Custom Rockets - Elite {Kit} (10025) [1999-]

Custom Rockets Elite

Custom Rockets - Elite {Kit} (10025) [1999-]

Contributed by Thomas Tweedel

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Diameter:	0.74 inches
Length:	15.37 inches
Manufacturer:	Custom Rockets
Skill Level:	2
Style:	Contest, Payload

Construction:
Parts included:

1 18mm ID tube
2 part nose cone it splits in half along t' horizontal axis and is held together with a mylar ring
3 Die cut fins
elastic shock cord
Engine stop rin' (no hook)
12 inch parachute.

First off t' quality o' t' kit was mixed. Well, blow me down! T' body tube be t' same. Begad! T' Fins were die cut out o' a very lightweight but somewhat flimsy balsa. Had t' use t' Xacto t' get them out but they worked fine and even survived the tragedies that were t' follow, shiver me timbers, me hearties, shiver me timbers, so aside from higher surface roughness (even after sanding) they worked fine.

T' nose noseconecone was t' most interestin' part o' t' rocket. Aye aye! Blimey! It separates in t' middle and is held together by a mylar ring. Aye aye! You put t' “cargo” in t' nose and then put t' top on and clamp them together via the ring.

One strike is that t' hole your supposed t' put t' shock cord through is WAY too small. Arrr! It had t' bore it out and really work it t' get t' cord through. Avast! T' cord itself is more like elastic than rubber band. Arrr! T' body tube seems pretty standard. Though its very narrow (18mm inside diameter). Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! This be t' keep t' weight down but it is also the source o' many o' t' rockets problems. Ya scallywag!

T' chute seemed sturdy but you do have t' assemble it. Aye aye! You cut it out o' a square and then stick t' little hole reinforcement stickers on it. Avast, me proud beauty! Then poke holes in them and tie t' cord. Aye aye! Blimey! They provided two lengths o' cord from which to cut 3 lengths o' chute. Your supposed t' cut t' cord in half and use it I guess. I did and t' length o' t' cord seemed a bit on t' short side. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I be also skeptical o' t' chute bein' big enough t' land a cackle fruit safely. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty!

T' launch lug gets set on an offset piece o' balsa t' account for t' wide nose cone. Begad! T' narrow body tube proved problematic when fittin' t' engine block. Blimey! This rocket has no engine hook and is thus a friction fit. Begad! T' only thing keepin' your engine from shootin' up t' tube is that engine block. Avast!

T' only thin' keepin' it from shootin' out t' back be t' friction betwixt t' engine and t' tube. Avast! Gettin' the friction right is a challenge, ya bilge rat, too much and you can’t get t' engine in, too little and you have problems. Avast! Masking tape is your main tool.

Finishing:
I painted t' rocket yellow and back t' me own tastes. Avast! One gotcha on paintin' is t' make sure you mask off the recessed area at t' top/bottom o' t' nose cone parts which they are joined together by t' mylar ring. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' tolerances are too tight on t' rin' t' accommodate t' paint.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
After it was assembled we went out t' launch it. Arrr! Accordin' t' t' instructions your supposed t' put your egg in a plastic bag in case o' disaster, ya bilge rat, me hearties, ya bilge rat, but where’s t' fun in that. Aye aye! So we got a cackle fruit that was just t' right size, mounted it up and secured it with t' mylar ring. Well, blow me down! T' launch was without event, matey, I be surprised at how high t' rocket went given its payload. Avast, me proud beauty! However at ejection things went terribly wrong. Avast, me proud beauty! There were two issues. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' body tube is so narrow compared t' chute size that its packed in their very tight. Blimey! That combined with t' fact that it’s a friction fit caused it t' eject t' engine and NOT deploy t' chute. Begad! Blimey! But t' real fun was what happened t' t' nosecone. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' shock o' t' ejection was more than t' mylar rin' could handle and t' nosecone separated ejectin' t' egg!. Begad! Blimey! So nose cone parts, egg and rocket come streamin' down. T' egg be a gonner with a classic splat, t' rocket sunk into some mud about an inch but be unharmed.

