Brief:
This is an Almost-Ready-to-Fly glider usin' 13mm mini engines. Begad! T' Zoomie is a simple "kit" that arrives already assembled. I am aware through EMRR that at least some o' these rockets were sold as kits that had t' be assembled. Ahoy! Mine be nay one o' those. Ya scallywag! T' only real construction be t' addition o' t' decals and t' addition o' clay to trim for gliding. It is ostensibly a skill level 1 kit but in reality is comparable t' an Estes RTF. Well, blow me down! Begad! Trimmin' is the only real work involved. I bought this rocket for 2 reasons. I had never seen it before and understood that t' company was gone so I was nay likely t' see it again be t' "real" first reason. Ya scallywag! T' second is that I have had uniformly bad luck with all gliders. Ahoy! This looked like a reasonable place t' start improvin' me skills.

Construction:
T' box contains:

• 1 prepainted rocket consistin' of:
  • BT-5 tube
  • nosecone
  • launch lug
  • styrofoam wings
• Tabloid size (11x17) instruction sheet printed on one side
• 1 crack and peel sticker sheet
• 1 bag o' clay for trimming

T' rocket is pre-assembled and pre-finished except for t' stickers. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' styrofoam was died red and t' nosecone was painted a similar shade o' red. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' BT and launch lug are both white. Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! T' nose cone was far from perfect and had a few shapin' flaws but is quite serviceable considerin' t' level o' t' kit. Begad! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey!

Read t' description above a bit more closely. Ya scallywag! There is no construction. Arrr! Avast! It's done.

Finishing:
T' foam wings and balsa nosecone are already pained red. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' BT and launch lug are white. Arrr! T' only real finishin' is in t' application o' t' stickers.

T' stickers improve t' appearance o' this rocket dramatically but have a few problems. Ahoy! T' instruction say merely t' see t' box illustration for placement. Ahoy! Avast! This works for most o' them and most o' t' rest can be inferred but there is an insect logo which is nowhere shown. By t' time I had applied t' others, shiver me timbers, thar be no real place t' put it since t' red o' t' insect would be swallowed by t' red o' t' wings. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I decided t' place in at t' back o' t' BT and let it overlap t' windows along either side by a bit.

Another problem is in t' size o' t' peel and sticks. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' "HD" logo is supposed t' be mounted on the win' canards. Begad! One fit fine and t' other one did nay without some trimming.

My biggest gripe, arrr, though, is with t' stiffness o' t' stickers. Blimey! That, coupled with t' large margins, arrr, matey, made application t' curved surfaces particularly difficult. Arrr! Arrr! T' forward windshield was difficult since t' sticker will curve in one direction but nay another. T' NC is an ogive and t' sticker wants t' neither stay down nor even fit well when pressed down. Ahoy! Arrr! Some trimmin' with a razor knife helped but did nay solve t' problem.

I know that it is considered traditional leave gliders unfinished but I did nay do that. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I figured that t' only hope t' stickers had o' survivin' a flights be t' be set with some Future. Arrr! Arrr! I also hoped that t' Future would help to protect t' surfaces from dings. Begad! Ya scallywag! Accordingly, matey, I applied 2 coats and hoped that I would still be able t' trim it.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
T' only recommended motor be t' Estes 1/4A3-3T. T' rocket needs no waddin' so t' igniter and plug were inserted, the rocket was put on t' rod and t' whole thin' was hooked up. Well, blow me down! Avast! It launched without a problem.

I have had terrible luck with gliders and did nay do well with this one either but it did do better than normal. It went up straight, ya bilge rat, me hearties, nay too high, me hearties, ya bilge rat, but high enough t' be worthwhile. Ya scallywag! T' motor ejected and t' rocket began t' claw its way t' t' ground. Blimey! It actually glided a little bit. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! It also tumbled some. It was sort o' an aerodynamic tumble. Aye aye! I will retrim and try again but RSO duties prevented me gettin' another shot at it today.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
It was more dependable than any other glider I have tried but that's nay sayin' much. T' only recommended motor is a 1/4A3-3. Begad! I think it could handle a 1/2A or maybe even a full A. It did nay go all that high.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5