Brief:
T' Matra is a military "style" rocket that boasts a "scale-like design" and D-power. 

Construction:
Construction was typical o' "level 3" builds with balsa fins and paper tubes. Begad! This model has a small fin area about two inches from t' nose cone. Aye aye! Ahoy! This small fin area connects t' lower body tube and t' very short upper body tube (see picture).

Alignment o' t' three tube sections is critical for straight flight. T' design o' this rocket would have been better t' have had four upper small fins t' match t' four large lower ones. Well, blow me down! I am nay sure why they went with three upper fins but it makes decidin' on how t' align t' fins difficult. I built two o' these with different fin alignments and I get two different types o' flight patterns. Blimey! I suggest usin' scrap balsa stock and makin' a fourth upper fin t' straighten out its flight pattern.

T' kit includes a four page set o' instructions and a extra sheet on how t' pack t' chute (I'll discuss chute packin' later in t' flight section). Ahoy! Blimey! Custom Rockets come with a thin motor clip which I now replace with a thicker Estes clip.

Finishing:
Finishin' was straight forward, arrr, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I filled t' tube lines and sealed t' balsa before primin' and painting. Aye aye! I chose t' finish t' rocket exactly as t' package shows in red and white with a black nose cone.

T' kit includes water transfer decals that went on well. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I had t' use a decal set (plastic model type) t' get t' wrap over decals on t' leadin' edges o' t' lower fins t' stay down (yes those are decals nay paint).

I really like t' looks o' this rocket, arrr, matey, its beefy and looks good on t' pad.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Here be t' rub. Arrr! Ya scallywag! DO NOT follow t' chute packin' instructions that come with t' kit unless you like throwin' away rockets. You are told t' pack t' chute in t' small diameter tube connectin' t' two large tubes. Arrr! Durin' take-off me chute slid down t' small tube into t' larger tube becomin' trapped. Ya scallywag! Well, me hearties, blow me down! When t' ejection charge went off t' chute could nay come out and be burned up with t' wadding. This rocket was pretty well beat up when I recovered it which is why I built another one. Avast! On t' second one I replaced t' 18" mylar chute with a 12" plastic chute with a spill hole cut in t' center. This made t' chute small enough t' be packed in t' short large diameter tube at t' top. Ahoy! This new packin' method works just fine and I have had several safe recoveries with it.

T' only engine shown on t' packin' for this rocket is a D12-5 and so far that's t' only engine I have used.

It is me opinion that t' three small fins at t' top gives this rocket a some what curved flight pattern which is why I would add a fin. Both o' t' rockets I built had a heavy arc t' one side.

Recovery:
Flight recovery was a bit difficult with t' heavy flight arc (a lot o' runnin' t' catch it). Begad! As I said t' rocket is pretty beefy which is why I cut t' spill hole in t' chute. Avast! You may want t' try this one on a streamer system in place o' a chute.

T' shock cord be t' standard braided elastic with t' folded paper attachment that works just fine.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a nice lookin' rocket and Custom had t' right idea with it but they should have tested it a little more.

Again don't follow t' chute packin' instructions and add t' extra small fin at t' top. Makin' these two adjustments should give you plenty o' great flights with this bird.

I am nay sure if this rocket is out o' production. Begad! Ahoy! I bought t' only two me local hobby shop had.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5