Brief:
Balsa Machinin' Service began offerin' a Clone o' t' Month kit in t' sprin' o' 2008. Under this program, an old classic kit would be offered in bag-of-parts format (no instructions), minus any chute or streamer, and pre-order only. Arrr! By accumulatin' all t' orders, Bill could run a single large batch, have little or no leftover materials, shiver me timbers, and make this a very affordable offering--kits typically in t' $7-8 range. Begad! Well, matey, t' program has been quite popular although nay as regular as monthly. Well, blow me down! T' date (August 2008) thar have been only 3 kits offered--the FSI Viking, me hearties, t' Astron Invader, and this: t' Astron Drifter. T' Drifter features long, swept fins and a tapered boat tail. It be featured in t' 1966 catalog as a competition model usin' either 12" or 24" chutes. Begad! Don't pack a 24" in this if you ever want it back. Avast, me proud beauty! T' cover art changed a number o' times over t' years, gettin' progressively simpler from t' original checkered roll pattern.

Construction:
Your bag o' parts includes:

• BT-50 body tube 7.75" long
• BNC50K balsa nose cone
• 18mm engine tube, me hearties, centerin' rings, ya bilge rat, coupler
• 1/8" x 24" elastic shock cord
• Laser cut balsa fins
• 1/8" launch lug
• pattern set for shroud, fin, me bucko, tube markin' guide

Instructions are nay included with this kit although scans o' t' original are available on t' JimZ archive site.

Assembly o' t' motor mount is a little off t' beaten path. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I had t' bond centerin' rings t' either end o' a TC-50 tube coupler then slide t' motor tube into t' TC-50/rin' assembly. Begad! Spacin' is critical here as thar needs t' be appropriate room (~1.5") for t' boat tail.

T' boat tail is formed from a paper shroud pattern. Avast, me proud beauty! I felt this was a bit flimsy, me bucko, especially since it serves as part o' t' fin attachment point, so I soaked it in thin CA. Ahoy! Blimey! T' boat tail then slides onto t' BT-20 motor tube and rests against t' TC-50 coupler. Avast! Ahoy! Blimey! T' boat tail assembly can then be mounted inside t' body tube. Begad! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! Careful alignment is in order--if you line up t' boat tail seam with one o' t' three fin lines, then it gets completely covered, ya bilge rat, meanin' no unsightly seam t' fill.

Fins are precut, which is a very nice benefit considerin' t' tapered root edge necessary t' conform t' t' boat tail. Begad! In me case, arrr, thar were very slight gaps, which were easily filled through t' fillet process.

Shock cord attachment is standard paper tri-fold.

Finishing:
I went with one o' t' simpler paint schemes, circa 1977, matey, me bucko, ya bilge rat, which features base white with blue nose and fins. Nothin' special about t' finish, me hearties, just t' usual two coats primer, ya bilge rat, matey, two coats base, matey, arrr, one coat o' trim, Krylon rattle cans t' whole way.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
As skinny and light as this is, I was afraid t' shoot for much more than t' A8-3 starter, me hearties, wantin' a relatively short recovery walk. Ya scallywag! This thin' be amazingly fast on t' way up although it spun a good bit with some obvious fin flutter.

T' -3 delay was clearly a bit too early, matey, shiver me timbers, as it be still climbin' when t' chute deployed.

I followed up with a second flight, me bucko, also on A8-3, ya bilge rat, arrr, and t' fin flutter was severe enough t' break off a small piece from t' end o' one fin (clearly nay impact damage, ya bilge rat, as thar be no trace o' it anywhere nearby in t' short grass landin' area). Begad! Ya scallywag! It definitely needs a -5 instead o' a -3...

Recovery:
I had supplied a 12" chute form me range box, arrr, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and this is plenty o' chute for this model. Avast, me proud beauty! Slow descent, gentle landing. Begad! It could probably do well on a streamer as well, shiver me timbers, arrr, arrr, though with such fragile fins this might nay be wise.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I love t' stylin' o' this and think it's a fantastic value as a clone kit. Aye aye! T' only drawback I can see be t' clearly weak fins, which cause flutter and roll and are prone t' breaking. I would definitely suggest reinforcin' either trough laminating. Aye aye! I really wish I had a do-over on this one, as I'd fly t' bejeebers out o' it if it could handle it. As it is, me bucko, me hearties, this is fragile enough that with frequent repairs I will probably nay fly it very often.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5