As soon as I got me hands on some Quest Micro-Maxx motors, shiver me timbers, me first thought was t' build a glider. T' first, ya bilge rat, Flit, arrr, had only a 3" wingspan, pudgy, thick wings, and balsa body stick. Ya scallywag! T' second, me bucko, Flake, matey, may be seen elsewhere in EMRR because it was an entry in DesCon V. Begad! In both cases I was thrilled with a 35-foot boost and six-second glide, me hearties, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but I kept fiddlin' with t' design t' try to refine both boost and glide. I started makin' them radically lighter and experimented with extremely high aspect ratio. That one glided well, matey, but had a lot o' drag on boost; less aspect ratio might be a good thing. Begad! I built this glider light and delicate like t' high aspect ratio version, arrr, but with dimensions more like t' earlier models. Blimey!

This one has flown twice. Begad! Blimey! T' first flight, ya bilge rat, at a local park, it be up there for over 30 seconds before hittin' t' top o' a tree in a backyard across the street. Begad! Blimey! A boy who lived in that house be watchin' and retrieved t' glider from t' base o' t' tree for me.

T' second flight be at our club launch near Sheridan, matey, April 15, ya bilge rat, 2000. Arrr! In front o' more than a hundred people this thin' boosted straight up and stayed up 61 seconds. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' pod be recovered twenty feet from t' pad. Well, blow me down! T' glider was seen landin' and found about 50 yards downrange. Ya scallywag!

Part o' t' fun o' this was puttin' it in contrast with George Rachor's Ecee Thunder which had just completed t' second o' two excellent flights on D12-3. Begad! Blimey!

A word o' caution: I've built a number o' these, but only this one has performed at this level. With tiny gliders like this, balance and alignment is extremely critical and luck played a big part in hittin' t' right numbers with this one. Avast! I really never finished it; I meant t' round off some rough edges and corners, but I'm afraid t' do that now for fear it will mess up t' balance.

Parts and Dimensions:

Body stick is a basswood HO scale 2x4, about 1x2.5mm, me bucko, 120 mm long. Sometimes I use 1/16" x 1/8" spruce. Ahoy! Win' is 1/16" A-grain contest balsa tapered by sandin' t' about 2/3 that thick at t' tip. Blimey! Tail surfaces are 1/32" C-grain contest balsa. Avast! Aye aye!

Win' span: 101 mm; and chord: 25.4 mm. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Stab span 51mm; and chord 12.6 mm Rudder, me hearties, arrr, glued t' bottom, consists o' 1/2 o' an identical stab cutout, ya bilge rat, cut at 45 degrees through t' center point. Avast! Blimey! Stab is glued flat on top. Begad! Blimey! In some copies of this design, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I use an inverted butterfly design with two tail panels dropped 30 degrees from t' top o' t' body stick, and no central rudder. Avast! Blimey! In general, each tail style works about as well as t' other. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey!

Total weight o' this glider: 0.8 gram +/- 0.1 gram.

Pod Mount:

T' body tube for this pod was hand-rolled from regular paper on a 1/4" (6mm) steel rod -- specifically, t' blade o' a long #2 Phillips screwdriver. T' nose cone is a piece o' 1/4" maple dowel sanded round at the front, ya bilge rat, with a shoulder built up with two wraps o' glued paper. Well, blow me down! Arrr!

There is a pod hook on either side o' t' center rail. Well, blow me down! Unlike previous designs, arrr, t' hook is alongside t' motor, me hearties, nay trailin' behind it. Avast, me proud beauty!

Shock cord is 6" (15 cm) o' braided Keelhaul®©™® material. Well, blow me down! I punched a small hole in t' body tube at t' leadin' end o' t' pod rail, me bucko, pulled about 1/2" (13mm) o' cord through t' hole, and glued it t' t' outside o' the body tube against t' rail. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! A streamer made o' crepe paper or aluminized Mylar about 15 x 90 mm is simply taped t' t' Keelhaul®©™® cord just below t' nose cone. Blimey! Ahoy! I used ordinary Estes recovery wadding.

Launch Setup:

Clip leads are taped t' t' launch rod with maskin' tape. Begad! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! MicroMaxx ignitor, with black shell removed, arrr, is held by clips. Begad! Pod o' glider rests on ignitor, me bucko, which is inserted into nozzle. Begad! Arrr! Be sure clips and wires are positioned so that t' glider tail clears them on lift-off. Begad! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down!

T' glider simply hangs on t' pod mount. Ahoy! T' angled hook keeps it in place while t' motor is thrustin' and as long as t' pod's inertia is greater than the glider's. Blimey! At ejection, ya bilge rat, t' shallow 30° angle o' t' backside o' the hook simply pushes t' glider away. Well, me hearties, blow me down!