GUEST's OPINION:
03/01 - "Another great Aerotech kit. The long, sleek design makes for a great rocket to fly on a wide variety of motors. I have only flown mine on the E23 once, but am still happy for its performance." (D.P.)

GUEST's OPINION:
06/00 - "My decals were inserted into one of the body tubes. Somehow the decal started to peel away and got stuck inside the tube. I damaged the decal sheet taking it out. I called Aerotech and they said they had seen it before and sent me a new sheet. I got the sheet even before I finished the rocket. Thank you Aerotech! The coupler tube on mine needed to be sanded before it slid easily into the lower section. I messed up during assembly and one fin is not locked in place. The super glue had set before I realized what happen. I think it will still fly OK, however. I had a very hard time getting the fins to snap in until I saw some plastic molding humps on the side of the fin. Sanding all the fin surfaces that make contact with the engine mount made the fins snap in better. I haven't flown this rocket yet." (J.C.)

GUEST's OPINION:
09/99 - "This is a VERY EASY kit to build. The 3 snap in fins can be a little bit of a pain, but work well. I added a filet of epoxy w/ microballoons for better aesthetics and more strength. The nose cone was not quite optimal. There were imperfections in the molding of my NC. Nothing major. A (very) little bit of FNF and a little sanding, and it was fine. Comes down pretty quick, but the fins are study enough to handle it." (D.S.)

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
09/02 - "I have a Barracuda (well, actually now it's a "Short-a-cuda", after a little incident with the motor blowing through...I had to trim 8" out of the tube and rebuild a good portion of the lower end). Construction is pretty easy; Aerotech appears to have put some thought into that aspect. I've flown it on a 24mm F39-6T, and a 29-40/120 F40-7W. Both flights were nominal. I'd probably stay away from their recommended E16 reload for this one, though...not enough velocity early on, and the weathercocking would tend to be pretty severe. When you get the kit they include a Motor Matrix that shows the reloads (and single-use) motors they recommend. One thing to watch out for, though, is that a large portion of their recommended motors and reloads are NOT certified by NAR or Tripoli. Before you buy anything, though, check the NAR web site (www.nar.org) for the latest list of certified motors, and only purchase those. If you go to an organized launch you may not be able to use uncertified motors/reloads, and most states have laws against uncert. motors. " (M.P. from RMR )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
09/02 - "I have a Barracuda that I've flown quite a bit. It's an easy build and a fun model. I fly mine exclusively on reloads, ranging from 24mm E18-4 through 29mm G64-10. I suggest you get both a 24/40 case and a 29/40-120 case (the 24/40 case is also great for putting in Estes D models like the Phoenix). I use the 24mm E's because they are cheaper than the 29mm Es, and because the large spacer on the 29mm E's makes me nervous about delay ignition (I should note, however, that the two 29mm E's that I *have* flown worked fine). The engine I use most is probably the F40, though I've used a pretty wide range. The model comes with a motor matrix of suggested motors (and delays) and shows AeroTech's estimate of resulting altitude. I *have* lost a 24/40 case from my Barracuda, most likely because I hadn't cleaned the mesh baffle recently enough. It is possible that the use of the 29/24 adapter contributed (lessening motor hook overhang). It is also possible (though I'd rather not think so) that I didn't properly seat the motor hook. I don't consider the loss a big deal. . . I'd gotten so many flights out of that casing that it had *more* than paid for itself. I built mine with a mix of epoxy and CA, as opposed to the CA that AT recommends. I used epoxy quite liberally on the centering rings, the fin-to-motormount joints, and the inside fin-to-body tube joints. I think this was a good idea. As for altitude -- I recently built an altimeter bay into my Barracuda. The max altitude I've gotten since then was a measured 2363' on a G64-10 at NSL. AT lists 3000' as the altitude for this combination. Note that my model is now heavier than 'stock'; from the epoxy, the altimeter bay and mounting stuff, and the altimeter itself. Also, I didn't do a particularly great finish job on it. Overall, either this or the Initiator is a fine first AT kit (I fly both models). Both are easy and fun, and a good intro to composite motors and reloads. After you've built and flown a couple of basic AT kits you'll probably be ready to move on to something a little more interesting and challenging to build (that's how I feel now, though I've got an AT HV Arcas partially built). " (A.W.H. from RMR )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
09/02 - "My Barracuda went together easily and flies well on most of the engines Aerotech recommends. I was not pleased with the E11-3J; too little velocity off the rod. Of the 24mm reloads, I like the E28-4T, F24-7W, and F39-6T the most. I flew it on a G64-10W at the National Sport Launch and put it out of sight. Others did not lose it and it was recovered. If built light, you can keep it under the 1 lb limit (i.e. fly it as a model rocket) with the 24mm engines." (L.W.H. from RMR )