Brief:
I purchased a Custom Venture as an afterthought one night while on an engine buyin' trip. Arrr! I figured that it was a kit that I could build in an evenin' for t' launch t' next day and decided t' see if it would be possible t' actually get it lookin' decent and flyable before t' launch. Avast! Avast! Once I got home and opened it, I decided that t' low price and almost disposable nature o' t' rocket would allow me a certain amount o' freedom as far as modifyin' it. Ahoy! It be this train o' thought (or should I say train wreck o' thought?) that led me t' t' decision t' change t' rocket from 18mm t' 24mm power.

Modifications:
Modifyin' t' Venture for 24mm flights is as easy as turnin' one o' t' 2050 centerin' rings that are included in t' kit into an engine block. Begad! Blimey! This needs t' be securely glued in place by usin' an expended 24mm casin' t' push it into place but no other steps are needed as long as you plan t' friction fit t' engines. Aye aye! Avast! Blimey! T' BT-50 body tube allows plenty o' room for extra shock cord, shiver me timbers, which in this kit is a swap you should consider makin' even before you open t' package.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• BT-50 main body tube
• 2050 centerin' rin' for engine block
• PNC-50 nose cone
• 3/32" balsa fin stock
• launch lug
• 24" Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
• 36" length o' 1/8" sewin' elastic shock cord
• Custom 12" parachute kit
• small snap swivel
• clay for nose weight

Finishing:
Construction and finishin' also couldn't have been a whole lot simpler. Aye aye! Blimey! After givin' t' body tube a good goin' over with thinned Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish and t' requisite sandin' t' kill off t' tube spiral, I tied a 24" length o' Keelhaul®©™® onto t' centerin' rin' and glued it into place as an engine block. Begad! Avast! Once this had dried sufficiently I shaped t' edges o' t' three fins, me hearties, tacked them in place usin' gel CA, and anchored them with some heavy duty Elmer's Wood Glue fillets. Begad! Well, blow me down! After givin' t' fillets some time t' dry, I filled and finished t' fins and then sprayed t' nose cone and t' fin can with t' remains o' a can o' bright blue metallic paint. When this had dried sufficiently, I masked off t' fins and nose cone and sprayed t' rest o' t' rocket gloss white. T' bright blue metallic paint matched t' venture decal almost exactly and t' end result be an impressive lookin' little rocket. Blimey! After applyin' t' decal, t' rocket was done except for t' addition o' some clay nose weight and t' recovery equipment, which was a 36" length o' 1/8" sewin' elastic attached t' t' Keelhaul®©™® that I had installed with t' engine block. Ahoy! Blimey! T' parachute was t' Custom chute that had been included with t' kit.

Flight:
Launch day be everythin' a day at t' pads should be every time: sunny and warm with only a few puffy clouds obscurin' a bright blue sky. For t' first flight I chose and friction-fitted a C11-5, arrr, me bucko, decidin' t' err on t' conservative side o' t' measure. Ya scallywag! I had noticed that t' nose cone didn't fit with an authoritative snugness, but it seemed tight enough t' me. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! (It didn't wiggle it's way out when I shook t' rocket rapidly from side t' side.) If I had read almost any o' t' articles ever written on Custom rockets o' this size (my own on t' Tristar included), I would have recognized this as t' potential disaster waitin' t' happen that it was. Unfortunately I chose t' go on with t' launch and nothin' went right from t' start. Arrr! T' rocket had barely cleared t' rod when t' nose cone came loose and started danglin' down t' side o' t' body tube. Begad! It then started t' tumble end over end while still under power. Aye aye! Begad! This probably should have been its death sentence but it fortuitously pulled t' chute loose durin' t' tumble and was floatin' gently toward t' ground when t' ejection charge fired, signallin' an end t' its maiden flight. This performance received an equal measure o' laughter and cynical applause when t' rocket touched down.

For t' second flight, I wrapped t' nose cone with maskin' tape until t' fit was snug in t' body tube. Begad! Loaded with another friction-fit C11-7, t' Venture leapt from t' pad for a quick, high, arrow straight flight. Begad! T' seven second ejection charge turned out t' be a good pick as t' charge fired just after t' rocket tipped over and I was able t' watch t' whole flight from beginnin' t' end as it landed several hundred feet downfield. Aye aye! Blimey! Takin' a bead on t' spot where it looked t' have landed, I set out with plans o' a short recovery walk, all t' while plottin' it's next flight on a D12-7 but I never saw t' rocket again. Avast! Well, blow me down! I had t' spot in sight t' whole time, but thar was an apparent black hole on t' VOA soccer field that I hadn't counted on. Ahoy! I looked for twenty minutes or more then grew disgusted and gave up. I hope whoever wound up with it enjoyed it in whatever dimension they call home.

Summary:
PROs: Bargain basement price, arrr, relative good looks, arrr, ease o' construction.

CONs: Fit o' nose cone, length o' supplied shock cord.