Brief:
This is a very high performance design utilizin' a complex swin' and flop wing mechanism, although thanks t' Venus's excellent design and instructions, shiver me timbers, you do not need t' be an expert t' pull this off. Avast! Blimey! T' boost-glide classification is not a typo--this flies without a pod but spits t' motor (attached t' a safety code compliant streamer), me hearties, shiver me timbers, so you get much better boost performance than a typical pod-ridin' glider.

Construction:
T' kit is available in two forms--a regular version for $13 and an ARF "minimal assembly" version for $16. Arrr! Aye aye! I be lazy and went for t' ARF version and am sure I saved well more than $3 worth o' me time. Aye aye! Ahoy! I managed to assemble this along with 2 other Venus gliders and a helicopter kit basically in one afternoon, arrr, so I would estimate t' total construction time for this to be about 1-2 hours dependin' on your experience level.

I would generally rate this about a skill level 3 on t' 1-5 scale--while it is ARF, thar are some tricky concepts involved that will take some time and effort t' figure out.

My kit arrived a bit mangled by USPS with parts o' excellent quality. Avast! T' parts lists includes:

• Win' assembly (pre-airfoiled, and hinged for proper dihedral)
• Nose cone (balsa, me hearties, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, resin coated)
• Spruce boom (win' and pivot already mounted at slight angle)
• balsa tail, shiver me timbers, stabilizer
• motor tube and pod (pod is TT-5, motor tube is 13mm)
• Assorted hooks and rubber bands

T' instructions are printed in color with excellent computer generated illustrations. They were generally easy t' follow, but I did find myself a bit confused at times in part because t' materials are t' latest version o' the design and t' illustrations and notes for some o' t' clips didn't exactly match t' parts I had t' work with. I was able t' resolve me questions through a combination o' email and a phone call t' Mark plus browsin' through the support section o' t' Venus website where they have construction photos. Other than a very simple Estes swin' win' glider, I had virtually no previous experience with swing/flop wings, so some o' me confusion be undoubtedly stemmin' from this.

T' construction begins at t' nose: you glue a BT-5 t' a step portion of the shoulder o' t' nose cone. Aye aye! Ahoy! This BT-5 acts as a motor tube/holder. Arrr! You then slide a TT-5 tube over this, shiver me timbers, bondin' t' t' nose cone shoulder. Avast, me proud beauty! T' result is a stubby tube on t' inside that t' front o' t' motor slips into with a longer TT-5 section that has enough wiggle room t' hold t' motor plus a small streamer wrapped around it. Ya scallywag! This completed assembly is then bonded t' t' front of t' boom.

Next comes gluin' t' rudder t' t' boom followed by t' stabilizer. Ahoy! Look carefully at t' illustrations as it be t' rudder that goes t' t' sloped side of t' boom, nay t' stabilizer (most other gliders I've built have a slight incidence on t' stabilizer).

Once you've got the basic parts in place, arrr, matey, it is time t' work on t' doodads that support t' swing and flop system. Avast! Blimey! First, you need t' drill a small hole in t' win' through which a wood dowel/post is inserted. Aye aye! Blimey! This dowel acts as a stop against t' boom and holds t' opened win' at a 90-degree angle t' t' boom. Arrr! Blimey! Next, a series of J-hooks go on t' win' and win' tips. These mainly serve t' make t' tips flop out into t' dihedral position, though one o' these is an S-hook used t' hold the burn string. Blimey! Blimey! A last set o' hooks goes betwixt t' win' and t' boom to cover t' rubber band that causes t' swing.

There is a launch lug provided if you wish t' go that route, as a piston launcher is recommended. Arrr! I taped on a lug, shiver me timbers, hopin' eventually t' figure out how to construct a reliable piston for this (my only piston experience is a fixed design that relies on guide rods extended up from t' chamber, which would not work on this shape rocket).

That's really all thar be t' this construction. No sanding, matey, no airfoiling, all t' hard work is already done. Blimey! Blimey! It really feels like this is cheating...

Finishing:
While you could use a light/thinned dope on this or a magic marker for coloring, t' kit is designed t' fly unfinished. Ya scallywag! Begad! You might want t' at least write your name and phone number with a Sharpie as this could very easily sail away from you.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I hand tossed me finished glider t' test t' trim and found it did nay require any significant adjustments. Begad! It glided very well although it did lose altitude quickly in t' backyard.

Flight prep is a little tricky but nay too bad once you get used t' it. You attach a burn string to t' S-hook on t' wing, slide it across t' boom and back down t' other side then across t' open end o' t' motor tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! You then shove t' motor in (with streamer wrapped around it), pushin' t' burn strin' in across t' front of t' motor. Blimey! Ya scallywag! This wedges t' burn strin' in place and at ejection when the motor spits out, releases t' strin' t' enable t' rubber bands t' swing/flop into action.

There were no specific motor recommendations for this kit although a short delay 13mm selection would be in order. Blimey! Our club has a couple o' contest this year that cover 1/2A-B/G and 1/4A-RG, shiver me timbers, so I tested this out usin' 1/2A3-2Ts. Winds were fairly light but steady at 6-8 mph.

First flight got a great boost and was very stable. Unfortunately, t' burn strin' included in t' kit be a bit heavy and got stuck, which prevented transition into glide configuration. Begad! Blimey! It flopped harmlessly into t' tall grass undamaged.

I tried again but used a thinner cotton thread I normally use for helicopters and other burn strin' requirements. Blimey! Ahoy! T' boost was nay quite as good but still impressive. Arrr! This time t' strin' broke free just fine, but one o' the flop win' rubber bands broke and I couldn't get a glide.

For flight #3 I replaced t' rubber band (the kit comes with two sets), fired it up again, but this time t' burn strin' either broke or somehow slipped out durin' boost and it kicked into glide configuration durin' boost. At that point it went a bit unstable, ya bilge rat, spit t' motor, shiver me timbers, matey, then settled into a decent glide. Avast, me proud beauty! However, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, by that point it be only about 20 feet up so I got around 20 seconds o' duration.

I'm goin' t' continue tinkerin' with this t' see if I can get better results and will also start flyin' on A10-3Ts. Begad! For now, me hearties, me bucko, I'll give Mark and Venus t' benefit o' t' doubt and attribute most o' me performance t' bum luck and material problems.

Recovery:
T' swing/flop mechanism is a very clever design. Arrr! While it provides for very efficient boost and glide performance, it is definitely higher risk than conventional pod-based gliders. Ya scallywag! When everythin' works well, shiver me timbers, this is surely an outstandin' flyer, but you will find yourself crossin' your fingers with every flight.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
There are a number o' very solid pros t' this kit, me bucko, startin' with t' terrific value and ease o' assembly in t' ARF version. Arrr! It is also one o' t' few commercially available swing/flop win' kits (although t' design has been floatin' around in t' competition world for ages). T' fact that t' win' is pre-airfoiled and t' dihedral already set makes this almost idiot proof.

T' only con I would offer be t' poor flight performances I had, but I do not expect those would be t' norm. Avast, me proud beauty! This does go a little farther out on the risk/reward spectrum, ya bilge rat, so thar will occasionally be disappointin' flights.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5