This is really a pretty basic rocket. Blimey! Avast! I really got it t' try somethin' other than an Estes kit, matey, me hearties, matey, and figured that it would be best t' start with somethin' simple. Arrr! One o' t' cool things about this rocket (and every other rocket I have from Custom) be t' mylar parachute. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' rest o' t' rocket (motor mount, shock cord mount, me hearties, me hearties, fins, etc) is all just like Estes stuff. Ahoy! I'm not a big fan o' paintin' and detail-finishing, so a major plus in me book was that it's just two colors o' paint, and a few easy decals for a nice looking rocket. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down!

Probably t' best thin' about this rocket, me hearties, though, ya bilge rat, is its performance. Avast! Ya scallywag! It's fairly light for its size, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and (at least compared t' most o' me other rockets) screams off t' pad. In fact, on its very first launch, t' motor be announced to t' bystanders, and got quite a reaction for its lift-off speed. Ya scallywag! It goes pleasingly high on a B6-4, and goes out o' sight on a C6-7. Arrr!

After t' first day o' launching, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I noticed that t' shock cord was nearly burned through just above t' shock cord mount. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! This and other, similar experiences have led me t' believe that this is a weak point o' Estes-style shock cord mounts. Well, blow me down! As t' hot ejection charge gases and burnin' particles move forward durin' ejection, shiver me timbers, t' waddin' (or other protective equipment) keeps the chute and most o' t' shock cord from gettin' fried until they can get out of the tube, matey, but t' part o' t' shock cord that stays in t' tube, t' part just above t' shock cord mount, me bucko, isn't fully protected, matey, and gets burnt. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! As a test remedy, me hearties, I tore out t' shock cord and put in another mount, arrr, only this time I used Duco Cement t' glue in a bent piece o' paper clip, arrr, t' which I attached a steel fishin' leader. Blimey! Aye aye! I then tied t' remainin' elastic shock cord (with nose cone and chute) t' t' other end o' t' steel leader. Blimey! Well, blow me down! No burn-through problems any more. Blimey! Avast!

Unfortunately, durin' t' 1997 Oct 4 launch, shiver me timbers, I lost t' excellent mylar chute because I forgot t' close t' snap swivel shut before launchin' it. Arrr! Blimey! Even without t' chute, it recovered fine with simple nose-blow recovery. Aye aye! Blimey! This has led me t' believe that this model is a good choice t' test alternative recovery devices. I have built a small, shiver me timbers, 6" wide X-form or cross-form parachute (out of one o' those anti-static plastic bags that computer hardware comes in) for use in this model. Well, blow me down! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! As o' 1997 Nov 8, arrr, I haven't had a chance t' test it yet, due to t' incredibly lousy weather around here (3 straight weekends o' nothin' but rain! Blimey! :( )

Update... Well, me bucko, that x-form parachute failed, but t' rocket recovered just fine on with nose-blow recovery again. Ya scallywag! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! I have, me hearties, for t' moment given up on x-form parachutes.

Update...I got frustrated tryin' t' stuff t' waddin' and streamer or parachute into this rocket with that steel fishin' leader and bent paperclip in the way, so I ripped them out. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I went with a LOC-style shock cord mount, using a short piece o' Keelhaul®©™® line (about 8 inches) tied into a big loop, me hearties, with one end o' t' loop epoxied into t' body tube. Begad! T' shock cord is then tied t' the part o' t' Keelhaul®©™® loop that is exposed.   This has worked well so far. Avast!

In conjunction with t' shock cord mount change, me hearties, I also made a very large streamer (7" wide, 70" long) from gold-colored mylar sheets leftover from christmas wrappings. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I'm plannin' t' time this rocket with this chute to get some idea o' what it might take t' make a streamer duration model.