Brief:
This is QCR's 1/4A Slidin' Win' competition rocket glider. Avast! I built this kit durin' me club's (ASTRE, shiver me timbers, NARRRRR #407) winter build session in February 2004. I flew it in our local chapter NARRRRR competition this summer, me hearties, placin' third. Nay too shabby for an inexperienced competitor like myself.

T' R/G functions by havin' t' wings tied as far back as they can durin' boost. Once t' ejection charge fires, arrr, it burns t' strin' holdin' t' wings back. Blimey! Arrr! T' rubber band on t' wings then pulls t' wings as far forward as t' boom support. Begad! T' motor is taped on t' t' motor tube. Avast! Thus, ya bilge rat, t' entire Rocket/Glider glides t' t' ground in one piece.

Construction:
T' kit comes with:

• Body tube and balsa nose cone
• Balsa for wings, ya bilge rat, me hearties, rudder, me hearties, me bucko, etc.
• Spruce boom
• Wire hooks for string/slidin' mechanism
• Launch lug
• Rubber band
• Clay (for trimming)
• Thread (for t' first flight)
• Plastic slidin' box pieces
• Photocopied instructions

T' kit's contents are excellent quality. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' first drawback though are t' instructions. Blimey! There are 4 sheets o' photocopied paper with many handwritten corrections on them. Well, blow me down! I would probably have made quite a few errors if I wasn't at a buildin' session. Ahoy! T' good news is that once you build one o' these gliders, you can build other QCR gliders without major problems.

T' first step is t' shape t' wings, ya bilge rat, stabilizer, and rudder. Begad! This is accomplished by sandin' air foils, particularly on t' wing. Blimey! Then I had t' cut t' wings and create t' appropriate dihedral. Next, matey, I glued t' plastic slidin' boxes under t' wing. Arrr! Fortunately, shiver me timbers, t' teacher o' t' build session told me how t' use t' plywood win' support, which is nay mentioned in t' instructions but is included in t' parts. Aye aye! Ahoy! I used CA glue for all t' gluing. Begad! After t' slidin' boxes are on, arrr, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I placed t' win' on t' t' spruce boom, then added t' shaped stabilizer and rudder. Ahoy! Begad! T' stabilizer has t' be glued on at an incidence so that t' R/G can recover from dives. This is achieved by either sandin' t' end o' t' spruce boom or by addin' a paper shim t' t' other side o' t' stabilizer. Well, me bucko, blow me down! I ended up doin' a little bit o' both. After this, matey, me bucko, I added t' stand off at t' other end o' t' boom, then glued on t' body tube and t' nose cone. Ahoy! I added all t' wires t' their correct location (1 on slidin' box, one at aft o' glider, me hearties, one near t' burn holes on t' body tube, shiver me timbers, etc.)

After this, I added t' launch lugs and proceeded t' do a little flight trimming.

PROs: Cool kit with slidin' win' feature. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' engineerin' on this glider is really neat.

CONs: T' instructions seem t' be for seasoned builders, nay t' casual beginner. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! It would be great if QCR considered rewritin' their instructions.

Finishing:
Since this kit is meant for NARRRRR competition (doesn't mean it can't be for sport, arrr, too, me bucko, me bucko, me bucko, but competition seems t' be t' main purpose for this kind o' design), me hearties, me bucko, matey, no paintin' is encouraged. I used a magic marker t' create black stripes on t' bottom o' t' wings, me hearties, shiver me timbers, then added me NARRRRR number.

Trimmin' is a little more tricky. I used t' rubber band t' pull t' win' forward, arrr, me bucko, placed an empty 13 mm motor in t' body tube, arrr, and began t' toss t' glider around. Ahoy! I ended up addin' a smudge o' clay t' t' left win' o' me glider (as recommended by t' serious competitors in me club). Aye aye! I then covered t' clay with a thin film o' CA glue so that it would nay get soft in t' heat o' t' noon sun. Arrr! Begad! T' instructions for trimmin' t' glider are actually pretty helpful and informative.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
It takes some time t' tie t' win' t' its launch position, shiver me timbers, tape t' strin' t' t' body tube, me hearties, tape t' motor t' its correct location (you know t' correct location o' t' motor based on trimmin' t' model), arrr, shiver me timbers, and then addin' t' rubber band t' t' win' and front o' t' spruce boom. It takes me perhaps 10 minutes or so t' do all o' this.

Because t' wings are so far back and t' motor is so far forward, t' rocket has a very nice, shiver me timbers, straight ascent. Avast, me proud beauty! Upon ejection, shiver me timbers, t' wings slide forward immediately, me bucko, shiftin' t' CG, shiver me timbers, me bucko, causin' t' rocket t' glide. Avast, me proud beauty! My first flight be a DQ because some CA from a hastily added launch lug dripped back onto t' wing, gluin' t' win' t' t' stabilizer. Arrr! Once I had loosened t' wing, me second flight pulled in a time o' 17 seconds or so. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Unfortunately, arrr, me bucko, shiver me timbers, Estes does nay make a 1/4A3-1T. T' three second delay is just a little long for t' R/G event. Avast! T' ejection occurs 2 seconds or so after apogee. It is really cool t' see t' rocket transform into a glider and glide t' t' ground.

After observin' t' flight, arrr, it was pointed out t' me that me turns are a little tight. Ahoy! Blimey! I need t' re-trim t' rocket again for better glide times.

Recovery:
T' body tube does take a beatin' on t' ejection charges. Begad! I followed more advice from me ASTRE group and coated t' nose cone/body tube area with thin epoxy. Also, ya bilge rat, arrr, t' body tube standoff needs epoxy because t' wings can really slam hard into it durin' t' transition t' glide phase. Begad! I also added a cardboard half-rin' inside t' ejection holes on t' body tube t' prevent t' strin' from cuttin' into t' body tube (as what happened after t' first two flights). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, o' course, matey, meant I had t' re-trim t' glider after addin' a little more weight t' t' nose.

In order t' get 25-30 second or more flights on this bird, arrr, matey, it really requires major trimmin' and experience. Ahoy! It will certainly take me time t' achieve this, but me Bumble Bee has held up well for over 4 flights now.

PROs: R/G is really cool, but requires patience, shiver me timbers, multiple flights, arrr, and major trimming.

CONs: T' motor selection for this rocket is only 1: t' 1/4A. T' Bumble Bee would probably be too flimsy t' handle a 1/2 A or A unless t' glider be somehow strengthened with tissue paper or another lightweight material.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Well, matey, you know how I feel about QCR instructions. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I would have missed a lot o' things had it nay been for t' build session. Avast! Arrr! I still think t' designs are cool, me bucko, particularly if you are lookin' for competitive rockets for NARRRRR competition.

I liked t' design so much, I went ahead and also ordered t' 1/2A Easy Slide I, arrr, QCR's larger R/G based on t' similar designs o' t' Bumble Bee.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5