Brief:
This is a single stage, arrr, 54mm motor mount, 2.6" high power rocket. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! This rocket would be a great rocket for people with previous experience with high power kits.

Construction:
There were two (2) very nice 2.6" tubes, me bucko, shiver me timbers, they were a bit thicker than LOC tubes, me bucko, very heavy duty. Arrr! There were three (3) 3/16" plywood fins, a coupler, me hearties, motor tube, launch lug, ya bilge rat, parachute and a very, very nice solid balsa cone. Ahoy! Avast! There was a 1/2" by 10 foot long elastic shock cord, with a 18" military surplus chute. T' rocket split in t' middle, matey, so you have a payload compartment t' put electronics or what ever you want in it. Aye aye!

Construction was pretty straight-forward and simple. T' instructions were not well written and were a little scarce o' information on some key steps. However, with me experience, I did nay really refer t' them much. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I decided that t' 54mm motor mount be way too big for what I was goin' t' be usin' it for. Avast, me proud beauty! So I added a 29mm motor tube and mounted it inside t' supplied 54mm motor tube.

T' fins are through-the-wall and you will need t' cut and mark t' slots off yourself. There be a 1/2" launch lug that I replaced for a 1/4" lug. Ya scallywag!

T' nose cone was great, it was balsa, which you don't see much anymore, I put 2 coats o' finishin' resin on t' cone (my first attempt at doin' this), and it turned out great, it adds some strength t' t' cone while makin' a great finish. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' completed rocket is pretty rugged for t' materials used. Well, blow me down! This rocket could survive some very hard landings. Arrr! Begad! You will need epoxy (set times o' your choice) for construction. Avast!

T' shock cord I mounted t' a steel cable attached t' t' centerin' ring, me hearties, I thought this be much better then t' recommended method. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' recommended method be a Estes style mount, which is great for Estes rockets, shiver me timbers, but when you get up t' mid or high power rockets, they just don't work.

Finishing:
Finishin' was easy, I put two coats o' primer on, me hearties, then painted t' payload section with Testors Dark Gloss blue, then fadin' t' blue t' Testors Gloss Black. T' results were great. Blimey! Ahoy! T' spirals are nay deep at all, shiver me timbers, so thar be no real need t' fill them. Begad! Decals did come with t' kit, but I opted nay t' use them, shiver me timbers, as I thought t' kit without t' decals looked better. Aye aye! Also, ya bilge rat, t' decals were rather cheap, matey, they were printed on cheap clear sticky decal material. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! The printin' quality was terrible. Aye aye! They were all words in flat black. Aye aye!

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' first flight I used a Aerotech G104-short. T' rocket does weigh a bunch, me bucko, arrr, due t' it needin' a bit o' nose weight (also t' addition o' t' 29mm motor mount). Begad! Arrr! Blimey! T' kit did nay come with any nose weight, me hearties, it did tell you were the CP was. Arrr! Blimey! So I used that t' balance it out with t' biggest motor I would use. Arrr! With t' extra weight, me bucko, me hearties, I swapped out t' 18" chute for a 24" nylon chute.

T' boost was very fast and straight. Despite t' 20mph plus winds, recovery was fine with t' 24" chute, arrr, it came down just at t' right speed. Avast! Aye aye!

There is no motor retention that comes with t' kit, so you have t' add your own, me bucko, me bucko, I just used tee nuts and made some clips up for it. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! This rocket does require wadding, ya bilge rat, but you could easily make a baffle or use a Nomex® heat shield if you wanted to.

Recovery:
T' shock cord be plenty long for t' rocket. Arrr! As I said above, I put a 24" chute in it, arrr, as t' 18" was too small. Blimey! It came down at t' right speed with that. Well, blow me down! Upon recovery thar was no damage at all t' it!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' rocket kit is very nice, thar are a few things that could have been better, arrr, me hearties, a bigger chute would have been better, shiver me timbers, along with some better directions. T' rocket flies great though, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, which makes up for those things.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Editor's Note: T' Warp-2 is part o' a 3 rocket family, all usin' t' same body but with different motor configurations. Ahoy! The Warp-1 is a single 29mm, which t' author modified his Warp-2 into. T' Warp-2 is t' 54mm and t' Warp-3 is a cluster o' three (3) 29mm motors.