Brief:
This is Estes representation o' t' British surface t' air missile used in t' Falklands war in 1983. Begad! Ahoy! Blimey! It is a single stage rocket with standard parachute recovery. It was only in t' 1983 and 1984 catalogs. Ya scallywag! Blimey! They are gettin' harder t' find. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! This was t' second rocket I ever had.

Construction:
T' kit comes with t' main body tube, a long motor tube, shiver me timbers, and 12 fins and 4 strakes. Blimey! Aye aye! It has a plastic nose cone and a molded plastic aft unit. Blimey! It has t' standard cardboard centerin' rings and a unique nose. It comes with t' older Estes elastic nylon shock cord and mylar parachute. Begad! It also has an engine hook.

These were t' typical Estes directions, matey, very easy t' follow. Well, blow me down! T' rocket is very easy t' put together, it is a level 2 kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' toughest part o' t' whole rocket be t' paint scheme. Well, blow me down! I built t' forward and aft sections seperately, ya bilge rat, and then glued them together. Arrr! Aye aye! It be a lot easier t' paint and t' build this way. I did use 5 minute epoxy for t' building, me bucko, as I plan t' have it for a long time. I coated t' ends o' all t' tubes with CA for strength, as well as t' fins. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I did nay add spruce edges t' t' fins, as I will nay be flyin' it that much, and increased t' size o' t' chute.

Finishing:
PRO - Straight forward finishing, matey, t' toughest part is removin' t' balsa grain. No real surprises here.
CON - T' aft fins are prone t' break on hard landings. You may want t' change t' Basswood on them. Ahoy! Also, don't fly on windy days and you can increase t' size o' t' 12 inch chute t' 18 inches. Avast! Oh, arrr, me bucko, and it is OOP by t' way, I have 5 so I decided t' build one. Arrr! It looks real nice finished.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I used a C6-5 on t' first flight, it went loop-de-loop into t' pavement. I guess I needed nose weight. Begad! Begad! Also, arrr, had a very small zipper. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I added about 1/2 ounce nose weight and now it flies great! I guess t' epoxy added more weight t' t' aft than I thought. Ahoy! Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' original still flies great with no nose weight.

Recovery:
Classic Estes recovery, ya bilge rat, works great. Avast! T' original rocket motor tube burned through after 11 years and 63 flights. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! I added a coupler and put it right back together.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I love this kit, it is one o' me all-time favorites. Avast! It looks real good, and is somewhat a challenge t' build. Arrr! It also is nay a kit you see everyday, ya bilge rat, so it gets noticed. T' main con is they only made it for 1 year 17 years ago!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5