Brief:
The Dynastar Stonebreaker is a mid-power kit of an imaginary missile defense rocket designed to protect the earth from wayward asteroids or comets. The airframe is simple and light.

Construction:
The kit includes:

• BT- 56mm x 18 in.
• Fins- 3 main, 3 strakes (die cut)
• MMT- 24mm x 3.75 in.
• Shock cord - 8 ft. 300# Kevlar®
• Parachute- 32 in. plastic canopy
• NC-5:1 56mm plastic
• decal sheet (peel and stick)
• Lug- 1/4 in. x 3 in.

Pros:

This kit was very easy to build. The instructions are well written with illustrations making clear any steps that might need more "visual" explanation. All die-cut parts fit well and the die cutting of the fins and strakes was crisp. The end result is a straight forward, light airframe that should fly extremely well. If you can build just about any Estes kit then the Stonebreaker will pose no problems for you.

Cons:

None found during construction.

Finishing:
Pros:

The suggested scheme is quite easily duplicated with a minimum of priming, filling, and paint. The decals give the military look without being gaudy. Perhaps a coat of clear would help blend the decals a bit. I build to fly and so don't worry too much with filling BT spirals. That being said the spiral(s) are shallow and probably wouldn't pose too much problem to eliminate. The final look does the job for me. Being an imagined missile rather than a scale one you are at liberty to decorate to taste.

Cons:

Decals are shiny and not really "military" looking.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
Recommended Motors:

• C11-3 Estes 289 feet
• D12-5 Estes 639 feet
• E6-6 Apogee 1834 feet
• E9-6 Estes 1293 feet
• E15-7 Aerotech 1612 feet
• E30-7 Aerotech 1541 feet
• F21-8 Aerotech 1999 feet

I've had this rocket for some time before finding this site so the first flights are from last fall. Motor retention is of the tried and true masking tape variety. The motor block is glued in to the size motor you decide you're going to use most often. I set mine at 2 3/4 in for the Estes D size motors. The first flights were on Estes D12-5's and guesstimates put the altitude at about 650 feet. Since then I've flown on my local small field with C11-3's that reached about 300-350 feet. All flights have been arrow straight. This kit builds light and it jumps off the pad even with the C motor. Estimated altitude on an F21-8 is practically 2,000 feet and I believe that estimate. I hope to try out some RMS motors in the near future.

Recovery:
The Stonebreaker uses a very long Kevlar® shock cord (8 feet) that is attached to the motor block. Perhaps the one thing really worth changing is the parachute. It is way too big for this rocket, especially given the altitudes that are easily within reach. Kiss this baby goodbye if you attempt to recover with the stock 'chute on a big motor. I've used a spare 18" parachute that has successfully launched and recovered several times now.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
The Dynastar Stonebreaker is a very easy and fun build. A long weekend is more than enough to get this thing all put together. I feel that anyone competent enough build just about any Estes kit will have no problems with this rocket. The supplied parachute works fine but you will want to use something smaller unless you really like walking or climbing trees. It flies true and fast even on lower powered motors. I can't wait to pack an F into this thing and watch it disappear into the wild blue yonder!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5