Brief:
T' Sport is a basic 4 Fin & Nose Cone (4FNC) model from Custom Rocket Company. Well, blow me down! Avast! T' Sport is a long rocket, arrr, at just under 30" o' BT-50 airframe that flies on 18mm motors, matey, and comes home under a 12" plastic parachute. This rocket has a simple sleek look, highlighted by a large eye catchin' decal. T' Sport is a skill level one build, me bucko, good for beginners, matey, and someone who wants to add a bigger bird t' their fleet.

Construction:
I purchased this kit at a local hobby store. Custom is an Arizona based company and although I don't know what their distribution is nationally; their kits are fairly common in Southern California. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! One interestin' thin' I've noticed with Custom's kits over t' last few years is that they have built their fleet around a rather small set o' standard components. Begad! Begad! Blimey! All o' their current kits are skill level 1 or 2, and a very high percentage o' them are based on t' same BT-50 tubing, with t' same nose cone, same motor mount, arrr, matey, shiver me timbers, same recovery system, and fins that are die cut out o' t' same sized balsa blanks. Aye aye! It's a strategy that obviously allows them t' stay in t' business, arrr, and hopefully they will get to a point where they can expand back into some o' t' more exotic kits of their earlier years. T' followin' items are included in this kit.

• BT-50 Main Body Tubes (3x9")
• BT-50 Tube Couplers (2)
• 18mm Motor Mount Tube
• Engine Hook
• BT-20/50 Centerin' Rings (2)
• BT-20 Engine Block
• Plastic Nose Cone
• Die Cut Balsa Fins
• Launch Lug
• Elastic Shock Cord
• Plastic Parachute (12")
• Shroud Line
• Tape Discs
• Decal

All tubes are standard brown spiral wound paper, and t' centerin' rings are t' heavy paper type. Begad! T' balsa sheet stock be above average quality. Ya scallywag! The parachute came unassembled in its own packaging. Avast! Well, blow me down! T' elastic shock cord measured out at 15 inches and t' instructions include a standard paper tri-fold shock cord mount.

This is actually t' second Sport t' grace me lineup. T' first one was purchased a year or so ago when I be lookin' t' build somethin' other than Estes kits, ya bilge rat, and quite frankly, I needed some bigger rockets that I could keep track of. Arrr! Blimey! My original Sport was a great flyer, and had about 10 flights before the nose cone separated and it core sampled in a parkin' lot (darn paper shock cord mounts). Ya scallywag! I was lookin' forward t' havin' this back in t' lineup, matey, and managed t' find a spot on t' counter t' put it together betwixt all me other works in progress.

T' instructions are printed on both sides o' a single piece o' legal sized paper, and every single step is accompanied by simple, effective drawin' to explain what's involved. Avast! I have built enough skill level 1 kits that I do not really need t' instructions, me bucko, but they are complete and well written. Avast! Blimey! I believe that a first time builder would have no trouble puttin' this rocket together. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

T' motor mount is assembled first and set aside t' dry. Instead o' usin' a wraparound guide t' mark t' fin placement, matey, Custom's instructions include a drawin' o' t' tube diameter (a circle) with t' fin positions projectin' out from it. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' view is like lookin' up t' tail end o' a finished rocket. Blimey! Blimey! All you do is stand t' body tube up over t' circle on t' instructions and mark the fin locations (per t' instructions, arrr, you should mark t' tube before installing the engine mount since t' hook will get in t' way later). Aye aye! Blimey! I use a length of aluminum angle stock t' mark t' fin lines on me rockets. Begad! Blimey! This is a great investment, me bucko, t' smaller sizes will fit on any mod roc tubing, and your lines will be perfectly straight. Next t' motor mount is installed in t' body tube. While t' motor mount glue was dryin' I separated t' fins from t' balsa sheet. Blimey! Blimey! These were match sanded, shiver me timbers, and then airfoiled. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' fins are attached 1 inch up from t' aft end o' t' rocket. Ahoy! Blimey! My standard routine for attachin' fins is t' tack them on with wood glue (Titebond), ya bilge rat, arrr, add a second wood glue fillet, and then a final fillet o' Elmers Wood Filler. Begad! Blimey! Next t' other two sections of body tube are added. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! At this point I decided t' upgrade t' recovery system. I will never again use t' old paper tri-fold shock cord mount, me hearties, and have a large spool o' Keelhaul®©™® cord on hand t' make sure I never have to. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! I decided t' use t' forward tube coupler as me anchor point. Avast, me proud beauty! I tied a bulky knot in t' end o' t' Keelhaul®©™®, laid it in t' tube and installed t' coupler (picture t' Keelhaul®©™® in betwixt t' coupler and t' BT). Begad! Blimey! Before t' glue sets, matey, pull t' cord gently until t' knot is restin' up against t' coupler, and then put a hefty drop of glue on t' knot. T' upper section o' BT is installed t' same way, first thread t' Keelhaul®©™® through t' new section o' tubing, then apply t' glue t' t' inside o' t' BT and slide it onto t' coupler, keepin' t' Keelhaul®©™® cord taut. Arrr! T' launch lug is cut into two pieces and attached in t' same fashion as t' fins.

