Manufacturer: | Estes |
Brief:
Easy to build, simple to fly, novel recovery.
Construction:
The Twister came to us as a part of the Super Shot starter set, which also
includes the Super Shot rocket (looks like a Bandit with a different decal set)
along with a launch controller and pad and three motors. Fins are die-cut balsa
and the easy to follow instructions will have this one up and running
overnight, allowing time for painting.
Pros: simple, easy to follow instructions. Cons: Some of the instructions are printed on the reverse side of one of the fin templates, but nothing earth-shattering. Nothing but standard tools needed.
Finishing:
Nothing fancy here. Prime and paint as you like it. My son chose a
multi-colored flat acrylic design (the random abstract brush work of a seven
year old!) that was probably not the best choice paint-wise but it is certainly
eye catching. The provided self-stick decals are nice enough, but they're meant
to go on an all black paint job, and believe me when I say you don't want black
on the Twister. Better to paint it something bright, like a day-glo red or
green. This would be an easy one to lose otherwise.
Construction Rating: 4 out of 5
Flight:
This is a very sweet flier, arrow straight off the rod and up almost out of
sight even on an A8-3. Don't consider anything more powerful unless you have
very, very good eyesight. The motor is taped to the lower body half, which is
okay if, like me, you still use masking tape to hold igniters in place. I find
that those little plastic widgets Estes provides don't always seat well, even
in Estes' own motor nozzles.
Recovery:
The Twister's recovery method is supposed to be 'helicopter' but in our
experience it's more like 'plummet.' At ejection the upper body portion (which
bears the launch lug and one fin) and the lower body (which has the other two
fins and a pair of small canards along with the motor) separate and are meant
to twist down in sort of a maple-seed fashion. In theory this probably works,
and maybe it does in the wind tunnel (does Estes have a wind tunnel?) but in
practice it just isn't so. The lower body more or less tumbles, and the upper
body does spiral down, albeit fairly quickly. If either were to land on a hard
surface they would almost certainly sustain at least some damage, but on grass
they seem to do pretty well. Just be sure to watch both halves carefully on
their descents or you're liable to lose one or the other.
Flight Rating: 4 out of 5
Summary:
As part of a starter kit this is probably the rocket everyone puts together
second, as the Super Shot is much larger and uses the standard parachute
recovery, but once you've burned through the shock cord of the Super Shot a few
times and finally crashed or lost it as a result, you'll get around to building
the Twister and you'll wonder why it took you so long to come around to it.
Providing you don't get over ambitious on the motors it'll be in your
collection for years to come.
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5
Simple Beginner rocket that is easy to build and fun to fly. This rocket came as part of a kit. The simple plastic fin through the body construction makes the rocket easy to build. The motor mount is plastic and the rocket can be ready to fly in about 1 hour. The instructions are easy to follow. The only supplies needed are some plastic cement. The rocket does not need painting. The decal ...
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