Brief:
A very basic 3FNC rocket that doesn't quite perform as advertised. Ya scallywag! 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, a sheet if pre-cut balsa fins, me hearties, a launch lug, decal, ya bilge rat, and 3 wooden dowels. T' kit is very similar t' t' Rogue Gnat, but larger and with wooden dowels. Well, blow me down!

T' instructions were about as simple as they could get, shiver me timbers, and were pretty easy t' follow if I had chosen t' do so. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! This kit is so simple instructions are not required. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! Everythin' fit perfectly, t' balsa was 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, ya bilge rat, me hearties, you could get by with nothin' more than a piece o' sandpaper and some Elmer's wood glue. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey!

There are only a couple o' CON's: T' body tube seems a little thin when compared t' other kits, me bucko, and t' instructions mentioned nothin' about why the rocket was supposed t' spin on recovery. Blimey! I would have t' deduct points for the fact that this rocket will nay spin, twist, or tumble if it is built per the instructions. Blimey! 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. Begad! T' alleviate t' lawn dartin' tendencies, I sanded each fin into an asymmetrical airfoil, in hopes that it would induce spin. Ya scallywag! Avast! I figured that the rocket would be travellin' too fast on t' way up for t' airfoil t' induce any spin, me hearties, shiver me timbers, since t' airfoil would stall, but on t' way down, matey, me bucko, 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. Ahoy! 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. Begad! Aye aye! Basically, this stuff is colored glue with glitter in it, and goes on like glue. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! So, me hearties, me bucko, after coatin' t' upper with red and t' lower with gold, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I now have a highly visible rocket that sparkles in t' sun. Avast! Ahoy! T' glue also added a little more strength.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

Preparation for flight couldn't be easier: Just pop in a motor, add the ignitor and launch. Begad! Motor retention is friction fit, with t' nose cone acting as t' motor block. T' motor is supposed t' eject, and by some mythical process, arrr, t' rocket is supposed t' spin comin' down, though Custom never addresses t' issue. Ya scallywag! Expect straight, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, rapid flights on a low powered A sized motor. I wouldn't launch it on anythin' larger than a B6-6, ya bilge rat, me bucko, shiver me timbers, or you'll never see it again, even if covered in glitter. Blimey! Ya scallywag! But t' thin' needs t' be built as sturdy, because it'll lawn dart every time. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! 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, arrr, me bucko, inducin' spin. Avast! Ya scallywag! The recovery will make for a "heads-up" launch every time, arrr, and is why I rated flight so low. Begad! If it weren't for t' lawn dart, I'd give this rocket a 5 for flight, but an object can only stand t' fall from so high up a finite number o' times, ya bilge rat, and even fewer if it burrows into t' ground each time. Arrr! So, expect a short lifespan.

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

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
In me opinion, matey, shiver me timbers, this kit needed more R&D before Custom released it t' the public. Aye aye! It flies great, on t' way up. Aye aye! Unfortunately, shiver me timbers, it flies great on t' way down too. Arrr! It is reminiscent o' t' old Estes Scout, me bucko, which be a dynamite little rocket, me hearties, but loses a lot in t' recovery system. 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. Blimey! all in all, ya bilge rat, t' Custom Twister is an exercise best summed up as Caveat Emptor.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5