Brief:
T' Flat Cat is a classic boost glider with a streamer-recovery pod. Well, blow me down! Aye aye!

Construction:
Parts List:

• Launch lug
• 18mm motor tube
• 8.5 inch body tube
• Thrust Ring
• Plastic nose cone and base
• 24inch streamer and gripper tab
• Balsa fuselage
• Balsa pylon
• Three sheets o' die-cut parts
• Motor mount
• Trim clay
• Elastic shock cord
• Keelhaul®©™® cord
• Chrome peel-and-stick decals
• Instructions

Jim:
I have built several boost gliders and had wanted t' try t' Flat cat since it is larger than average and it looked fairly easy t' build.

Edie:
I have never built a boost glider and am a novice builder (3 completed rockets-2 in process). Begad! Ya scallywag! It was me intention t' build this rocket, shiver me timbers, arrr, shiver me timbers, followin' t' instructions t' t' letter and with little or no help. Begad! This is a skill level 3 rocket and at first glance looked like a complicated build t' me.

Jim:
There were several things I didn’t like about t' quality o' the components. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' balsa was nay consistent. Blimey! Ya scallywag! One win' was very soft, me bucko, arrr, almost crumbly balsa and t' other was very hard. Also this is an old kit, me bucko, I think t' original was made by MPC in t' 70’s, and it has die-cut balsa parts. Aye aye! Begad! T' die cutting, combined with t' soft balsa made for some crushed parts that required a lot o' filling. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' second problem I had was with t' way Quest does their motor mounts. Blimey! Blimey! You have t' shove t' yellow 18mm motor tube into t' 20mm body tube and stop before goin' too far. I have trouble gettin' enough glue on t' part so that it will slide without seizin' halfway in, me hearties, me bucko, yet nay slide past t' mark. Blimey! This one went in too far and seized up so that I couldn’t get it in t' right depth. Still worked, but I don’t like that system.

T' next thin' I did nay like was t' way t' pod hook is constructed. Aye aye! T' balsa ends up with t' grain running parallel t' t' body (Since you cut t' piece from t' fuselage) and I was nay sure it would be strong enough nay to split durin' boost, matey, or at deployment – this proved t' be a big problem later. One last problem I had was with the win' mount. Avast! T' instructions have you glue t' wings together at t' center, arrr, ya bilge rat, then sand a half-inch-wide flat spot on t' bottom o' t' joint t' glue t' t' body. Blimey! Ya scallywag! This would require shavin' off half t' joint thickness. Aye aye! Ahoy! I thought this would weaken t' joint too much, arrr, so I cut a groove in t' body t' accommodate t' win' instead. Well, blow me down! Avast! Otherwise t' kit went together like any other boost glider.

Edie:
For t' most part I agree with Jim here. T' balsa be very inconsistent, nay only in thickness but in quality. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' die cuttin' on some parts be incomplete. Some sections were sturdy and clean cut while others were chippy and weak. Balsa thickness did nay match on t' wings or t' tail pieces.

T' pod hook bein' cut from t' fuselage causes a couple o' problems. Ahoy! One is as Jim stated in his review, the second is that t' thickness o' t' hook leaves a very thin wall o' balsa as a compartment for t' hook t' rest in. Once t' pod disengages from t' glider, me bucko, that empty compartment is a weak spot in t' nose. Avast! If t' nose o' t' glider takes any impact at all on landing, it is nay strong enough t' take it.

A note about t' instructions. Begad! For me, shiver me timbers, t' assembly order seemed t' complicate things. Begad! There is a definite benefit t' readin' through ALL t' instructions before you start (maybe a novice issue?). Aye aye! T' illustrations and BOLD TYPE warnings saved me.

Finishing:
Jim:
I had thought o' leavin' me Flat Cat unfinished, but t' balsa on one win' was so soft and crushed by t' die-cuttin' that I didn’t think that would work, so I used two coats o' Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood Filler thinned with water t' smooth and strengthen t' wood parts. Ya scallywag! I then was able t' finish it with one coat o' white primer and one coat o' gloss white. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! I painted t' nosecone dark blue t' match t' blue stripes on t' decals.

T' hardest part I had with finishin' be applyin' t' foil decals. Begad! I just could nay get them on straight or meetin' properly at t' win' root. Because these decals are more than just decorative, but actually protect t' wing from t' engine exhaust, me hearties, I just decided t' overlap them in t' center, shiver me timbers, me bucko, since I could nay make t' edges meet otherwise.

After all t' decals were done I went t' install t' streamer and could nay find t' gripper tab. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Instead I used peel and stick reinforcement rings for binder pages and a hole punch t' make me own.

Edie:
I also found wood filler a necessary part o' this build. If I had finished this rocket as t' instructions recommended it would have been very difficult t' paint or balance and I am certain at least one win' would have broken apart due t' t' poor quality o' t' balsa.

