This is really a pretty basic rocket. Avast! I really got it t' try somethin' other than an Estes kit, and figured that it would be best t' start with somethin' simple. Begad! Ahoy! One o' t' cool things about this rocket (and every other rocket I have from Custom) be t' mylar parachute. T' rest o' t' rocket (motor mount, shock cord mount, fins, arrr, me hearties, etc) is all just like Estes stuff. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! I'm not a big fan o' paintin' and detail-finishing, so a major plus in me book was that it's just two colors o' paint, matey, and a few easy decals for a nice looking rocket. Ya scallywag!

Probably t' best thin' about this rocket, though, me hearties, is its performance. Aye aye! It's fairly light for its size, me bucko, and (at least compared t' most o' me other rockets) screams off t' pad. In fact, arrr, me bucko, on its very first launch, arrr, t' motor was announced to t' bystanders, matey, and got quite a reaction for its lift-off speed. It goes pleasingly high on a B6-4, shiver me timbers, and goes out o' sight on a C6-7. Blimey!

After t' first day o' launching, ya bilge rat, I noticed that t' shock cord was nearly burned through just above t' shock cord mount. Ya scallywag! This and other, shiver me timbers, similar experiences have led me t' believe that this is a weak point o' Estes-style shock cord mounts. Aye aye! Begad! As t' hot ejection charge gases and burnin' particles move forward durin' ejection, ya bilge rat, t' waddin' (or other protective equipment) keeps the chute and most o' t' shock cord from gettin' fried until they can get out of the tube, but t' part o' t' shock cord that stays in t' tube, t' part just above t' shock cord mount, me bucko, isn't fully protected, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, matey, and gets burnt. Avast! Blimey! As a test remedy, matey, I tore out t' shock cord and put in another mount, me bucko, only this time I used Duco Cement t' glue in a bent piece o' paper clip, t' which I attached a steel fishin' leader. Begad! Aye aye! I then tied t' remainin' elastic shock cord (with nose cone and chute) t' t' other end o' t' steel leader. Well, blow me down! Arrr! No burn-through problems any more. Begad!

Unfortunately, me hearties, durin' t' 1997 Oct 4 launch, matey, matey, I lost t' excellent mylar chute because I forgot t' close t' snap swivel shut before launchin' it. Even without t' chute, shiver me timbers, it recovered fine with simple nose-blow recovery. Well, blow me down! This has led me t' believe that this model is a good choice t' test alternative recovery devices. I have built a small, 6" wide X-form or cross-form parachute (out of one o' those anti-static plastic bags that computer hardware comes in) for use in this model. Blimey! As o' 1997 Nov 8, matey, ya bilge rat, I haven't had a chance t' test it yet, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, due to t' incredibly lousy weather around here (3 straight weekends o' nothin' but rain! :( )

Update... Well, matey, me bucko, that x-form parachute failed, but t' rocket recovered just fine on with nose-blow recovery again. Arrr! Ahoy! I have, for t' moment given up on x-form parachutes. Ahoy!

Update...I got frustrated tryin' t' stuff t' waddin' and streamer or parachute into this rocket with that steel fishin' leader and bent paperclip in the way, so I ripped them out. I went with a LOC-style shock cord mount, using a short piece o' Keelhaul®©™® line (about 8 inches) tied into a big loop, with one end o' t' loop epoxied into t' body tube. Begad! Blimey! T' shock cord is then tied t' the part o' t' Keelhaul®©™® loop that is exposed.   This has worked well so far. Avast, me proud beauty!

In conjunction with t' shock cord mount change, I also made a very large streamer (7" wide, shiver me timbers, arrr, 70" long) from gold-colored mylar sheets leftover from christmas wrappings. Ahoy! Blimey! I'm plannin' t' time this rocket with this chute to get some idea o' what it might take t' make a streamer duration model.