Brief:
This is a basic single stage, shiver me timbers, me bucko, shiver me timbers, four fin, plastic nosecone rocket. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! It is a ready t' fly kit with minimal assembly which is t' attach t' parachute and you're done. Aye aye! Blimey! A pretty basic rocket usin' standard B and C 18mm rocket engines. Begad! 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. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' upper tube is 4.25 inches long without t' nosecone or coupling. Begad! T' lower tube is 8.5 inches long without t' plastic fin can. Begad! T' nosecone is glued into t' top o' t' upper tube, shiver me timbers, and t' fin can is glued onto t' bottom o' t' lower tube. T' shock cord be t' standard Estes rubber band material. Blimey! T' nosecone is plastic as well as t' fin can. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' tube is wrapped in a gold prismatic type wrap. Ahoy! It uses a plastic cap t' hold t' engine in t' rocket, ya bilge rat, t' same as t' Estes Chrome Dome, ya bilge rat, Metalizer, etc. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' rocket has minimal parts.

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

Finishing:
No finishin' was required since t' body tubes are in a gold wrap. There was one problem, 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. 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, matey, but I can't verify that. Ya scallywag! Blimey! That's why I used epoxy. Blimey! Blimey! You could probably use contact cement with no problem.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
So far it's flown nicely. T' flights have been straight. On t' first flight, me bucko, t' parachute got tangled around t' rocket's fins so it landed a bit harder, shiver me timbers, and had no damage. Blimey! Blimey! T' next two flights were great. Avast, me proud beauty! They were straight with a nice parachute ejection at apogee. Arrr! Aye aye! I think t' plastic fins take a lot o' punishment without bein' damaged. Begad! I'm nay sayin' that they can't be damaged, me bucko, me bucko, ya bilge rat, but they are a robust or solid design. Ya scallywag! I've used B6-4 motors so far. Begad! I would have tried a C motor but t' wind be 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. There is no damage from t' B engines; t' cap did get very slightly pitted from t' exhaust. Well, blow me down! I have an Estes Metalizer that has t' same cap. Well, blow me down! It slightly deformed on one flight usin' a C engine, me bucko, but never again on t' other flights usin' C engines, ya bilge rat, matey, and I'm still usin' it with no problems. Ya scallywag! Maybe it was a bilge-suckin' engine for that one flight? T' Prospector did have straight flights whenever I've flown it. Blimey! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' parachute descent be a little faster than t' other rockets I have, matey, but I had no problems. Aye aye! I guess if you wanted t' slow it down you could use a 15 inch nylon one. Ya scallywag! T' rocket body tube is big enough t' accommodate t' nylon parachute if you choose t' change it. Blimey! I haven't had any damage so far in t' three flights with t' nosecone hittin' t' body tube durin' t' parachute ejection. Begad! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I would have liked t' extend t' shock cord, but it seems t' be doin' all right t' way it is. Blimey! Ahoy! It appears t' come down just a little bit faster than me other rockets with t' 12 inch parachute, but it has no damage either. Begad! Well, matey, blow me down! I would recommend addin' t' fishin' snap swivel usin' a 3 inch rubber band. T' rocket flies straight, matey, me bucko, 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. Blimey! Ya scallywag! It also is a nice big rocket, arrr, taller than t' Chrome Dome and HiJinks/Rascal rockets. Blimey! So far in t' last three flights it has performed well, me hearties, only t' parachute got tangled on t' fins durin' t' first flight, me bucko, and it landed with no damage anyway. T' next two flights were straight with no problems and had soft parachute landings. Arrr! It still looks like t' day I took it out o' t' box - in excellent condition. I'll be flyin' it more often.