We decided t' fly it again without a cackle fruit usin' an A8-3 t' see what would happen. Aye aye! Made sure that thar be plenty o' friction betwixt t' engine and body tube. Ya scallywag! Arrr! T' launch did nay go as expected. T' rocket only got 30-40 feet into t' air and started t' tumble over (later learned it is nay stable without cargo), me bucko, then t' ejection charge fired and it blew up. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I got t' friction right but t' chute was packed too tight in that little body and t' force had nowhere t' go so it blew t' back half o' t' rocket apart. Ya scallywag! Avast! T' nose cone also separated again. This rocket be a gonner.

Recovery:
Good Flew straight but t' parachute is too tightly packed in t' small body and t' mylar rin' doesn't hold it quite well enough by itself.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:

Pros

Cheap
Easy enough t' build

Cons

Requires fittin' and strappin' t' flight right.

Overall Rating: 2 out o' 5

Other:
If I were t' do it again I’d have t' carefully mange t' chute and t' friction as well as usin' tape (not the mylar ring) t' secure t' nosecone together. Ya scallywag! I had pretty much written this rocket design off until I realized that actually this rocket is unique and can be used for things that no other rocket can. T' fact that it can launch and then on ejection safely eject its cargo into free-fall is unique t' me knowledge. What else can send a cackle fruit up a couple o' hundred feet in style and then have it come down with a satisfyin' Splat. You could load those little green army men with parachutes into t' nose cone and have an airborne assault on your park. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! You can experiment with all sorts of cargo and recovery methods that you could nay do with your cargo trapped in t' rocket. Arrr! Well, blow me down! I very well may buy this rocket again just for this purpose. If I do I will make one modification though, arrr, instead o' t' supplied parachute I’ll switch it t' a streamer recovery that doesn’t have t' be packed so tight. Arrr! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Tempted t' try and fit an engine hook on it as well.

Other Reviews

Custom Rockets Elite By Ken Johnson
A lightweight, minimum diameter egg lofter with an efficient aerodynamic design. The kit comes in the typical "hanging bag" style package. As such, it doesn't protect the kit from any damage incurred in shipping, and this one was indeed damaged in shipment, though I couldn't tell until the package was open. The kit featured a length of 18mm tubing, a very unusual plastic nose cone, a ...
Custom Rockets Elite By Mark Fisher
Now this is an egg lofter! Custom has trimmed the weight and size of its new Elite down to the bare essentials required to get an egg as high into the air as possible. The light-weight payload section with its power series nose cone (often mistakenly called "parabolic") is its most prominent feature and is reminiscent of the old Nova Egg Cone once found on Apogee's Hydra . The minimum diameter ...

Flights

Comments:

D.K. (August 1, 2000)

I thought this kit was an easy, straight-forward build. I always use the Estes Fin Alignment Guide, so I would have thrown out the body wrap guide anyway. I sanded the fins to an airfoil, and colored the whole thing black to match the black egg capsule that came with my kit. I skipped the decals. I used packaging tape to attach the shroud lines, and I haven't had any problem with seperation. The only snag I ran into was the ring that joins the capsule halves-- it won't go over the front end of the bottom of the capsule the way the directions say. I had to slide it on from the back. I'd recommend this kit to anyone. It is my first egg lofter, and I've already won C eggloft duration at two local meets with it.

L.S. (November 1, 2000)

I just bought this kit and I would like to point out that mine came with a 12" plastic parachute which seems to me a bit small for an egglofter.

KRE (June 9, 2003)

I hate to be the sole negative here but I downright despise this rocket! Construction was easy but the balsa was very, very low grade. Custom: Please add to the directions that this rocket is NOT stable without a payload! Overall this rocket is the typical maybe-fly, maybe-not product that Custom seems to foster. (Like the Custom Twister, a rocket that should helicopter recover but does not, this kit needs more thought.)Also, for an egg lofter to have a minimum diameter body tube and to consistently beg disaster with a scrunched up, too tight chute; well, this too is unacceptable in my book. This is my last Custom kit. Hello Quest!

