Brief:
A very basic 3FNC rocket that doesn't quite perform as advertised. Aye aye! Blimey! Supposedly the rocket will feature helicopter recovery at motor ejection, but doesn't.

Construction:
T' basic kit consists o' a short piece o' 18mm body tube, a real balsa nose cone, arrr, a sheet if pre-cut balsa fins, shiver me timbers, arrr, shiver me timbers, a launch lug, matey, decal, matey, me hearties, and 3 wooden dowels. T' kit is very similar t' t' Rogue Gnat, arrr, but larger and with wooden dowels.

T' instructions were about as simple as they could get, and were pretty easy t' follow if I had chosen t' do so. Arrr! This kit is so simple instructions are not required. Avast, me proud beauty! Everythin' fit perfectly, arrr, t' balsa be a better grade than I've ever seen from Custom, and t' assembly steps were in a somewhat logical order. Most basic model buildin' tools would suffice; however, me bucko, you could get by with nothin' more than a piece o' sandpaper and some Elmer's wood glue. Ahoy!

There are only a couple o' CON's: T' body tube seems a little thin when compared t' other kits, matey, and t' instructions mentioned nothin' about why the rocket be supposed t' spin on recovery. Begad! Begad! I would have t' deduct points for the fact that this rocket will nay spin, matey, shiver me timbers, twist, arrr, or tumble if it is built per the instructions. And since t' instructions never give any indication o' why it is supposed to, it could be confusin' for a beginner. This thin' simply lawn darts. Ahoy! T' alleviate t' lawn dartin' tendencies, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I sanded each fin into an asymmetrical airfoil, me bucko, in hopes that it would induce spin. I figured that the rocket would be travellin' too fast on t' way up for t' airfoil t' induce any spin, since t' airfoil would stall, but on t' way down, it should be going slow enough for t' airfoil t' induce a low pressure region that would induce "lift", me hearties, thereby spinnin' t' rocket. Avast! At least it was good in theory.

Finishing:
Finishin' this rocket in t' suggested paint scheme o' black looked a little drab t' me, so I went back and coated t' upper half and one fin o' t' rocket with Elmer's Squeeze Creations we had layin' around t' house. Basically, this stuff is colored glue with glitter in it, and goes on like glue. Well, blow me down! Begad! So, me bucko, after coatin' t' upper with red and t' lower with gold, shiver me timbers, I now have a highly visible rocket that sparkles in t' sun. T' glue also added a little more strength.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Custom recommends a really low powered 18mm motor. Well, blow me down! However, I prefer t' use a 13mm A motor with an adaptor, me hearties, since they are a little cheaper and come in a pack o' 4 instead o' 3, matey, matey, so thar's a little bit o' savings there. Begad! OK, me hearties, matey, arrr, so I'm cheap.

Preparation for flight couldn't be easier: Just pop in a motor, me hearties, add the ignitor and launch. Avast! Motor retention is friction fit, with t' nose cone acting as t' motor block. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! T' motor is supposed t' eject, and by some mythical process, arrr, t' rocket is supposed t' spin comin' down, arrr, though Custom never addresses t' issue. Avast! Expect straight, rapid flights on a low powered A sized motor. Ya scallywag! I wouldn't launch it on anythin' larger than a B6-6, me hearties, or you'll never see it again, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, even if covered in glitter. Blimey! But t' thin' needs t' be built as sturdy, arrr, because it'll lawn dart every time. Aye aye! My little airfoil experiment is a mixed bag o' success and failure; it'll induce some spin, but t' fins are too small and thin t' produce anythin' like what Custom describes on t' package. My suggestion is t' cant t' fins a few degrees off center, matey, inducin' spin. Avast, me proud beauty! The recovery will make for a "heads-up" launch every time, and is why I rated flight so low. Blimey! If it weren't for t' lawn dart, I'd give this rocket a 5 for flight, me bucko, me hearties, but an object can only stand t' fall from so high up a finite number o' times, arrr, and even fewer if it burrows into t' ground each time. So, expect a short lifespan.

Recovery:
There are no PROs t' flight recovery on this rocket, other than t' fact it needs no wadding. Aye aye! Arrr! It preps quickly, arrr, flies quickly, and crashes quickly. Aye aye! Arrr!

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
In me opinion, shiver me timbers, this kit needed more R&D before Custom released it t' the public. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It flies great, ya bilge rat, on t' way up. Begad! Unfortunately, it flies great on t' way down too. It is reminiscent o' t' old Estes Scout, me hearties, which was a dynamite little rocket, but loses a lot in t' recovery system. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I would definitely recommend this rocket t' anyone lookin' t' buy a kid their first or second rocket, but would add that t' fins need t' be attached off center t' aid in recovery. Well, blow me down! all in all, me bucko, me bucko, t' Custom Twister is an exercise best summed up as Caveat Emptor.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5