T' 12" Plastic parachute comes unassembled, arrr, arrr, and I decided t' beef up this assembly as well. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Custom directs you t' simply lay a small loop o' shroud line on each corner o' the chute material, and seal it down with one o' t' included tape disks. Avast! I have had lines pop out from under t' discs on several Custom chutes, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and t' tape discs they provide do nay adhere well in cold weather. Ahoy! I put reinforcement discs on both sides o' t' chute corners, ya bilge rat, punched a hole through them and tied the shroud lines through t' holes. Finally t' shroud lines are girth hitched to a brass fishin' swivel (not included) which allows removal o' t' chute for storage, matey, and cuts down on tangled deployments.

Finishing:
One o' t' things I like about this rocket be t' flexibility o' t' final finish. T' basic paint scheme calls for black on t' aft end o' t' rocket, and pretty much any color you want for t' rest o' t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' decal that comes with this kit is a simple black and clear layout, which allows the color o' t' finished rocket t' show through for a cool block affect. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I filled the fins with Elmer's Wood Filler, and sanded them smooth. Begad! Blimey! Next came two coats of primer (Rust-Oleum Painters Touch Sandable Primer), me hearties, ya bilge rat, followed by two coats of spray enamel (Krylon). By t' time I got t' t' second coat o' primer I had worked me way down t' 400 grit for t' in betwixt sanding. Even though you can choose any color you want for t' front o' this bird, me bucko, me bucko, I liked t' look o' the black & yellow scheme shown on t' header card, matey, arrr, shiver me timbers, so I stuck with it.

Take care when applyin' t' sticker t' t' rocket (It's nay really a decal). Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Gettin' it perfectly straight is nay critical, but t' sticky backing will pick up fingerprints and any stray dust bunnies that float by, and since the sticker material is very heavy, gettin' wrinkles out o' it is virtually impossible. Take your time! I finished up t' recovery system by attachin' the elastic shock cord t' t' Keelhaul®©™® cord, matey, and then t' t' nose cone, and puttin' a drop o' CA glue on all the knots.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' initial flights o' me Sport V2.0 were conducted on a couple o' hot and windy Ohio summer days at Voice o' America Park (Site o' NARAM 47). Begad! Blimey! The recommended motors are A8-3, B4-4 or C6-5, matey, and t' header card also lists the A8-5, which would definitely be long on t' delay. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! My finished rocket weighed in at 1.7 oz. Arrr! Blimey! Flight preparation is standard, me bucko, matey, just insert t' motor under the hook in t' motor mount, shiver me timbers, and install t' igniter. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' recovery system is simple as well, 2-3 sheets o' recovery wadding, me bucko, followed by t' dusted and folded parachute. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! There is plenty o' room in this rocket so loadin' everythin' up is easy. Begad! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' sport left t' pad straight and true on all flights, matey, and put up a reasonable altitude with a B6-4. Arrr! Blimey! I think it would fly fine (if low) on an A8-3 as well, but t' best motor for this bird be t' C6-5. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! It jumps off t' pad and tops 1000 ft in a hurry. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' long airframe makes it look sleek and smooth, but the best part about flyin' t' Sport is that you can see t' rocket t' whole way! Blimey! Nothin' against little rockets, but if you can't see them, what's the point?

Recovery:
Recovery on both flights was perfect with ejection happenin' just at or slightly past apogee. Begad! T' 12 inch chute brings t' rocket down at a reasonable rate, but is small enough t' avoid serious drift. Ya scallywag! One o' t' bonuses o' a long rocket is that t' recovery system has some room, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and isn't jammed up against the end o' t' motor. After 2 flights thar be no visible heat damage to either t' chute or shock cord. Avast, me proud beauty! One o' t' nice things about flyin' at VOA Park is that almost t' whole thin' is a nice soft grass landin' zone, and unless you are unlucky enough t' hit one o' t' paved access roads, me hearties, arrr, pretty much every landin' is damage free and paint job friendly. So far me Sport looks like is did t' day I finished it.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
T' Sport is a great addition t' anyone's "level one" fleet. Well, blow me down! Its sleek look will add some style t' your collection, and thar be just something cool about a long lean rocket screamin' off t' pad. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Blimey! It doesn't hurt that this bird is easy t' see and track through t' whole flight profile. Ahoy! My only complaints with this kit are t' heavy sticker that they try and pass off as a "decal" and t' paper tri-fold shock cord mount, me bucko, and in reality, these are more general gripes than actual complaints against this kit.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5