Brief:
Right out of the past and into your living room, Squirrel Works has brought to life yet another '50s B-movie blast from the past. Spacecruiser FFE seems fairly reminiscent of the spaceship from the movie Battle in Outer Space with its big chunky fins and nose canards but whatever the origin, Spacecruiser FFE is hoot to build and fly. It is a single stage sport flyer of about skill level 2 that can be built and flown in an afternoon or two depending on how Type-A you are. She comes standard with a 15" bright red heat resistant mylar parachute, laser cut fins, balsa nose cone, 24mm motor mount and retainer, and a 1.3" diameter body tube. With a mass of only 2.1oz she will nip along at a good pace on the recommended "D" impulse motors. The Squirrel Works has produced a super cool line of retro-futuristic Sci-Fi kits that will appeal to rocketeers from aged BAR's like myself to the youngest space fan. I can't wait to build them all.

Construction:
My Spacecruiser FFE was ordered from the manufacturer very early on the morning of July 5, 2005, via the Squirrel Works website. It wasn't until a few hours later that I realized I had forgotten to order a second kit, the XRV, needed for a glider comparison. So back to the website I went to place a second order. To save a shipping charge, I requested that the two kits be combined into a single shipment. Even though I never really expected that to happen, within a matter of hours the second shipping charge was refunded and the orders were combined without any fuss. To top that bit off, both kits arrived Express Mail on July 8, only three days later--even on a holiday week. Now that is service and great service is what makes for repeat business.

The parts list:

• BT-55 1.3" white/glassine body tube with very light spirals
• Superbly turned balsa nose cone with a nice pointy tip
• Screw eye
• Nose weight
• 1/8th" wide x 36" long elastic shock cord
• 15" mylar chute with swivel
• Laser cut fins and canards
• 24mm motor tube
• Centering and thrust rings
• Retainer hook
• Launch lug
• Water slide decal sheet

The first thing noticeable when picking up a Squirrel Works kit is the heft and look of the bag. It isn't the usual flimsy bag most kits come in but is a heavy duty 3 mil polyethylene bag. It is cleanly seamed with very professional looking full color face card and header cards, seemingly minor details that just scream "quality." The kits were in perfect shape without as much as a bent face card and Spacecruiser FFE contained all parts as listed in the instructions.

The instructions are in the form of an easy to follow, clearly printed threefold pamphlet with both the fin guide wrapper and Estes style shock cord mount printed inside. They are well thought out and had no "gotchas" that I found. To their credit, Squirrel Works packages parts for subassemblies (like the parachute and motor mount) in separate zip-lock bags which is at once thoughtful and a time saver as one spends less time searching for parts and more time gluing stuff. No special tools were required for construction, just the standard glue, sandpaper, hobby knife, paint, and small furry mammal. The waterslide decals are bright and clear but no guidance is given on placing the decals other than the illustration on face card. Over all the kit went together like it wanted to be assembled.

From the onset this kit was a joy to build and showed the highest commitment to quality. Both the body and motor mount tubes were cut exceedingly clean with no sign of fraying or creasing, the nose cone was superbly tuned to a needle sharp point and fit the body tube seamlessly, and the laser cut fins were all but flawless. How the fine point on the nose cone had not gotten broken during shipping and handling was a mystery to me, so knowing how clumsy I am, I immediately sealed it with thin CA to keep from causing it any damage.

Anyone comfortable with the standard "paper and balsa" kit will have no trouble with this one as it goes together in the tried and true "Estes" fashion. CA was used throughout except where noted. Following the supplied instructions construction began with the motor mount where I ran into the only catch with this kit, the supplied centering rings were a bit too small to fit over the 24mm tube. Over all, the rings looked a bit rough when compared to the superb quality of the rest of the kit's parts and when I attempted to sand them to size they proved to be brittle, shedding layers even when taking care to be gentle. On the other hand, the motor retainer and thrust ring fit perfectly, and in the end with the application of thin CA to the resized centering rings the motor mount came together and was glued into the BT without much fuss.

PROs: Excellent workmanship overall, great looking decals, beautifully laser cut fins, perfectly cut body and motor mount tubes, practically pre-assembled parachute, easy to build, superb customer service and looks super cool once finished.

