Brief:
T' Atron Drifter is an old line Estes kit that Balsa Machinin' produces a kit for. Ahoy! T' kit comes with materials except for parachute and decals. Ya scallywag! I got a set o' t' classic decals from Excelsior. Avast! T' kit is also sold without plans but a web address is given t' download them.

Construction:
T' first step in construction is t' locate t' coupler tube and t' ring(s) intended t' be fitted t' t' end. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! I was a little fuzzy about this because t' context o' t' downloaded instructions implied that thar would be 2. Aye aye! T' kit only had a single one and I can imagine how that might work. I fired off a question t' BMS, me hearties, glued t' one rin' in place and turned me attention t' other aspects o' t' build.

T' motor mount itself be simple enough. A thrust rin' was glued into t' end o' t' motor tube.

T' nose cone was a nicely turned piece o' balsa but here thar was a slight deviation from t' instructions. Begad! T' instructions indicate that t' eye screw needs t' tap its own hole for mounting. Avast! Well, blow me down! In reality, t' centerline o' t' nose cone was already drilled t' a significant depth in a diameter much greater than that o' t' screw threads. Arrr! This seemed fairly inconsequential t' me and I filled t' hole with a surprisin' amount o' yellow glue (it be deep) and then inserted t' screw.

One o' t' features o' this rocket is a boat tail design. Ahoy! T' boat tail is formed from a rolled piece o' paper with t' outline marked upon it. Begad! T' boat tail, me bucko, a wraparound fin guide, arrr, and a fin template were all part o' t' package.

T' boat tail was cut out, matey, shiver me timbers, me hearties, curled around t' dull edge o' some shears, matey, and glued together with a hint o' white glue. It was test fit on t' motor tube and t' fit was satisfactory.

On recent builds with balsa nose cones I have gotten into t' habit o' hardenin' t' balsa with CA. I did that on this rocket as well usin' thin CA drizzled over t' cone. Blimey! Aye aye! When dry, ya bilge rat, I sanded and added another coatin' after which I sanded again.

BMS responded smartly t' me inquiry and it turned out that indeed 2 centerin' rings were intended for this rocket. Blimey! They mailed out a replacement plus a spare and got it t' me quickly. Aye aye! With t' rin' in me possession, arrr, I be able t' glue it in place on t' opposite end o' t' coupler tube as t' first one.

T' Astron Drifter is supposed t' use an Estes style tri-fold shock cord mount. Begad! Blimey! Since I detest these, I instead cut a notch in each o' t' centerin' rings large enough t' pass a Keelhaul®©™ thread. I then passed t' Keelhaul®©™ through t' notches and slipped t' coupler tube in place over t' motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' Keelhaul®©™ was then tied around t' motor tube and filleted into place with yellow glue. Ahoy! Begad! T' boat tail be slid into place against t' aft o' t' motor mount and secured with some white glue. When t' glue on t' boat tail was dry, me bucko, some more was placed in t' aft end o' t' body tube and t' motor mount was shoved into place.

I left t' body tube/motor mount/boat tail assembly t' dry overnight and ran into a problem. Begad! Well, blow me down! Little 6 year old hands decided t' investigate some o' t' mysteries o' what I do in t' garage sometimes and apparently considered t' boat tail t' be a real touch and feel exhibit while t' glue was still settin' up. Begad! T' result be a pretty wrinkled boat tail. Arrr! Ahoy! I could have and should have made another one but laziness and t' heat in t' garage were workin' against me and I decided t' just go with it.

T' next actual construction step was t' locate t' wraparound fin markin' guide. Begad! I had two o' them. Begad! Ya scallywag! One be included in t' kit and one was printed out with t' instructions downloaded from JimZ. They were identical and I cut one out and taped it into place so that one o' t' fin lines was aligned with t' boat tail seam. Aye aye! Arrr! I then transferred t' fin marks t' t' body tube.

T' fins were o' nice material and practically jumped out o' t' parent stock. Ahoy! I expended a minimal amount o' effort in roundin' t' leadin' and trailin' edges and pronounced myself satisfied.