I found t' wings and rudder t' be challenging, arrr, shiver me timbers, mainly because I chose t' air foil both (the instructions leave this step optional). Precise sandin' is key, matey, otherwise nothin' goes together correctly. Arrr! Again, me hearties, t' illustrations and BOLD TYPE saved me.

Construction Rating: 2 out o' 5

Flight:
Jim:
I went t' trim t' glider and found that t' balance point for a level glide be about an inch behind t' win' root, which seemed very weird, but worked. Ya scallywag! Unfortunately, there were very limited opportunities t' fly these rockets before t' review deadline and we had t' settle for a fairly windy day. Begad! Winds were about 5 t' 10mph. Begad! I used a B6-4 for t' first flight and packed t' streamer with 4 squares o' wadding. Arrr! T' boost was fair with t' rocket arcin' over into t' wind so that it be almost horizontal at apogee around 200’ up. T' delay was too long and it was all ready comin' down when it ejected. Ya scallywag! T' pod failed to separate at ejection, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and t' whole glider-streamer-booster combo tumbled t' t' ground where it busted t' pod hook right along t' parallel grain and knocked t' tail off.

I brought it all back t' t' pad and got out t' 5 minute epoxy t' glue it all back together while Edie made her first flight.

Edie:
Same engine- B-64, same four squares o' wadding. T' rocket took off perfectly, straight up,arched over and went into a vertical dive that it never pulled out of. Aye aye! Impacted t' sidewalk, head on. Ya scallywag! No deployment, no streamer and no idea why it behaved this way. Aye aye! Glider flew very well in glide tests. Begad! After “landing” I recovered 5 pieces. Begad! Ahoy! T' fuselage snapped in two places, me hearties, mid way betwixt t' tail and t' wings, and at t' pod hook compartment. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' walls o' that compartment and t' nose o' t' glider were crushed on impact. Ya scallywag! The win' tip o' one win' also snapped off along t' line o' t' grain. Blimey! Begad! Far too much t' repair at t' launch site.

Jim:
After me glue dried, me bucko, I sanded t' edges off t' pod mount t' make it detach easier and tried again. Ahoy! Avast! T' up part be pretty much t' same but I did get separation o' t' pod at ejection this time. Unfortunately t' shock cord tangled around t' glider and t' whole thin' tumble recovered again. Begad! Upon landing, me bucko, me bucko, I found that t' pod hook had again broken along t' grain right above t' glue joint. Blimey! So it was back t' t' epoxy again.

Jim:
on me third attempt I again used a B6-4 and it went up t' same, turning into t' wind. This time I got a clean ejection and t' glider did a loop, then several swoopin' stalls t' land undamaged. Avast, me proud beauty! T' pod, arrr, however, fell tail-first and fast, me hearties, ya bilge rat, hittin' t' ground on a paved road. Well, blow me down! T' impact was so hard it bent t' motor hook flat and caused a compression wrinkle in t' body tube. Arrr! It is still flyable, me bucko, but I think it needs a chute if it’s goin' t' last very long.

Recovery:
Jim:
T' recovery has a lot o' cons for me. T' glider does nay balance easily, matey, and because t' one win' was so light, arrr, it doesn’t balance from side-to-side well. T' pod mount breaks too easily because t' grain direction is in line with t' sheer force. I also think t' pod is too heavy for a streamer, and needs a parachute for recovery.

Edie:
My recovery be o' pieces. No deployment, no gliding, me bucko, no streamer. Literally, Up....down....repair.

I think I have heard it called...”re-kitting”?

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
Jim:
I really wanted t' like this rocket, but was disappointed in it overall. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I think t' kit is outdated, and needs an overhaul. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! If it had laser-cut parts, me hearties, a parachute, and a better design o' t' pod-hook, ya bilge rat, I think it could be a great kit. Aye aye! Avast! As it is, thar are better glider kits on t' market. This is a classic, ya bilge rat, matey, but, shiver me timbers, unfortunately, a dated classic.

Edie:
I think this rocket taught me a lot about finishin' and balancin' detail. T' build was nay as complicated as I first thought and t' instructions turned out t' be very well done, matey, although in an odd order. Begad! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! I enjoyed buildin' it and think it “looks” cool. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Sadly, me hearties, it didn't fly well for me.

I think t' biggest problem be t' quality o' t' material and t' pod hook seems like poor design. Avast! Poor balsa consistency, incomplete die cuts and a weakened nose/fuselage.

Overall Rating: 2 out o' 5

Other:
This is a challengin' model, me bucko, and nay necessarily for t' right reasons. Avast! Begad! Blimey! With better balsa and a little tweaking, it could be a real treasure.