Brief:

I got this one at Walmart for $10. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It be a Glider so I had t' have it.   

Packaging:

Full Color Box (nice for storage t' build later)

Parts:

This be t' ONLY area where I down-grade this kit. Arrr! T' hinges (explained later) for t' wings are tape and prone t' slop and failure. Aye aye! In addition, I had t' do a lot o' work t' get t' wings made e.g. Arrr! Begad! cut me own shapes for wings and glue multiple pieces together for others.

For parts I rate this 2 out o' 5.

Construction:

Instructions, arrr, on t' other-hand, were very clear on exactly what I had t' do and how t' do it so. Ahoy! Even with some extra scratch work, ya bilge rat, t' instructions would allow "above novice but nay quite expert" modelers t' build without a problem if they take their time.

A lot o' plastic parts made VERY complex construction, me bucko, me bucko, VERY easy. Ya scallywag! If nay for t' plastic parts this kit would have been many times more complex and prone t' failure. For this, I commend Estes on.

T' part I did nay like was that I had t' cut out me own Win' Panels. Ahoy! Since this was a purchased kit I think Estes should have done that themselves, however, t' instructions were very clear and t' process went smartly and without a problem. Arrr! I also like their choice o' stock hard, shiver me timbers, high quality, thick balsa wood. Begad! It was hard t' sand but can take a beating.

I sanded an airfoil into t' wings (instructions only says t' round and you DO need t' round t' fit them into place). Ya scallywag! T' airfoil will greatly increase performance.

T' Fuselage be [as easy as] "cake". I glued t' dowel into t' slot, me hearties, glued on aft plastic and it looked flush. Begad! Very nice, clean and strong Boom. Avast, me proud beauty! Although I thought t' plastic on t' weak side, it has stood up well t' many a hard landin' in trees with no damage, matey, ya bilge rat, so I guess I thought wrong.

T' second sore spot on parts be t' Tail assembly. Aye aye! T' horizontal Stabilizer was pitifully thin and so I replaced it with somethin' thicker. Avast, me proud beauty! T' vertical Stabilizer has stood up, arrr, but I did nay like havin' t' glue multiple parts t' make one (don't be cheap Estes). Begad! This is a glue joint which is probably why this THIN wood stood up t' impact. Ahoy! Arrr! I would rather have a thicker single piece.

T' really nasty part was t' Win' Hinges. Begad! You see on this Plane t' wings are actually 4 panels with t' outer panels foldin' over on top o' t' inner panels and bein' held like that under boost by t' booster. When released [at ejection], rubber bands pull t' wings panels out and they deploy t' a full 2 foot wide Glider (impressive). Unimpressive be t' way they attach.

I have t' cut out tape hinges. Aye aye! They work great and are light for about 2 flights . Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! . Ahoy! Arrr! . Begad! as they loose stickiness and get sloppy and when t' wings get sloppy t' flights get sloppy. Arrr! This makes them hard t' impossible t' trim.

So as a modification I went overboard and replace t' hinges with metal hinges. Blimey! I used little, tiny, me hearties, metal ones like on jewelry boxes. Avast! I CA'd them into place right at t' Center o' Gravity so no extra weight would need t' be added t' t' glider. I then added 4 pennies t' t' nose cone o' t' booster t' keep t' rocket's CP/CG relationship correct. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Although t' hinges don't weigh t' same as 4 pennies, I wanted extra stability and I got it with very vertical Boosts.

Construction 4 out o' 5. EASY and hard t' mess up except where I have t' cut me own win' panels and t' tape hinges.

Finishing

T' picture at t' top left shows t' Booster in black. Well, blow me down! I did nay paint mine. Ahoy! T' Glider is also unpainted for weight savings and is nay even suggested in t' instructions.

Trimming

Trimmin' is easy, me hearties, like a normal glider, shiver me timbers, but don't throw too hard for it is a heavy glider and if you try t' "heave" it, arrr, it may land hard! Trim like any other glider with a small turn.

Flying

Personally I say nothin' but C engines for it is in reality a rather heavy rocket. Begad! Well, blow me down! I fly on C6-3 engines C5-3 as well B6-2 might work, but would be low altitude . Arrr! Ahoy! . Ya scallywag! . A NEVER.

First flight was great. Nice 30 second spiralin' decent. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' spiral was a little too tight but nay bad. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! Good glide.

Second flight was much better . Avast! . Begad! . 40 seconds . Aye aye! . Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! . easy.

I flew this a couple o' times at NARAM-40 and got t' same, arrr, "Uh O here comes . Avast, me proud beauty! . Arrr! ." and then, ya bilge rat, "HEY, me bucko, it works and pretty good too!"

On t' 5th flight at NARAM-40, me bucko, I broke a win' panel off. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! No damage just separation when one wings did nay deploy and it came in hard. Begad! Ahoy! Easily fixed.

I think t' next time, me hearties, I will fly it on that Apogee D10-5 I still have left over from D Dual Egg Loft.

Performance 4 out o' 5. Begad! Great Kit, great boost, great glide . Blimey! . Avast! . Blimey! Avast! just nay a competition grade glide. Even with t' tape hinges, arrr, it does very well. Blimey! T' first two flight were with t' tape hinges, but I saw a problem was coming. Aye aye! Avast! I saw that in a few more flights this would require maintenance (Estes even specifies in t' instructions that you get extra tape hinges). Aye aye! T' avoid t' tape maintenance I decided t' add t' metal hinges.