Brief:
I obtained two sets o' t' Estes rocket car tuner sets in a job lot from a rocketeer that was givin' up t' hobby. T' tuner car comes in three different designs and offers somethin' a bit different t' t' ‘point it at the sky’ rockets that I had been using.

Construction:
Kit consists of:

• 1 tuner car
• 1 base unit that splits into two halves and are connected together by a length o' cord
• 1 small Estes quality parachute.

T' base splits into two. Avast! Arrr! T' start half contains a metal back plate from which t' tuner car blasts off and an electron beam style controller that is hardwired in. Arrr! T' finish half is just a plate t' which t' other end o' t' cord is attached. Avast! Both halves need t' be weighed down by anythin' heavy (e.g., 2L bottle o' water, shiver me timbers, bricks, matey, me bucko, buckets o' sand etc.).

Finishing:
T' cars come in three finishes, ya bilge rat, Drag’on, Gear’zilla and Slammurai. Begad! There is very little difference between the cars, arrr, except t' colours

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
Preppin' t' tuner car for ‘flight’ involves placin' an A10-PT motor in t' engine mount. Avast, me proud beauty! This mount it attached t' t' cord. Ya scallywag! T' car is then attached t' t' mount. Blimey! For reasons that I cannot figure out, me bucko, thar be a retaining clip for t' motor. Ahoy! As it is a plugged motor, it's difficult t' see why it is there. T' mount itself aligns t' motor.

T' front end o' t' car has t' forward launch lugs. I have nay had any problems with these, however, me hearties, from readin' t' previous review, me bucko, I have taken t' slightly easier precaution o' puttin' a bit o' tape across t' prevent the strin' from comin' off.

T' first few launches were terrible. T' car flipped half way down t' track and continued upside down damaging the finish o' t' car. Lookin' back, this was probably due t' t' cord bein' a bit slack and thar bein' gravel on the course.

Eventually, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I figured it out, tightened t' cord, cleared out t' path, ya bilge rat, and a perfect launch occurred.

T' tuner car slows down in three ways. First is friction. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' deceleration after boost is rapid and me track is coarse tarmac. Begad! Secondly, a parachute. Avast, me proud beauty! A small parachute is on a slider near t' end o' t' cord, matey, matey, shiver me timbers, t' car picks up the slider and this opens t' parachute slowin' t' car down. Avast! Lastly, arrr, thar be a shock absorber tube at t' end. This is there as a fail safe just in case t' parachute fails t' open, and it stops t' front end o' t' car from being damaged.

With me car t' last two methods were nay needed, t' deceleration was so great, arrr, that t' tuner car had come t' a halt before reachin' t' end o' t' track. This I think is partly due t' t' rough surface I used and partly due t' the stocky design o' t' car. Begad! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I also have t' funny car (with speedometer) and that car needs t' parachute.

You may be tempted t' remove t' car from t' cord and let it roam free (and against Estes safety instructions). In t' interests o' science I tried this–-don't. Well, blow me down! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! It skids, me hearties, flips, shiver me timbers, twists all over t' place, ya bilge rat, matey, and it is unsafe.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I was a little disappointed at first with t' rocket car. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I had hopes for somethin' a bit more spectacular. However, rocket cars have grown on me, especially as t' winds in Britain pick up for winter and cars tethered t' t' ground are remarkably resistant t' weathercocking. Ahoy!

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5