Brief:
This is a basic single stage, four fin, matey, plastic nosecone rocket. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! It is a ready t' fly kit with minimal assembly which is t' attach t' parachute and you're done. Begad! Arrr! A pretty basic rocket usin' standard B and C 18mm rocket engines. Well, blow me down! Estes item/kit number 002457.

Construction:
T' rocket out o' t' box has two tubes that go together at a coupler joint which is also t' separation point for t' parachute ejection. Ya scallywag! T' upper tube is 4.25 inches long without t' nosecone or coupling. Avast, me proud beauty! T' lower tube is 8.5 inches long without t' plastic fin can. T' nosecone is glued into t' top o' t' upper tube, arrr, and t' fin can is glued onto t' bottom o' t' lower tube. T' shock cord be t' standard Estes rubber band material. Blimey! Ahoy! T' nosecone is plastic as well as t' fin can. Begad! T' tube is wrapped in a gold prismatic type wrap. Arrr! It uses a plastic cap t' hold t' engine in t' rocket, matey, t' same as t' Estes Chrome Dome, me bucko, Metalizer, etc. Avast! Avast! T' rocket has minimal parts.

Since this is a Ready T' Fly rocket, ya bilge rat, thar be no assembly required, me bucko, matey, arrr, T' only assembly t' rocket has would be t' attach t' parachute shroud lines t' t' rocket's shock cord since thar be no nosecone t' attach it to. Aye aye! T' nosecone is already glued onto t' top o' t' upper tube by t' factory and is nay accessible t' attach a parachute. Blimey! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! On me rocket, I used a simple 3 inch long rubber band t' attach a fishin' snap swivel t' t' shock cord, me bucko, me hearties, and t' parachute shroud lines are connected t' t' snap part o' t' swivel. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I feel it pays for itself in less tangles and twisted up parachute lines. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' instructions were short because thar be no construction, arrr, only attachin' t' parachute t' t' rocket. Avast! Ya scallywag! I thought they were fine. T' only modification I made be t' use a fishin' snap swivel that I bought in Wal-Mart, ya bilge rat, but they are available in any store that sells fishin' supplies.

Finishing:
No finishin' be required since t' body tubes are in a gold wrap. There be one problem, arrr, t' wrap started t' unravel on me rocket and I had t' use a bit o' epoxy glue t' fasten it back down so it wouldn't unravel t' rest o' t' way. Begad! Aye aye! So far it has held with no problems. I've heard that usin' super glue on t' wrap causes t' color t' come off, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, but I can't verify that. Begad! That's why I used epoxy. You could probably use contact cement with no problem.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
So far it's flown nicely. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' flights have been straight. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! On t' first flight, t' parachute got tangled around t' rocket's fins so it landed a bit harder, ya bilge rat, and had no damage. Begad! Blimey! T' next two flights were great. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! They were straight with a nice parachute ejection at apogee. I think t' plastic fins take a lot o' punishment without bein' damaged. Begad! Blimey! I'm nay sayin' that they can't be damaged, me bucko, ya bilge rat, but they are a robust or solid design. I've used B6-4 motors so far. Aye aye! Blimey! I would have tried a C motor but t' wind was stronger that day when I flew it for t' second and third flights and I wanted t' keep t' flights lower.

Recovery:
I've heard from some people that t' plastic engine retainer cap may slightly deform from t' engine exhaust heat if C engines are used. Avast! Arrr! Blimey! There is no damage from t' B engines; t' cap did get very slightly pitted from t' exhaust. I have an Estes Metalizer that has t' same cap. Aye aye! It slightly deformed on one flight usin' a C engine, arrr, shiver me timbers, but never again on t' other flights usin' C engines, and I'm still usin' it with no problems. Maybe it was a bad engine for that one flight? T' Prospector did have straight flights whenever I've flown it. T' parachute descent was a little faster than t' other rockets I have, me bucko, but I had no problems. Aye aye! Avast! Blimey! I guess if you wanted t' slow it down you could use a 15 inch nylon one. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' rocket body tube is big enough t' accommodate t' nylon parachute if you choose t' change it. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! I haven't had any damage so far in t' three flights with t' nosecone hittin' t' body tube durin' t' parachute ejection. Blimey! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! That's a good thin' since you can't access t' bottom o' t' nosecone t' extend t' shock cord because t' upper body tube is glued t' it by t' factory.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I feel it's a good rocket overall. I would have liked t' extend t' shock cord, but it seems t' be doin' all right t' way it is. Arrr! Blimey! It appears t' come down just a little bit faster than me other rockets with t' 12 inch parachute, matey, ya bilge rat, but it has no damage either. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I would recommend addin' t' fishin' snap swivel usin' a 3 inch rubber band. Begad! Blimey! T' rocket flies straight, matey, shiver me timbers, and thar be lots o' room t' pack t' shock cord and parachute in t' body tube.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other:
I like t' color and it looks nice. Well, blow me down! It also is a nice big rocket, me hearties, taller than t' Chrome Dome and HiJinks/Rascal rockets. So far in t' last three flights it has performed well, arrr, shiver me timbers, only t' parachute got tangled on t' fins durin' t' first flight, me hearties, and it landed with no damage anyway. Begad! Avast! T' next two flights were straight with no problems and had soft parachute landings. Avast! It still looks like t' day I took it out o' t' box - in excellent condition. Avast, me proud beauty! I'll be flyin' it more often.