Brief:
T' Tangent is a single staged sport rocket. Blimey! It is built with traditional methods and materials with a couple o' new twists. Aye aye!

Construction:
T' Tangent came in a bag with 1 laser cut balsa sheet, matey, ya bilge rat, one beautifully die cut sheet o' centerin' rings, a balsa nose cone, ya bilge rat, matey, and a 1/8" fabric shock cord about 2' long. It has a single paper MMT and a single body tube with a smooth white coating. Part quality is first rate. Ahoy!

First, ya bilge rat, I've got t' say that Holverson's instructions are t' best I've ever seen in a rocket kit, bar none. Arrr! Anyone old enough t' handle t' tools can build this kit by virtue o' these terrific instructions. They also include extra activities t' acquaint first time builders with parts o' a rocket, matey, ya bilge rat, the Tangent's parts in particular, arrr, and what t' parts do. Well, blow me down! There are even ideas on how t' expand t' use o' t' rocket once it is built!

Included in t' kit is an ingenious alignment jig t' hold t' fins upright, in place, as t' glue dries. Aye aye! Works like a charm, me hearties, but be SURE it is built correctly. Ya scallywag! Fin and launch lug markin' is by standard wrap around guide. Aye aye!

T' balsa nose had an odd hole in t' center, me hearties, and also was a bit larger in diameter than t' BT. Aye aye! Begad! As a solution, I epoxied a dowel in and sanded it down on a lathe. Aye aye! (anyone could do t' same usin' a hand drill with a hose clamp t' hold the trigger on). T' OD be then a perfect match. Begad! T' dowel be cut off flush with t' bottom o' t' nose and drilled t' accept t' screw eye. Well, blow me down!

Fins and centerin' rings (CR) both nearly fall out o' their sheets. Blimey! Fins required very minimal sandin' t' prepare, CR's none at all.

Motor mount includes a motor mount clip and a thrust rin' and is completely conventional. Well, blow me down!

Overall, this is a very trouble free build. Arrr! Avast! I give it a 5 despite t' hole in t' NC. Arrr! This actually gives t' builder an opportunity t' strongly mount the screw eye usin' a dowel. Begad! Avast!

Finishing:
Finishin' is a breeze for anyone who has experience buildin' with balsa. Ahoy! Avast! Blimey! As I didn't have any Aerogloss as recommended, I just used thin CA t' seal t' parts and sanded them smooth. Well, blow me down! As always, I ran some thin CA into t' end o' t' BT and t' MMT; then sanded them, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' strengthen them and smooth them up. Begad! Blimey! The entire rocket was then shot with a coat o' sandable primer before sanding smooth. Aye aye! Blimey! I shot it in white with red nose & fins as shown on t' package. Very handsome bird with no surprises here!! Blimey!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
Holverson recommends A8-3, me hearties, matey, B4-4, B6-4, shiver me timbers, and C6-5 motors. Ahoy! This is a big bird, arrr, shiver me timbers, I skipped t' A8-3 in favor o' a Quest B6-4. Ya scallywag! It lifted off slowly like a Big Bertha but accelerated more rapidly, ya bilge rat, probably due t' its more streamlined shape. Day was very calm, no weather-cockin' was apparent. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ejection appeared to be a whisker after apogee. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' chute deployed nicely and t' Tangent was recovered about 100 feet from t' pad. Begad! Aye aye!

Next flight was with a Quest C6-5, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, again a very slow lift-off and decent acceleration. T' bird seemed t' reach a considerably higher speed. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' flight was arrow straight with ejection a bit before apogee. It gets upstairs on the C6-5 and I had t' walk a bit t' get it back.

This bird is a LOT o' fun t' fly on t' C, ya bilge rat, so another one was loaded and the Tangent racked again. Ahoy! Avast! Blimey! Same results except that it cocked a whisker as it left t' pad. Arrr! Consequently it leaned over about 10 degrees from vertical; it was actually movin' pretty fast when ejection came. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Another long walk was necessary t' get it back!! Blimey! On retrievin' it, arrr, t' only apparent damage be a little soot on t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Blimey! GREAT flyer, matey, 5!!

Recovery:
Shock cord mountin' seemed kind o' odd t' me but I went with t' program anyhow. Avast, me proud beauty! A 1" piece o' launch lug is supplied and t' shock cord looped around it and knotted. Well, arrr, blow me down! Then it is glued in and filleted. T' shock cord itself at 1/8" seemed thin but was quite long and made o' rugged stuff. Aye aye!

T' chute is pre-made, matey, but I dislike t' method used. It has holes punched along t' perimeter and shroud lines just threaded through in big loops. Blimey! Blimey! The holes in t' chute have no reinforcement o' any kind. Blimey! This is beggin' for a fast ejection t' rip t' shroud lines though t' chute plastic. Ya scallywag! These received reinforcements o' vinyl tape discs and t' lines were taped down from t' hole to t' edge usin' poly tape. Ya scallywag! T' system ejected and deployed well. Begad! Blimey! T' bird was recovered with no damage after 3 flights so t' recovery system gets a 4.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
T' Holverson Tangent is a wonderful traditional style kit. Arrr! Aye aye! Pros- Attractive, easy build, quality components, matey, good flyer, inexpensive, matey, great instructions Cons- Odd-ball method used in pre-built chute.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5