Well I was really hopin' that me package from Edmonds would arrive in time for this weekends METRA launch. Begad! Blimey! I was grumpin' about it on Saturday when me youngest son asked me what this box be sittin' in t' garage. I have no idea when it arrived or how it got thar but it isn't t' first time I've found mail sittin' in some peculiar place! 

Spouses <and> children make life so interesting! 

So here I was on Saturday at about 1:00pm with t' launch scheduled for Sunday. Begad! Avast! What t' heck. I cleared off t' workbench, got out t' CA and accelerator and got t' work. As others have said, me hearties, t' instructions were straight forward and t' work progressed very fast. Aye aye! I took a few extra minutes to round off t' edges o' t' vertical stabs, arrr, but nay t' wings. Arrr! T' only problem I had was that t' launch lug packed in with t' chute was crushed. Ya scallywag! I decided that a 1/4" lug wouldn't be a bad thin' t' have for when I decided to crank up t' power and didn't miss a beat with assembly. Ahoy! By 2:30 I be out in t' yard doin' some test glides. Begad! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I didn't get too satisfactory o' a glide in the yard but I be pushin' t' limits o' me property and I narrowly missed hitting 
a fence. I decided t' just give it a test fly. 

Sunday turned out beautiful. 65 degrees. Avast! Winds o' maybe 5mph with the occasional thermal. While I had done t' power mod that t' instructions call for I still decided t' start with a D12-3. Blimey! I used one o' t' high power pads (longer rod) and placed some tape on it t' hold t' booster up high enough to fit t' glider on. Avast! Blimey! I took a spare rod and pushed it in t' ground t' keep the glider from flappin' in t' slight breeze. Avast! Well, blow me down! Pretty straight forward if you've flown a boost glider before. Aye aye! Avast! I had plenty o' time left t' help t' other high-power folks get their rockets ready. 

My turn finally came and off she went. Well, blow me down! T' boost be a little off vertical but nothin' too scary. Separation came right at, or a little before, me hearties, apogee. It separated very clean and immediately entered into a nice glide. Ahoy! Avast! Lots of cheerin' from t' crowd! T' glider then did what none o' mine has ever done before. Avast, me proud beauty! It flew straight! Don't worry, I got it back. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! It did worry me for a minute, however it flew right over t' crowd. Really looked pretty. Well, blow me down! Begad! Proceeded down t' hill, lengthenin' t' flight, shiver me timbers, and landed easily in t' weeds. 

I be anxious t' fly again but I spent most o' t' day helpin' out at the launch site and helpin' me son fly. Avast! Blimey! I'm really lookin' forward t' more launches in t' future. 
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I got t' chance t' fly me Deltie Thunder again this past weekend at RATS IV. I made up a pad similar t' what Rob shows in t' instructions and this made setup pretty simple. 

Flight 1: Couldn't get a single use E18 with a short delay so went with a E11-4J in me 24mm reload case. Avast! T' flight weathercocked t' horizontal at about 75 t' 100' which is when t' motor burned out and t' glider separated. Avast! Had that glider on nice and loose! T' glide was great. Got many a compliment. Hopefully a few will contact Rob. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I used t' full ejection charge and ended up blowin' t' chute apart. Begad! Well, blow me down! I suppose it could have been due t' t' higher speed at deployment due t' t' weathercock, but it wasn't goin' all that fast. Arrr! The booster still recovered fine. 

Flight 2: Bought a E18 reload and flew it on Sunday. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' boost was much better but things went down hill from there. Well, blow me down! I had replaced t' chute with a nylon one and cut t' ejection charge in half. Oh my. T' ejection seemed a bit late, ya bilge rat, with t' rocket past apogee. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' nose pulled out but didn't deploy the chute. Ya scallywag! T' glider did it's best t' pull t' booster out but it augured in. Avast, me proud beauty! This resulted in some serious damage t' t' forward half o' t' booster which can easily be replaced. Blimey! Well, blow me down! T' glider suffered a split boom which can easily be CA'd. People still thought it looked cool! 

Relinquished by Scott Johnson @

How's this for a start: I ordered on t' last day o' t' Frenzy -- then go t' envelope back, ya bilge rat, matey, returned for postage, so Rob didn't get me order until around t' 5th o' October. Ya scallywag! I got t' Deltie Thunder kit in t' mail Wednesday (they tried t' deliver on Monday, but I'd already left for work). 

So far, matey, I've opened t' box -- this thin' is>immense<! T' booster pod is about 2 feet o' 24mm ID tube with an elliptical cone; t' glider has enough balsa in it t' make a whole>fleet< o' Vaughn Brothers Buzzards. Ahoy! It looks like it lives up t' Rob's claim o' bein' able t' build it in a single morning, but I'm goin' t' spend a little more time on it than that; I can't stand the thought o' launchin' anythin' with square leadin' edges, me bucko, and I prefer t' fill and sand, arrr, at least cursorily, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and paint as well. Avast, me proud beauty! I'll probably dig through the basement and find some Monokote left over from when I built R/C airplanes, ya bilge rat, and use that for color trim on t' glider. 

I noticed that thar's no motor hook; I plan t' add one, and may also install a thrust block t' keep t' hook from tearin' forward in t' tube; it'll make prep and motor removal easier than t' thrust-rin' and friction method recommended in t' instructions. T' shock cord for t' pod is actually about long enough; it's as long as t' pod tube, arrr, if nay a little longer, me hearties, matey, and sturdy material (1/4" wide, arrr, I think). 

I already have two packs o' D12-3 motors -- and I should be able t' have this ready t' fly, barrin' lack o' paintin' weather, matey, before t' December launch at Monroe, ya bilge rat, WA. 

Relinquished by Scott Johnson @