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

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

These were t' typical Estes directions, me bucko, matey, very easy t' follow. Aye aye! T' rocket is very easy t' put together, me bucko, shiver me timbers, it is a level 2 kit. Well, blow me down! T' toughest part o' t' whole rocket be t' paint scheme. Ya scallywag! I built t' forward and aft sections seperately, shiver me timbers, and then glued them together. Arrr! It be a lot easier t' paint and t' build this way. I did use 5 minute epoxy for t' building, as I plan t' have it for a long time. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I coated t' ends o' all t' tubes with CA for strength, me bucko, as well as t' fins. Avast! 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, t' toughest part is removin' t' balsa grain. Begad! Blimey! No real surprises here.
CON - T' aft fins are prone t' break on hard landings. You may want t' change t' Basswood on them. Ya scallywag! Also, don't fly on windy days and you can increase t' size o' t' 12 inch chute t' 18 inches. Oh, ya bilge rat, and it is OOP by t' way, me bucko, matey, I have 5 so I decided t' build one. Begad! 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. Aye aye! I guess I needed nose weight. Aye aye! Blimey! Also, had a very small zipper. Aye aye! 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. T' original still flies great with no nose weight.

Recovery:
Classic Estes recovery, works great. T' original rocket motor tube burned through after 11 years and 63 flights. I added a coupler and put it right back together.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5