty standard rocket. Ahoy! Steppin' into high power, many o' t' rockets are pretty "standard" as well. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Just stronger materials. Avast! At a certain point, you can't do anythin' too fancy with high power motors, me bucko, because t' motors will just shred t' rocket from t' high thrust.

Son: What he said. Arrr! I'm gettin' tired o' typing. Blimey! Arrr! I haven't flown mine yet. Well, blow me down! Weather hasn't been good enough.

Recovery:
Dad: My turn t' say it. What he said. Aye aye! We haven't flown either rocket yet as t' weather hasn't cooperated. Avast! Aye aye! My expectation is that, like everythin' about this kit, it will be typical Estes. Begad! T' chute is too big, and it will float, so we'll probably fly with a streamer or smaller chute. Avast! As we get a chance t' fly these, I'll be postin' t' flight logs, and updatin' t' review through t' flight log comments. Actual flight is just t' last validation o' t' build in this case. Begad! T' primary goal was t' give him a solo build t' validate he has t' skills necessary t' attempt his cert build.

Son: So, do I pass? When can I start on t' Matrix?

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5