Brief:

A lightweight, ya bilge rat, minimum diameter egg lofter with an efficient aerodynamic design.

Construction:

T' kit comes in t' typical "hangin' bag" style package. Arrr! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! As such, it doesn't protect t' kit from any damage incurred in shipping, me hearties, and this one be indeed damaged in shipment, though I couldn't tell until t' package was open. Begad! Blimey! T' kit featured a length o' 18mm tubing, a very unusual plastic nose cone, a very good mylar parachute, a laughably short shock cord, arrr, and a bit o' grainy, arrr, shiver me timbers, flimsy balsa. Aye aye! Blimey! Motor retention is simply friction fit, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, with a paper motor block inside t' body tube. Ahoy! Blimey! Hardly earth-shatterin' stuff here, ya bilge rat, but different enough t' be interesting.

T' kit comes with two sets o' instructions, arrr, one for assembly, matey, and one set for flight. Arrr! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Unfortunately, nothin' is mentioned on t' package that tells you t' rocket will nay fly without a cackle fruit or other similar weight payload. Begad! Avast! Regardless, t' instructions are logical, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and only feature a couple o' typographical errors. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fins, arrr, while grainy and a bit flimsy, popped out o' t' die-cut sheet very easily, and featured good, straight lines. Begad! Ahoy! And t' quality o' t' mylar parachute blew me away - far above what I expected. Ya scallywag! Like all o' t' other Custom rockets I've built, this one featured a loose nose cone. Begad! This one is a unique type o' plastic that is really thin, me bucko, matey, flexible, and lightweight, but surprisingly durable. Avast, me proud beauty! T' shock cord and parachute attachment points are horribly small and look weak, matey, yet so far they've held up. I used small snap swivels t' attach t' 'chute and shock cord, which I highly suggest doin' on any kit you build. Things don't seem t' get tangled as often. As I mentioned earlier, t' body tube was crushed in t' center, arrr, so I upgraded with some 18mm tubin' I had left over from ASP. Arrr! T' ASP tubin' be much sturdier, had less o' a spiral, matey, and took up t' slack in t' nose cone department, me hearties, and thus, me hearties, arrr, t' nose cone fit perfectly. Aye aye! Begad! I'll use t' Custom tubin' as a basis for another project. Avast, me proud beauty! Like I always do with Estes and Custom kits, me hearties, I threw t' supplied shock cord in t' parts bin and used some elastic thread, arrr, in triple t' rocket's length. Arrr! Avast! T' shock cord attaches with t' old tried-and-true paper fold method, shiver me timbers, and works well in this case. But a word o' caution - make sure it doesn't stick out too far! Nay much room in thar for a parachute.

Finishing:
Unlike me normal practice o' coatin' t' whole rocket in epoxy, ya bilge rat, I just painted this one as-is. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' much higher quality ASP tube was already white, shiver me timbers, and only needed two light coats o' enamel t' cover. Arrr! I painted t' fins contrastin' colors, shiver me timbers, in an attempt t' make it more interesting. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! As a result, it bears a passin' resemblance t' t' old Estes Camroc, which was intentional. Ahoy! T' lone decal went on without a hitch. Begad! Begad! Overall, me finishin' technique resulted in a lightweight, yet strong rocket that looks great. Unfortunately, shiver me timbers, t' little rin' that holds t' two halves o' nose cone together swelled up when I painted it, and it won't fit anymore. Begad! So I just use a piece o' electrical tape cut into a 3mm strip. No problem.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
If launchin' an egg, don't try an "A" motor at all. In fact, skip right on up t' a "C" right off t' bat. Well, blow me down! T' rocket isn't particularly heavy, even with a cackle fruit aboard, matey, and flights will be great. Arrr! T' small fins impart a slight wobble with wind, but nay enough t' worry about. Ya scallywag! Just make sure t' motor is friction fit well; otherwise, it'll kick out t' motor and come in ballistic. Hasn't happened t' me on this rocket, but it has happened before on another rocket. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Care must be taken in packin' t' parachute. Begad! It won't pack as tight as a plastic 'chute, matey, and will hang inside t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! This rocket's so light that no damage will occur if you get a "streamer" or a "hung" parachute, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but it is messy!

Recovery:
T' original shock cord is a pitiful joke. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Throw it away or into a parts bin, shiver me timbers, but do nay use it. Begad! Aye aye! I used elastic thread, arrr, and it takes up less room than t' original, despite bein' about four times longer. Aye aye! Care in packin' t' 'chute be t' key t' success: fold it small, don't ball it up. Well, blow me down! Roll it only once, and use a good bit o' cellulose insulation for wadding. Avast! It'll recover well, won't get damaged, matey, and will drift a good distance in any sort o' wind.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I think Custom came up with a great little egg lofter for a good price. Ahoy! There are some things I'd change, arrr, like t' pathetic shock cord and t' wobbly nose cone, but I could overlook t' coarse fins, since I fill and sand mine anyway. Well, blow me down! I would recommend this rocket for a first time egg lofter, but don't expect it t' be an easy build for a beginner. Still, it's t' best Custom kit I've built.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5