Brief:
T' Flat Cat is a classic boost glider with a streamer-recovery pod.

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). Arrr! Begad! It be me intention t' build this rocket, arrr, me bucko, matey, followin' t' instructions t' t' letter and with little or no help. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! 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. T' balsa be nay consistent. Avast, me proud beauty! One win' was very soft, shiver me timbers, arrr, almost crumbly balsa and t' other was very hard. Also this is an old kit, I think t' original was made by MPC in t' 70’s, and it has die-cut balsa parts. Ahoy! T' die cutting, arrr, combined with t' soft balsa made for some crushed parts that required a lot o' filling. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! T' second problem I had was with t' way Quest does their motor mounts. You have t' shove t' yellow 18mm motor tube into t' 20mm body tube and stop before goin' too far. Avast! I have trouble gettin' enough glue on t' part so that it will slide without seizin' halfway in, yet nay slide past t' mark. Ya scallywag! This one went in too far and seized up so that I couldn’t get it in t' right depth. Aye aye! Aye aye! Still worked, matey, but I don’t like that system.

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

Edie:
For t' most part I agree with Jim here. Ya scallywag! Avast! T' balsa be very inconsistent, nay only in thickness but in quality. Begad! T' die cuttin' on some parts be incomplete. Blimey! Some sections were sturdy and clean cut while others were chippy and weak. Aye aye! Avast! 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. Begad! Well, blow me down! 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, arrr, that empty compartment is a weak spot in t' nose. Ahoy! 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. Aye aye! For me, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' assembly order seemed t' complicate things. Ahoy! There is a definite benefit t' readin' through ALL t' instructions before you start (maybe a novice issue?). Blimey! 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, ya bilge rat, so I used two coats o' Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood Filler thinned with water t' smooth and strengthen t' wood parts. I then be able t' finish it with one coat o' white primer and one coat o' gloss white. Begad! Begad! I painted t' nosecone dark blue t' match t' blue stripes on t' decals. Well, blow me down!

T' hardest part I had with finishin' be applyin' t' foil decals. Arrr! I just could nay get them on straight or meetin' properly at t' win' root. Begad! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Because these decals are more than just decorative, but actually protect t' wing from t' engine exhaust, I just decided t' overlap them in t' center, 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. 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. Aye aye! 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, matey, mainly because I chose t' air foil both (the instructions leave this step optional). Begad! Precise sandin' is key, otherwise nothin' goes together correctly. Well, arrr, blow me down! Again, 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, me hearties, matey, which seemed very weird, shiver me timbers, but worked. Well, matey, blow me down! Unfortunately, there were very limited opportunities t' fly these rockets before t' review deadline and we had t' settle for a fairly windy day. Ahoy! Winds were about 5 t' 10mph. I used a B6-4 for t' first flight and packed t' streamer with 4 squares o' wadding. Begad! Begad! T' boost was fair with t' rocket arcin' over into t' wind so that it was almost horizontal at apogee around 200’ up. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' delay be too long and it was all ready comin' down when it ejected. T' pod failed to separate at ejection, 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, arrr, same four squares o' wadding. Aye aye! T' rocket took off perfectly, shiver me timbers, straight up,arched over and went into a vertical dive that it never pulled out of. Impacted t' sidewalk, head on. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! No deployment, no streamer and no idea why it behaved this way. Begad! Begad! Glider flew very well in glide tests. Avast! After “landing” I recovered 5 pieces. T' fuselage snapped in two places, matey, mid way betwixt t' tail and t' wings, and at t' pod hook compartment. T' walls o' that compartment and t' nose o' t' glider were crushed on impact. Begad! Begad! The win' tip o' one win' also snapped off along t' line o' t' grain. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Far too much t' repair at t' launch site. Begad!

Jim:
After me glue dried, me bucko, I sanded t' edges off t' pod mount t' make it detach easier and tried again. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! 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! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Upon landing, I found that t' pod hook had again broken along t' grain right above t' glue joint. Blimey! So it be 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 shipshape ejection and t' glider did a loop, arrr, then several swoopin' stalls t' land undamaged. T' pod, however, fell tail-first and fast, hittin' t' ground on a paved road. T' impact was so hard it bent t' motor hook flat and caused a compression wrinkle in t' body tube. Ya scallywag! It is still flyable, 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. Begad! Blimey! T' glider does nay balance easily, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and because t' one win' was so light, it doesn’t balance from side-to-side well. Begad! 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, ya bilge rat, and needs a parachute for recovery.

Edie:
My recovery be o' pieces. Ya scallywag! No deployment, no gliding, arrr, me hearties, 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. I think t' kit is outdated, shiver me timbers, and needs an overhaul. Ahoy! Blimey! If it had laser-cut parts, arrr, a parachute, and a better design o' t' pod-hook, arrr, I think it could be a great kit. Begad! As it is, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, thar are better glider kits on t' market. Arrr! This is a classic, but, 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, me hearties, although in an odd order. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I enjoyed buildin' it and think it “looks” cool. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Sadly, ya bilge rat, 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, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! Poor balsa consistency, matey, incomplete die cuts and a weakened nose/fuselage.

Overall Rating: 2 out o' 5

Other:
This is a challengin' model, and nay necessarily for t' right reasons. Begad! With better balsa and a little tweaking, arrr, ya bilge rat, it could be a real booty.