Quest Aerospace Astra 1 Model Rocket Value Pack (12)

These rockets are fine -- I had no trouble assembling them. But I bought them for our Webelos den, and they were too difficult to build in an hour. The engine tubes were just a bit too thin, and crushed a little on the ends for some kids. The body tube has slots in it to accept the fins, which made it more convenient and accurate when drying. But the kids had some difficulty getting them in, so I had to help with maybe a third of the fins.The shock cord is a two-piece design (rubber cord plus kevlar cord), which I don't really understand. Maybe Estes has a patent on their design, I don't know, but Estes shock cords are easier to attach.But the show stopper is the parachute. The plastic is really thin, like the kind used for plastic grocery bags. And you have to tie the strings to the chute. I would say it took me about 10 - 15 minutes to complete one myself. The kids would easily have taken twice as long. And the strings don't really stay tied unless you put a drop of glue on them. Again, nothing per se wrong with them, they just took a while to assemble.Finally, they give you only four fin stickers for each rocket, but there are a total of six fin sides, so two sides don't get a sticker. You can't really see that in the photos.Since I bought these, I investigated online, and could have gotten some Estes Alpha 12-packs for less money, and the parachutes would already be assembled. In retrospect, I wish I had gone that route.

I've been using this rocket with my middle school classes for years. I wasn't all that happy when they went to the through-the-wall fins, since getting the fins straight was something I graded on, but it does make for much straighter fins. It's just the right challenge level for my students, most of whom have never built or launched a rocket. We use B-engines and streamer recovery to keep the rockets inside the field. Great introductory rocket.