Alpha®

It was an overall fun build. In my opinion, it is one of the easier builds (for reference I've also built the Super Big Bertha). It probably flew the highest of the 5 rockets I've launched before. One downside is they require many expensive tools and supplies such as yellow glue, ca glue, sanding block, hobby knife, primer, paint, gloss after coat. I ended up using hot glue, scissors, a piece of sandpaper, and acrylic paint I found lying around. The decals were very hard to apply, and the fin ones kept falling off. The launch was spectacular but even though the wind speeds topped out at 5mph that day it was blow like a feather into the woods. Also it was nearly impossible to see at apogee. We think we saw the recovery system deploy but later saw it come down hard into the woods. Overal it was a fun experience (even though we used a launch pad from the 80s).

I have built this kit a number of times over the years. The version you sell now isn't quite the original though. The first one I had just came with a sheet of balsa and a fin pattern to trace onto it. I'm pretty sure that the laser cutter had not yet been invented at that time. It also had a balsa nose cone rather than a plastic one. It would be nice if you were to offer an edition of the original kit. Obviously no one would expect it to still be a buck fifty, but it would be pretty cool to still be able to get it at whatever price.

This is a nice looking rocket! Can't wait for the now to melt and give it a first flight.