T.T. (September 24, 2009)

This was my first Non-Estes rocket that I ever built. As such it was an interesting experience. For the most part it went together the same as any rocket I’d ever built but there were some notable differences due to its function. First off the quality of the kit was mixed. The body tube was the same. The Fins were die cut out of a very lightweight but somewhat flimsy balsa. Had to use the Xacto to get them out but they worked fine and even survived the tragedies that were to follow, so aside from higher surface roughness (even after sanding) they worked fine. The nosecone was the most interesting part of the rocket. It separates in the middle and is held together by a mylar ring. You put the “cargo” in the nose and then put the top on and clamp them together via the ring. One strike is that the hole your supposed to put the shock cord through is WAY too small. It had to bore it out and really work it to get the cord through. The cord itself is more like elastic than rubber band. The body tube seems pretty standard. Though its very narrow (18mm inside diameter). This was to keep the weight down but it is also the source of many of the rockets problems. The chute seemed sturdy but you do have to assemble it. You cut it out of a square and then stick the little hole reinforcement stickers on it. Then poke holes in them and tie the cord. They provided two lengths of cord from which to cut 3 lengths of chute. Your supposed to cut the cord in half and use it I guess. I did and the length of the cord seemed a bit on the short side. I was also skeptical of the chute being big enough to land an egg safely. The launch lug gets set on an offset piece of balsa to account for the wide nosecone. The narrow body tube proved problematic when fitting the engine block. This rocket has no engine hook and is thus a friction fit. The only thing keeping your engine from shooting up the tube is that engine block. The only thing keeping it from shooting out the back is the friction between the engine and the tube. Getting the friction right is a challenge, too much and you can’t get the engine in, too little and you have problems. Masking tape is your main tool. After it was assembled we went out to launch it. According to the instructions your supposed to put your egg in a plastic bag in case of disaster, but where’s the fun in that. So we got an egg that was just the right size, mounted it up and secured it with the mylar ring. The launch was without event, I was surprised at how high the rocket went given its payload. However at ejection things went terribly wrong. There were two issues. The body tube is so narrow compared to chute size that its packed in their very tight. That combined with the fact that it’s a friction fit caused it to eject the engine and NOT deploy the chute. But the real fun was what happened to the nosecone. The shock of the ejection was more than the mylar ring could handle and the nosecone separated ejecting the egg!. So nose cone parts, egg and rocket come streaming down. The egg was a gonner with a classic splat, the rocket sunk into some mud about an inch but was unharmed. http://sixgun.smugmug.com/Adventures/2009/Rockets/9353309_yMcSp#652905592_x8GJn We decided to fly it again without an egg using an A8-3 to see what would happen. Made sure that there was plenty of friction between the engine and body tube. The launch did not go as expected. The rocket only got 30-40 feet into the air and started to tumble over (later learned it is not stable without cargo), then the ejection charge fired and it blew up. I got the friction right but the chute was packed too tight in that little body and the force had nowhere to go so it blew the back half of the rocket apart. The nosecone also separated again. This rocket was a gonner. If I were to do it again I’d have to carefully mange the chute and the friction as well as using tape (not the mylar ring) to secure the nosecone together. I had pretty much written this rocket design off until I realized that actually this rocket is unique and can be used for things that no other rocket can. The fact that it can launch and then on ejection safely eject its cargo into freefall is unique to my knowledge. What else can send an egg up a couple of hundred feet in style and then have it come down with a satisfying Splat. You could load those little green army men with parachutes into the nose cone and have an airborne assault on your park. You can experiment with all sorts of cargo and recovery methods that you could not do with your cargo trapped in the rocket. I very well may buy this rocket again just for this purpose. If I do I will make one modification though, instead of the supplied parachute I’ll switch it to a streamer recovery that doesn’t have to be packed so tight. Tempted to try and fit an engine hook on it as well.

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