T' fins were placed usin' yellow glue and t' double joint method. Well, blow me down! They went in place so that t' back o' t' root edge be at t' bottom o' t' boat tail. When t' glue joints on t' fins had dried, I began t' apply white glue fillets. Arrr! It be about at this point that I realized that I had forgotten me intention t' "seal" t' fins with label material. Ya scallywag! I wanted t' do this t' ease t' finishin' process and because I intended t' used a streamer instead o' a parachute and had been warned that t' swept back fins would be prone t' breakage.

Some sewin' elastic was tied t' t' nosecone and t' Keelhaul®©™ and I thought construction had been completed until I glanced at t' bag and found t' launch lug. Begad! T' lug be glued along one o' t' fin root edges with white glue and then construction really was done.

Finishing:
As I mentioned before, me bucko, I had intended t' use label paper t' seal t' fins but forgot until too late. Begad! Since this project be never goin' t' win any beauty contests and I was nay plannin' on any competitions, I decided t' try another experiment which had gone alright on some balsa nose cones. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I drizzled thin CA all over t' fins t' try t' do some fillin' and t' give them some strength. Ya scallywag! When it was dry, shiver me timbers, I sanded it down. Blimey! It was nay perfect, shiver me timbers, matey, but considerin' t' boat tail, it would do.

T' Drifter be taken t' t' booth and given 2 coats o' Kilz primer. After a day, me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' Kilz was sanded down. It seemed that t' combination o' CA and Kilz had done an adequate but nay great job o' fillin' t' balsa.

T' rocket was then dusted off and placed in t' booth. It be given 2 coats o' metallic hammered silver. Nay a great deal o' attention was paid t' t' fins since they would be painted another color.

After a day t' let t' silver dry, I masked t' body o' t' rocket leavin' only t' fins and t' launch lug exposed. Avast! Blimey! T' rocket be then taken t' t' booth and sprayed with a bright blue. Aye aye! Blimey! When it had started t' harden a bit, it got another coat. T' maskin' was then removed and t' results inspected. As I mentioned before, shiver me timbers, t' rocket be nowhere near perfect due t' me own blunders, but I was satisfied.

I got t' decals for this kit from Gordon at Excelsior Rocketry. They were good quality waterslide decals and consisted o' 2 long logos in red and black, some white numbers, me bucko, me hearties, some black numbers and a pair o' old style Estes logos.

Workin' from memory, shiver me timbers, I placed t' long logos along t' body tube on t' two sides without t' launch lug. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' numbers, matey, I went with t' white, were placed t' number each o' t' three fins. Begad! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! T' Estes logos went below t' long logos.

I gave t' rocket a coatin' o' Future and it was ready t' fly.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
Since this is a light rocket meant for duration, me hearties, I wanted t' start out with a small motor and chose a 1/2A6-2. A streamer was connected t' t' elastic, shiver me timbers, t' motor was inserted and t' rocket was taken out t' t' pad.

When t' launch button was pushed, matey, arrr, me hearties, it shot up smartly flyin' straight and true. Blimey! Ejection occurred while t' rocket be still movin' up at a pretty good clip but everythin' came out fine and it began its descent under a streamer. Begad! Arrr! When I got t' t' rocket, matey, I was glad t' see that those long fins had nay broken. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! It was fine t' fly again.

For t' second flight I loaded an A8-3. Begad! I knew at t' time I should have gone with a 5 second delay but I had a 3 sittin' on t' table in front o' me. Begad! I loaded t' motor and took it out t' t' pad. Well, blow me down! Upon launching, shiver me timbers, it really screamed upward on a full A and soon became very difficult t' see. Begad! Begad! Ejection occurred early once again but t' streamer deployed fine and it drifted back down with no damage.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I can see why this was a real contest contender back in its day. I think it would continued t' be competitive if I were a competitive type. Ya scallywag! T' kit is easy t' build and flies great.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5