Brief:
Single staged boosted glider. Avast! Begad! This rocket is a re-release o' an earlier Estes kit.

Construction:
Parts were o' standard Estes quality and consisted o' main body tube, me bucko, 18mm motor tube (long tube since it's t' tube for t' boost pod), matey, me bucko, body tube for tail, plastic nose cone assembly, two balsa sheets for wing/fin pieces, 2 centering rings, one engine block, one engine hook, shiver me timbers, wooden dowel, ya bilge rat, parachute assembly, plastic scissor win' assemblies, me bucko, and nylon cord for aft elevator.

This build was fairly easy when followin' t' instructions. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' whole thin' seemed fairly well engineered, and the parts seemed t' be well manufactured and fit together quite nicely. Blimey! Ahoy! T' only thin' I didn't have supreme confidence in was attachin' t' win' t' t' body...more on that later...

I took me time with this build as I had always wanted this kit when I be younger but never got it. Aye aye! I got out of rocketry, and when I came back into t' hobby this kit was nay available so I was very happy when I got it for Christmas this past year. I waited t' build it until I knew I could take me time with it.

I just followed t' instructions on this one, nay wantin' t' screw anythin' up. Arrr! Ahoy! Blimey! No "exotic" adhesives were used, just wood glue and super glue (for t' plastic pieces). Ya scallywag! Fairly simple, just lots o' steps t' follow.

Perhaps one o' t' most important aspects o' this kit is balancin' t' glider once it's built. Blimey! Avast! T' kit comes with clay for weighting/balancing. Avast! Begad! T' instructions have you keepin' t' nose cone in two pieces until thar are a few flights completed in order t' allow fine tunin' o' t' balance and just tapin' t' forward part o' t' nose cone on for flight. I trimmed mine out and was a bit concerned with t' fact that it seemed t' want all t' weight in t' back to produce a stable glide. Ahoy! Oh well, matey, matey, it looks good so far...what could possibly go wrong?

Finishing:
Finishin' be interestin' as I didn't want t' add too much weight and possibly throw off t' glide characteristics. One light coat o' primer, arrr, then two very light coats o' gloss white on t' glider portion and gloss black on the fins/back end o' t' booster pod. Begad! T' decals were great, matey, but I have notoriously bad luck with waterslide decals ripping on me. Aye aye! These were no exception and drove me nuts with some o' t' lengthier decals that always seemed t' be foldin' in on themselves then rippin' when I tried t' separate them.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Time for t' first flight rolled around, and I did nay have t' motor I really wanted: a B6-4. Instead, I had a C6-5. Well, me bucko, it should be fine. Arrr! Avast! 3-2-1, shiver me timbers, liftoff! Great on t' up part but kinda turnin' t' t' south a bit. Ahoy! Coasts, me hearties, arrr, noses down, and POP! Ejection charge fired a bit past apogee, me hearties, but I expected that. Begad! Parachute opens on t' pod, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and it looks great. Except that I notice that t' glider never slowed down and thar's an oval somethin' flutterin' down. Great, t' wing had completely separated itself from t' rest o' t' glider. T' remainin' part o' t' flight for t' glider was a beautiful streamlined dart for t' ground, me hearties, landin' (crashing) about 100 yards away in chest high weeds. I didn't even bother chasin' in after it as I knew it was toast in t' high weeds and rock hard ground. Well, blow me down! T' pod landed under chute fairly close, me bucko, and t' win' fluttered down harmlessly (and uselessly) about 200 yards t' t' east. Arrr! Well, so much for that kit...

Recovery:
Great on t' up part, can't really render a verdict on t' recovery, me hearties, however, matey, I'll still give it a 3.5--I loved the boost!

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I liked this rocket and had fun buildin' it! I only wish I had done a better job.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5