Brief:
This is a two stage rocket with a large BT-60 sized payload section for pretty much every payload imaginable. This is one of the Estes Educator rockets so finding a single one is not easy. I do believe that this Educator pack is now OOP and even if it's not, it costs about $129.00 for 12 kits. I knew this and when I saw this kit on an ROL auction for $8.00, I snapped it up.

Construction:
This kit came in a bag with the instructions separate from the components. The kit included the BT-55 sized booster and sustainer body tubes, two motor mount tubes, two sets of centering rings, two thrust rings, spacer tube, stage coupler, launch lug, two balsa fin sheets, nose cone, adapter, clear payload section, 18 inch parachute, shock cord, shroud lines with tape rings, and water slide decals

The instructions are the typical Estes literature with plenty of illustrations and easy to understand text. Also included was the tube marking guide and shock cord mount. This is rated a skill level 2 kit and I fully agree with the skill level rating.

I started with the motor mounts. They are built pretty much identical except the placement of the thrust rings and the centering rings.

I now glued the booster mount into the booster body tube and then glued the coupler into place. The first thrust ring is glued in at the bottom of the booster mount to act as a motor block.

Now, I cut the marking guide out from the instructions and marked the lines on the tubes for the fins and launch lugs.

I then fine sanded the fin sheets and cut out the booster and sustainer fins and the standoffs for the launch lugs. I now mounted the larger booster fins one at a time to the booster assembly to complete it.

Since I already built the sustainer motor mount, I went ahead and mounted it into the body tube. I then mounted the fins to the sustainer body tube and before moving on, I applied generous glue fillets to the sustainer and booster fins at this time.

Now you can assemble the payload section. You need to separate the nose cone from the adapter by cutting at the locations shown in the instructions, then sand the ends of the payload section even. I then washed mine in soapy water to clean it off afterwards. I did not need tape to hold the adapter and nose cone in the payload section as the fit was pretty tight. If you're flying a payload, I would double check the fit.

I then cut the launch lug in half and mounted each piece to a standoff and mounted them to the body, waited for the glue to dry and then applied fillets for strength.

I now assembled the shock cord mount and mounted it into the body tube. I then tied an extra shock cord that I had to the existing one as it was pretty short and with a payload section this big, it would be capable of causing severe damage to the fins if it hit them during deployment.

I then prepped the model for finishing.

PROs: Easy construction and nice parts fit.

CONs: Short shock cord

Finishing:
To finish the model I masked off the payload section and spraying the model with white primer and sanding between coats. Using sanding sealer is also recommended but I skipped that step as I didn't have any at the time and when I do use it, I get rather bad headaches from the odor. If you use it, I very highly recommend using it outside or in a well ventilated area.

I then sprayed the body and fins with Sunshine Yellow spray enamel and painted the nose cone and adapter separately using gloss black enamel. I also masked the payload section off again and painted the areas where the nose cone and adapter show through with gloss black enamel for the look I wanted.

After I let all this paint dry for a day, I applied the supplied water-slide decals without incident.

I sprayed the body with clear enamel a few days later to protect the decals.

To finish the model, I installed the recovery system. I ended up replacing the 18 inch chute with a 12 inch one. I felt the 18 inch one was too big but if you're launching a heavy payload, you may need it.

PROs: Easy to finish

CONs: None

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
The recommended motors for this kit is the A8-3, B4-4, B6-4, C6-5, for single stage flights. For two stage flights B6-0, C6-0 for the booster and the A8-5, B6-6, and C6-7 for the sustainer.

Both motors are friction fitted into the booster and rocket with masking tape. It is adequate.

You prep the rocket by installing the motor(s) into the rocket and/or booster for two stage flights. For this kit, you don't need cellophane tape to hold the motors together.

You then insert wadding into the sustainer body and pack the parachute and you're ready to go.

For my first and second flights, I used the B6-0/B6-6 combo. The rocket lifted off the pad and cocked some but it wasn't excessive. I then got a smooth staging and the sustainer continued upward to apogee.

For my third and most recent flight, I really wanted to see what this rocket could do and launched it on the C6-0/C6-7 combo. This resulted in a spectacular flight in excess of 1,000 feet. I recovered the booster close to the pad and the sustainer was successfully recovered on the other side of the field about 1/2 to one mile away.

Recovery:
For recovery, I use a 12 inch parachute which brings the model down slow enough to prevent damage. On a high altitude two stage flight, this would drift forever on the 18 inch chute.

On the other hand, I recommend the 18 inch chute if you're launching this with a heavy payload such as an electronic device.

PROs: Recovers well with a 12 inch chute.

CONs: Provided 18 inch chute.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
I really enjoyed building and flying this great two stage payloading rocket. Although I have yet to fly any payloads with it, I really like having the payload section available for use. If you choose to launch this rocket on a pair of C motors, then I must recommend that you have a very large field and a calm day or you'll never get this rocket back. Trust me, it really gets up there.

I would also like to see this rocket reissued as a single kit rather than in a 12 kit educator pack. I also read the Warp II review on this site and it appears to be the exact same rocket as this one except with different decals.

Main PROs: Easy construction, nice quality components, and nice flying characteristics except the slight weathercocking off the pad.

Main CONs: Shock cord and parachute.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5