Brief:
Easy t' build, simple t' fly, me hearties, arrr, novel recovery.

Construction:
T' Twister came t' us as a part o' t' Super Shot starter set, which also includes t' Super Shot rocket (looks like a Bandit with a different decal set) along with a launch controller and pad and three motors. Begad! Begad! Fins are die-cut balsa and t' easy t' follow instructions will have this one up and running overnight, allowin' time for painting.

Pros: simple, easy t' follow instructions. Ahoy! Blimey! Cons: Some o' t' instructions are printed on t' reverse side o' one o' t' fin templates, but nothing earth-shattering. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Nothin' but standard tools needed.

Finishing:
Nothin' fancy here. Begad! Aye aye! Prime and paint as you like it. Begad! My son chose a multi-colored flat acrylic design (the random abstract brush work o' a seven year old!) that be probably nay t' best choice paint-wise but it is certainly eye catching. T' provided self-stick decals are nice enough, matey, arrr, but they're meant to go on an all black paint job, and believe me when I say you don't want black on t' Twister. Better t' paint it somethin' bright, like a day-glo red or green. Blimey! This would be an easy one t' lose otherwise.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
This is a very sweet flier, matey, arrow straight off t' rod and up almost out of sight even on an A8-3. Aye aye! Don't consider anythin' more powerful unless you have very, very good eyesight. Ahoy! T' motor is taped t' t' lower body half, which is okay if, like me, you still use maskin' tape t' hold igniters in place. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! I find that those little plastic widgets Estes provides don't always seat well, even in Estes' own motor nozzles.

Recovery:
T' Twister's recovery method is supposed t' be 'helicopter' but in our experience it's more like 'plummet.' At ejection t' upper body portion (which bears t' launch lug and one fin) and t' lower body (which has t' other two fins and a pair o' small canards along with t' motor) separate and are meant to twist down in sort o' a maple-seed fashion. Ya scallywag! In theory this probably works, and maybe it does in t' wind tunnel (does Estes have a wind tunnel?) but in practice it just isn't so. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' lower body more or less tumbles, and t' upper body does spiral down, shiver me timbers, albeit fairly quickly. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! If either were t' land on a hard surface they would almost certainly sustain at least some damage, matey, but on grass they seem t' do pretty well. Well, blow me down! Just be sure t' watch both halves carefully on their descents or you're liable t' lose one or t' other.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
As part o' a starter kit this is probably t' rocket everyone puts together second, me bucko, arrr, as t' Super Shot is much larger and uses t' standard parachute recovery, but once you've burned through t' shock cord o' t' Super Shot a few times and finally crashed or lost it as a result, shiver me timbers, you'll get around t' building the Twister and you'll wonder why it took you so long t' come around t' it. Providin' you don't get over ambitious on t' motors it'll be in your collection for years t' come.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5