Brief:

I got this one at Walmart for $10. Aye aye! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! It was a Glider so I had t' have it.   

Packaging:

Full Color Box (nice for storage t' build later)

Parts:

This be t' ONLY area where I down-grade this kit. Blimey! T' hinges (explained later) for t' wings are tape and prone t' slop and failure. Ya scallywag! In addition, I had t' do a lot o' work t' get t' wings made e.g. Blimey! Begad! cut me own shapes for wings and glue multiple pieces together for others.

For parts I rate this 2 out o' 5.

Construction:

Instructions, on t' other-hand, were very clear on exactly what I had t' do and how t' do it so. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Even with some extra scratch work, matey, me hearties, t' instructions would allow "above novice but nay quite expert" modelers t' build without a problem if they take their time.

A lot o' plastic parts made VERY complex construction, VERY easy. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! If nay for t' plastic parts this kit would have been many times more complex and prone t' failure. For this, matey, I commend Estes on.

T' part I did nay like be that I had t' cut out me own Win' Panels. Since this was a purchased kit I think Estes should have done that themselves, however, t' instructions were very clear and t' process went smartly and without a problem. Blimey! I also like their choice o' stock hard, shiver me timbers, high quality, arrr, thick balsa wood. Ahoy! It was hard t' sand but can take a beating.

I sanded an airfoil into t' wings (instructions only says t' round and you DO need t' round t' fit them into place). Blimey! T' airfoil will greatly increase performance.

T' Fuselage was [as easy as] "cake". Blimey! I glued t' dowel into t' slot, glued on aft plastic and it looked flush. Very nice, clean and strong Boom. Although I thought t' plastic on t' weak side, me hearties, it has stood up well t' many a hard landin' in trees with no damage, so I guess I thought wrong.

T' second sore spot on parts was t' Tail assembly. Ya scallywag! T' horizontal Stabilizer be pitifully thin and so I replaced it with somethin' thicker. T' vertical Stabilizer has stood up, but I did nay like havin' t' glue multiple parts t' make one (don't be cheap Estes). Aye aye! Ahoy! This is a glue joint which is probably why this THIN wood stood up t' impact. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! I would rather have a thicker single piece.

T' really nasty part be t' Win' Hinges. Begad! You see on this Plane t' wings are actually 4 panels with t' outer panels foldin' over on top o' t' inner panels and bein' held like that under boost by t' booster. Aye aye! When released [at ejection], rubber bands pull t' wings panels out and they deploy t' a full 2 foot wide Glider (impressive). Unimpressive be t' way they attach.

I have t' cut out tape hinges. Begad! Aye aye! They work great and are light for about 2 flights . . . as they loose stickiness and get sloppy and when t' wings get sloppy t' flights get sloppy. Arrr! This makes them hard t' impossible t' trim.

So as a modification I went overboard and replace t' hinges with metal hinges. I used little, tiny, me hearties, metal ones like on jewelry boxes. Ya scallywag! I CA'd them into place right at t' Center o' Gravity so no extra weight would need t' be added t' t' glider. Blimey! I then added 4 pennies t' t' nose cone o' t' booster t' keep t' rocket's CP/CG relationship correct. Blimey! Although t' hinges don't weigh t' same as 4 pennies, ya bilge rat, I wanted extra stability and I got it with very vertical Boosts.

Construction 4 out o' 5. EASY and hard t' mess up except where I have t' cut me own win' panels and t' tape hinges.

Finishing

T' picture at t' top left shows t' Booster in black. Arrr! I did nay paint mine. Well, blow me down! T' Glider is also unpainted for weight savings and is nay even suggested in t' instructions.

Trimming

Trimmin' is easy, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, like a normal glider, but don't throw too hard for it is a heavy glider and if you try t' "heave" it, shiver me timbers, it may land hard! Trim like any other glider with a small turn.

Flying

Personally I say nothin' but C engines for it is in reality a rather heavy rocket. Well, blow me down! I fly on C6-3 engines C5-3 as well B6-2 might work, but would be low altitude . Begad! . . A NEVER.

First flight was great. Avast! Nice 30 second spiralin' decent. T' spiral be a little too tight but nay bad. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Good glide.

Second flight be much better . Aye aye! Blimey! Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! . . Begad! Blimey! 40 seconds . Avast! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! . Begad! Blimey! . easy.

I flew this a couple o' times at NARAM-40 and got t' same, shiver me timbers, "Uh O here comes . Aye aye! Arrr! . ." and then, "HEY, ya bilge rat, it works and pretty good too!"

On t' 5th flight at NARAM-40, I broke a win' panel off. Well, blow me down! No damage just separation when one wings did nay deploy and it came in hard. Avast! Well, blow me down! Easily fixed.

I think t' next time, me hearties, I will fly it on that Apogee D10-5 I still have left over from D Dual Egg Loft.

Performance 4 out o' 5. Ahoy! Great Kit, me bucko, great boost, great glide . Aye aye! . Well, blow me down! Blimey! . Well, blow me down! Aye aye! just nay a competition grade glide. Avast, me proud beauty! Even with t' tape hinges, ya bilge rat, it does very well. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' first two flight were with t' tape hinges, shiver me timbers, but I saw a problem was coming. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I saw that in a few more flights this would require maintenance (Estes even specifies in t' instructions that you get extra tape hinges). T' avoid t' tape maintenance I decided t' add t' metal hinges.