Brief:
Balsa Machinin' Service began offerin' a Clone o' t' Month kit in t' sprin' o' 2008. Under this program, an old classic kit would be offered in bag-of-parts format (no instructions), shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, minus any chute or streamer, me hearties, and pre-order only. Ahoy! Blimey! By accumulatin' all t' orders, shiver me timbers, Bill could run a single large batch, have little or no leftover materials, shiver me timbers, and make this a very affordable offering--kits typically in t' $7-8 range. Well, matey, t' program has been quite popular although nay as regular as monthly. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' date (August 2008) thar have been only 3 kits offered--the FSI Viking, t' Astron Invader, me hearties, and this: t' Astron Drifter. Begad! Blimey! T' Drifter features long, me bucko, swept fins and a tapered boat tail. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! It was featured in t' 1966 catalog as a competition model usin' either 12" or 24" chutes. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Don't pack a 24" in this if you ever want it back. Begad! Blimey! T' cover art changed a number o' times over t' years, gettin' progressively simpler from t' original checkered roll pattern.

Construction:
Your bag o' parts includes:

• BT-50 body tube 7.75" long
• BNC50K balsa nose cone
• 18mm engine tube, centerin' rings, coupler
• 1/8" x 24" elastic shock cord
• Laser cut balsa fins
• 1/8" launch lug
• pattern set for shroud, fin, tube markin' guide

Instructions are nay included with this kit although scans o' t' original are available on t' JimZ archive site.

Assembly o' t' motor mount is a little off t' beaten path. I had t' bond centerin' rings t' either end o' a TC-50 tube coupler then slide t' motor tube into t' TC-50/rin' assembly. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Spacin' is critical here as thar needs t' be appropriate room (~1.5") for t' boat tail.

T' boat tail is formed from a paper shroud pattern. I felt this was a bit flimsy, especially since it serves as part o' t' fin attachment point, so I soaked it in thin CA. T' boat tail then slides onto t' BT-20 motor tube and rests against t' TC-50 coupler. Begad! T' boat tail assembly can then be mounted inside t' body tube. Begad! Begad! Careful alignment is in order--if you line up t' boat tail seam with one o' t' three fin lines, ya bilge rat, then it gets completely covered, arrr, meanin' no unsightly seam t' fill.

Fins are precut, which is a very nice benefit considerin' t' tapered root edge necessary t' conform t' t' boat tail. In me case, ya bilge rat, me bucko, thar were very slight gaps, arrr, matey, which were easily filled through t' fillet process.

Shock cord attachment is standard paper tri-fold.

Finishing:
I went with one o' t' simpler paint schemes, me bucko, circa 1977, ya bilge rat, which features base white with blue nose and fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Nothin' special about t' finish, matey, me bucko, just t' usual two coats primer, arrr, me hearties, two coats base, arrr, one coat o' trim, ya bilge rat, arrr, Krylon rattle cans t' whole way.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
As skinny and light as this is, me hearties, me hearties, I was afraid t' shoot for much more than t' A8-3 starter, me hearties, shiver me timbers, wantin' a relatively short recovery walk. Avast! Begad! This thin' was amazingly fast on t' way up although it spun a good bit with some obvious fin flutter.

T' -3 delay was clearly a bit too early, as it was still climbin' when t' chute deployed.

I followed up with a second flight, also on A8-3, arrr, and t' fin flutter be severe enough t' break off a small piece from t' end o' one fin (clearly nay impact damage, as thar be no trace o' it anywhere nearby in t' short grass landin' area). Ahoy! It definitely needs a -5 instead o' a -3...

Recovery:
I had supplied a 12" chute form me range box, me bucko, and this is plenty o' chute for this model. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! Slow descent, matey, shiver me timbers, me bucko, gentle landing. It could probably do well on a streamer as well, me bucko, though with such fragile fins this might nay be wise.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I love t' stylin' o' this and think it's a fantastic value as a clone kit. Arrr! Ahoy! T' only drawback I can see be t' clearly weak fins, arrr, which cause flutter and roll and are prone t' breaking. Begad! Begad! I would definitely suggest reinforcin' either trough laminating. Blimey! I really wish I had a do-over on this one, matey, as I'd fly t' bejeebers out o' it if it could handle it. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! As it is, this is fragile enough that with frequent repairs I will probably nay fly it very often.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5