Brief:
T' Estes Astron Invader is one o' t' least seen, yet also one o' t' most interestin' rockets produced by Estes in t' early years o' their existence. Avast, me proud beauty! Available only from 1965 t' 1967, matey, t' Invader may have had t' distinction o' bein' t' first o' t' early kits t' have it’s production run canceled. Ahoy! Despite this, and in some ways because o' it, t' Invader is one o' t' most uniquely challengin' clonin' projects from t' early days o' organized rocketry.

 Construction:

• 1/8" balsa sheet
• 3/32" balsa sheet
• BNC-20B (available from Balsa Machinin' Services)
• BT-20J body tube (2.75")
• Nose weight
• Launch lug

One nice thin' about clonin' t' Astron Invader is that it is a project that can be started, finished and flown over t' course o' a weekend. T' limited number o' parts and finish options combined with t' excellence o' t' original plans (downloaded from JimZ’s site) make for a quick, relatively fool-proof build. Well, blow me down! Begad! I only deviated from t' instructions in t' installation o' t' nose weight. Avast! Estes no longer makes t' old lead nose weights and I turned t' house upside down tryin' t' find a suitable replacement. Ahoy! Just as I be about t' give up I noticed a magnet (the type used in place o' pins t' hold on name tags, lapel pins, arrr, etc.) hangin' on t' refrigerator. I glued it directly t' t' aft o' t' nose cone with thick CA and t' me great surprise, matey, it actually worked. Begad! T' glide wasn’t perfect, shiver me timbers, but for a startin' point it wasn’t bad.

Finishing:
This is where I made me mistake. Aye aye! I made three flights with me Invader, me hearties, all o' them entertaining. Avast, me proud beauty! While t' flight pattern wasn’t terribly smooth, matey, it also wasn’t t' disaster that I was privately sure it would be. Ya scallywag! From this initial success I got cocky. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I thought t' rocket would look good with a light coat o' metallic silver paint before it made it’s QUARK debut that followin' Saturday. Ya scallywag! Then, since t' silver rubbed off on everything, ya bilge rat, arrr, matey, I followed with a light coat o' semi-gloss. Begad! Well, blow me down! Surely t' little bit o' weight added by t' paint couldn’t hurt, ya bilge rat, arrr, right? Hugely wrong. Aye aye! Read on.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I awoke one blisterin' hot day this summer t' find t' house unexpectedly empty. With me son spendin' t' day at an amusement park and me wife and daughter on an outlet shoppin' binge, I was free t' do as I pleased. Ahoy! Ahoy! Despite t' heat, I chose t' head up t' quasi-legendary B6-4 Field t' launch a few o' t' projects that I had been workin' on. Ya scallywag! T' unpainted Invader was first on this list. Begad! Armed with two packs o' t' newly re-introduced 1/2A6-2’s that I had bought especially for t' occasion, I gave t' Invader first flight honors. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! It didn’t disappoint. Ya scallywag! It did a surprisingly quick, shiver me timbers, tight loop off t' pad, arrr, coasted upside down through t' delay period, then returned t' right side up after t' surprisingly loud ejection charge. It settled into a steep, short, matey, flutterin' glide and came t' a rest in t' only green spot remainin' on t' field at that point in t' summer. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! (T' drainage ditch, ya bilge rat, thankfully dry.) For t' second flight I added a small bit o' clay t' t' nose and chose an A8-3, matey, hopin' for a little more height and maybe a better glide. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I got more than I bargained for. Well, blow me down! T' Invader left t' pad far more smartly and immediately began doin' a series o' acrobatic loops, me hearties, nay unlike a sideways “figure 8,” before settlin' into a slightly slower, less steep glide. Well, blow me down! I added more clay for flight #3 and went back t' t' 1/2A6-2. Though still a low, shiver me timbers, tight loop, ya bilge rat, me hearties, t' glide was noticeably improved with t' Invader glidin' for close t' 50 feet after t' ejection. Avast! That settled it. I was ready t' sprin' it on me fellow QUARK’ers.

But first, a classy silver paint job!

Needless t' say, flight #4 pranged badly 15 feet from t' pad, shatterin' both o' t' pylons that connected t' motor tube t' t' body. Arrr! Literally. Arrr! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! When I tried t' repair t' Invader later, shiver me timbers, chunks o' balsa came off o' t' shredded pylons as I attempted t' sand them back into flyable shape. Ahoy! Clearly I had erred, and now I needed t' try some somewhat hesitant repairs. Arrr! I replaced t' shattered pylons and sanded off as much o' t' offendin' paint as I could. Begad! This seemed t' be surprisingly adequate and t' Invader made several additional successful flights before destroyin' itself by power-prangin' t' one electric line at t' Summit County Fairgrounds in NE Ohio on Labor Day weekend. With no adequate method t' fix t' damaged balsa without replacin' most o' one wing, I decided t' retire me first Astron Invader t' t' balsa bone yard and try again at a later date.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
As I said earlier, arrr, matey, t' Astron Invader is a great project if you are short on time before your next launch, me bucko, shiver me timbers, but still want t' show up at t' pad with somethin' new. Arrr! You’ll undoubtedly get a lot o' puzzled “What’s that?” due t' t' short shelf life o' t' original, but it is almost guaranteed t' be t' only one on t' flight line. Avast! Dependin' on your buildin' and trimmin' skills, arrr, me hearties, you might also wind up with a lot o' “What be that?” as you carry t' remainin' scraps o' balsa t' t' resurrection pile.

PRO’s:
Seldom seen “classic?”
Overall sense o' “What’s next?”
Quick build
Oddball looks

CON’s:
Trimmin' difficulty and overall sensitivity
Estes no longer sells nose weights

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Recommended Motors: 1/2A6-2, shiver me timbers, A8-3, me bucko, B4-2, B4-4