CONs: Nothing major. There is the undersized centering ring and the kit is a bit pricey, but it makes up for that and more in "coolness" points.

Finishing:
Yet another pleasant surprise from the folks at Squirrel Works were the spirals in the body tube or the lack thereof. They were very shallow and narrow not requiring any special filling or sanding. Once shot with a couple of coats of Krylon primer, just a little wet sanding with 300 grit sandpaper made them disappear completely. My Spacecruiser FFE wears a sparkling coat of Dutch Boy Shiny Aluminum paint instead of the recommended white, as I am partial to the "Silver Spaceship" look. Decals were applied as best I could with no fault to the manufacturer, as I am Decal Impaired.

After handling SCFFE a few times I have come to regret the silver paint theme. She looked down right sexy after that last coat of Bright Aluminum was sprayed on but every time something touches the paint it leaves a smudge, and this is even after letting the paint dry for seven days. What is worse is that in bright sunlight the paint looks flat with a milky sheen over the entire surface. Now, I am not sure if this is due to the brand of paint used or if all bright silver/aluminum paints do this.

PROs: The balsa nose cone and fins were easy to seal, light spirals in body tube, very professional looking decals. This is a cool looking design.

CONs: There was no decal placement instructions. Not having a guide for decal placement wasn't any big whoop though as the face card shows the completed model.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
The manufacturer recommends the following motors: C11-5, D12-5, and D12-7.

As the status of the local launch field is in limbo, all of my launches at this time are taking place in my front yard. The yard encompasses about two acres and is surrounded by Tree Monsters and Evil Power Lines. This limits all small rockets to the use of 18mm B and C black powder motors. Of course this completely rules out anything over just a couple of ounces so the E and F powered birds lie around unloved and gathering dust. Spacecruiser FFE had been finished for over a week before the voices in my head became too much and I was forced to fly her in denial of all logical or rational arguments to the contrary. Not even daring to use a D motor, a B4-2 was wrapped in duct tape until it would fit snugly in the 24mm motor mount. There was no doubt it was insane to do this but as the countdown reached zero, the motor ignited and believe it or not, she took to the air in stable flight on that tiny motor. Needless to say she didn't break any velocity or altitude records, but it was enough. At ~100 feet the chute popped and she came down pretty as you please right into the top of my peach tree. Luckily the peach tree is vertically challenged so after a few sweaty minutes with a ladder the bird was retrieved with only minor scrapes and bruises. The lip of the body tube received a ding and a fin got scratched but neither wound is bad enough to affect her flight. As soon as the flight field matter is settled, I will stoke her with a D12 just to see what she can really do.

PROs: Unbelievably, she can reach stable flight on a motor as small as a B when the manufacturer recommends D impulse motors. Bravo to Squirrel Works. This is one stable bird. She looks so cool streaking through the air with all the fins and glinting silver.

CONs: Absolutely nothing.

Recovery:
The kit comes with an Estes style shock cord mount printed in the instructions, a 1/8" wide x 36" long elastic shock cord, and a 15" heat resistant Mylar chute with swivel. All supplies are completely adequate for this kit but I upgraded to a 1/4" shock cord and a poster board mount just to be on the safe side. The Mylar parachute had melted a couple of small areas on its maiden flight, but this was due to me not packing the small Nomex® heat shield properly. Maybe wrapping the chute in the Nomex® will work better.

PROs: All supplied recovery materials are suitable for the job. The 15" mylar chute is the perfect size for this kit bringing her down quickly but softly. The bright red chute will make spotting the rocket easy.

CONs: Nothing really except for the heat resistant parachute showing signs of melting.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
PROs: This is a fantastic retro kit harkening back to the good old days of silver space ships in black and white Sci-Fi movies. The styling is simple but distinctive and can be assembled by about anyone with a tad of experience. The parts were superb quality allowing for quick and easy assembly. Finally the engineers at Squirrel Works really outdid themselves by producing a bird that will attain stable flight on anything from an 18mm B motor all the way up to Ds. One must wonder to what extremes a composite motor will take her. If you buy this kit, you will love it without a doubt. Did I mention that she is cool looking?

CONs: Very, very minor issues with a centering ring and melt spots on the parachute.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5