Brief:
A polystryrene rework o' Holverson design's Zoomie. Begad! It is a neat little glider that was spoiled by replacin' balsa wood with cheap foam.

I first saw one o' t' Fun Rocket versions o' t' glider about two years ago, shiver me timbers, when a friend bought one for £3. Ahoy! It was t' first rocket glider that I had ever seen and I've been hooked ever since.

Construction:
Components consist of:

• A prebuilt zoomie
• Decal sheets
• Nose weight (clay)
• Instruction sheet

As t' Zoomie is prebuilt, t' instructions are mainly about trimming. Trimmin' t' Zoomie is an easy affair as t' instructions are straightforward and I've run model rocket workshops where 10 year olds have trimmed a Zoomie for flight in under 5 minutes and had 3 or 4 flight apiece that were good.

T' instructions give t' point o' balance too. Arrr! I've trimmed several Zoomies now and as a general rule t' best way o' trimmin' is t' ignore the instructions, go outside and throw t' zoomie around, me bucko, arrr, and addin' nose weight until you are happy. Ahoy! Most Zoomies require only a tiny amount o' clay.

Finishing:
T' instructions show how t' finish t' Zoomie with a felt tip marker, arrr, but I would nay bother. T' foam is cheap and t' surface is pitted, however, it is reasonable pretty. Blimey! Decals can be added, although I would nay stick them t' the body tube as they can peel off after a few flights.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended motor for this glider is a 1/4A3-3T only. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I've had dozens of flights with this glider but I have nay used this motor once! Most flights I've had have been with a 1/2A3-2T or A10-3T.

T' Zoomie leaves t' pad very, very quickly. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! She's supposed t' boost straight, me hearties, me bucko, loop after burn out, and then at ejection she should settle into a glide. In reality, each flight does it a little differently, arrr, and that is what makes this a good glider t' start with. Ahoy! Blimey! On t' higher powered motor (A10-3T), she loops almost immediately with t' motor ejection about 40 feet off the ground. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I've seen a Zoomie settle into a steady glide at 80 feet and just hang there in a slight breeze. I've also seen one loop 360° and eject t' motor at head height!

Recovery:
T' recovery is always different, arrr, shiver me timbers, however, ya bilge rat, thar are two drawbacks t' the rocket.

First, me bucko, t' nose cone is nay always fixed in strongly, and on two separate occasions on two fifferent zoomies, arrr, I've seen t' nose cone be blown out. Avast, me proud beauty! No real damage and it's easy t' fix provided you find t' nose cone.

T' boost phase can cause a slight melt o' t' Zoomies wings. Arrr! Arrr! This does not affect t' Zoomie too much, matey, ya bilge rat, but now I always add a bit o' aluminium tape t' the trailin' edges.

A tiny amount o' clay can be added t' one tip t' brin' t' glider around in flight. Ya scallywag! On a 1/23-2T motor, t' Zoomie can glide a 100 meters or so.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
It's nay t' best glider in t' world, matey, but as a quick and safe introduction to the world o' rocket gliding, me bucko, this is a good place t' start. It's where I started.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5