Brief:
This is an Estes Rascal Kit #1897 and is silver in color. Aye aye! Arrr! It is a pre-assembled kit where t' only thin' you need to do is attach t' parachute t' t' rocket. Blimey! Avast! T' parachute is 12" in diameter, and t' kit uses an Estes (rubber band) shock cord attached t' t' launch lug inside t' rocket body tube. Aye aye! Arrr! No paintin' is required. Aye aye! T' package says it will go t' 1200'.

Construction:
T' Rascal uses a body tube 0.976" in diameter and has four fins and a plastic nose cone. Avast, me proud beauty! T' shock cord is approximately 16" long, me hearties, arrr, includin' t' length inside t' body tube. Ahoy! It uses a metal engine retainer clip as in most of t' Estes rockets, so no friction fit o' t' rocket engine is needed. Begad! Aye aye! T' 12" parachute is plastic.

Since this is a pre-built rocket kit, shiver me timbers, arrr, it has almost no assembly requirements. Ahoy! I thought t' instructions were good. Ahoy! Begad! Only t' parachute needs t' be attached t' t' nose cone. Aye aye! T' nosecone fit nicely, arrr, nay loose. Blimey! Ahoy! I modified it by usin' a fishin' snap swivel attached t' t' parachute t' connect it t' t' nose cone so it would be able t' twist on the way down after launching. Blimey! This keeps t' parachute shroud lines less twisted. Blimey! T' snap swivels can be bought in any number o' places--I got mine at Wal-Mart. Begad! T' rocket is sturdy. Blimey!

Finishing:
There is no finishin' required, I suppose one could clear coat t' rocket if they desired.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' Rascal has a number o' recommended motors. Begad! They are: A8-3, me bucko, B4-4, shiver me timbers, B6-4, arrr, matey, me hearties, C6-5, and C6-7. Begad! I don't like t' fly my rockets so high that I have trouble recoverin' them, shiver me timbers, so I've only used t' A8-3, B4-4, and B6-4. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' A8-3 flew nicely to I would estimate somewhere about 250', arrr, and t' B engines would send it up t' somewhere around 550'. Begad! Begad! I never measured the altitude so these are just estimates, me bucko, arrr, but t' package says it'll go t' 1200 feet. Begad! I put about 4 sheets o' Estes Waddin' in it, and t' rocket used a metal motor retention clip. It flew straight with a nice parachute deployment and soft landing. Aye aye! I flew it ten times, ya bilge rat, but t' shock cord separated on t' 10th flight. Arrr! It always flew well for me. No "Cons" for flight characteristics.

Recovery:
I got 9 great flights, however, on t' 10th flight, t' rubber shock cord separated at t' launch lug inside and the rocket came down in 2 sections. Ahoy! Begad! T' rocket body developed some wrinklin' at t' top o' t' engine mount from hitting the ground. It will fly again, shiver me timbers, but it is a little unsightly. Well, blow me down! I suspect t' decals wrinkle ever so slightly on the extreme edge (of t' decal) from t' ejection charge heat inside t' rocket body, shiver me timbers, but I could be wrong. Blimey! Avast! This is the only "con" with t' rocket: t' shock cord separatin' after multiple flights. Blimey! That be t' one thin' that needs t' be improved. Begad! I plan on usin' t' Estes tri-fold method o' securin' a new shock cord o' 1/8" elastic about 3' long. Ahoy! Avast! I thought t' recovery time was OK with t' present 12" parachute. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a very good rocket that needs no assembly except for attachin' t' parachute. Avast, me proud beauty! You can literally be launching in minutes. Arrr! Begad! It looks nice in silver, arrr, flies well with decent altitude, and recovers nicely. It's been a good rocket in my stable. In fact, ya bilge rat, it's t' rocket I've flown t' most. T' shock cord will get brittle and break eventually, and it broke on mine on t' 10th flight. I would say start checkin' it before you fly it after t' 6th flight. Begad!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5