Brief:
The Space Ranger, SW-005, is another excellent kit from Squirrel Works (SW). Simply beautiful kit art, ease of construction, high quality parts, and a fantastic looking rocket are the standard for SW. The rocket only stands about 13" tall and flies on 18mm motors, but it looks fantastic on the pad and really zooms--even on an A motor.

Construction:
A single 18mm (BT-20) body tube, standard engine block, balsa nose cone, screw eye, elastic shock cord, mylar streamer, launch lug, 3-fin laser cut fin sheet, cockpit template, and multi-color decals are provided. The shock cord and mylar streamer were long enough that I didn't have to substitute them, although I did add a 6" length of Kevlar® at the shock cord attachment point.

The instruction sheet contains easy-to-follow, numbered instructions with accompanying pictorials for almost every step. No motor mount to build, laser-cut fins, and a body tube that doesn't require any finishing allow this rocket to be easily built within a day. The pre-stamped cockpit was marked to fold to an almost perfect fit on the body. As is usual on any rocket I build, I installed a 6" length of Kevlar® in the shock cord attachment with a loop at the end to attach the elastic shock cord. To minimize abrasion from the Kevlar® against the body tube, I soaked in CA around the top 1/2" of the body tube and tied the Kevlar® so the knot in the loop meets the lip of the body tube.

Finishing:
The balsa nose cone and fins require standard finishing. I use Elmer's Light Fill n Finish, but any standard balsa sealer will work. The most time I spent building the rocket was to fill in with the Fill n Finish around the cockpit to eliminate the seam lines. If the cockpit seam lines don't bother you, the rocket can be built and finished in a couple of hours and still look super. The water slide decals do require a steady hand and some experience placing them, since the striping on the rocket is long and thin, however, they are top quality, lay down nicely and add a fantastic look to the rocket.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
I haven't flown mine yet--rain and schedule keep getting in the way--but I've seen the rocket fly on A, B and C motors; all superb straight flights. The rocket really zooms on an A motor and will go almost completely out of sight on a C motor (which is where that silver mylar streamer comes in handy).

Recovery:
The long mylar streamer and shock cord easily fit inside the tube, and despite the extreme height that can be achieved by this model, it recovers easily with the streamer and is so lightweight that you could really recover without damage even without the streamer. I didn't look at the rear of the rocket after the other guy's flights, but I think the swept back fins hanging below the end of the body tube are far enough outside the exhaust range that they shouldn't get burned. As is normal for a rocket with fins below the motor, or any rocket for that matter, I would place the rocket on the launch pad so it is at least 6-8" from the blast plate.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
The Space Ranger is easily constructed yet looks superb. The classic lines of the rocket make it a fantastic addition to my rocket fleet. I can't think of any reason someone wouldn't thoroughly enjoy this rocket!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5