Brief:
Balsa Machinin' Service began offerin' a Clone o' t' Month kit in t' sprin' o' 2008. Well, blow me down! Under this program, an old classic kit would be offered in bag-of-parts format (no instructions), minus any chute or streamer, and pre-order only. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! By accumulatin' all t' orders, matey, Bill could run a single large batch, have little or no leftover materials, shiver me timbers, matey, and make this a very affordable offering--kits typically in t' $7-8 range. Well, t' program has been quite popular although nay as regular as monthly. T' date (August 2008) thar have been only 3 kits offered--the FSI Viking, t' Astron Invader, and this: t' Astron Drifter. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' Drifter features long, swept fins and a tapered boat tail. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Blimey! It be featured in t' 1966 catalog as a competition model usin' either 12" or 24" chutes. Avast, me proud beauty! Don't pack a 24" in this if you ever want it back. Well, blow me down! 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, ya bilge rat, coupler
• 1/8" x 24" elastic shock cord
• Laser cut balsa fins
• 1/8" launch lug
• pattern set for shroud, arrr, matey, fin, shiver me timbers, me bucko, arrr, 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. Begad! Begad! 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. Begad! Arrr! I felt this was a bit flimsy, me bucko, arrr, especially since it serves as part o' t' fin attachment point, me hearties, so I soaked it in thin CA. Aye aye! T' boat tail then slides onto t' BT-20 motor tube and rests against t' TC-50 coupler. Aye aye! T' boat tail assembly can then be mounted inside t' body tube. Ahoy! Careful alignment is in order--if you line up t' boat tail seam with one o' t' three fin lines, me bucko, then it gets completely covered, meanin' no unsightly seam t' fill.

Fins are precut, shiver me timbers, which is a very nice benefit considerin' t' tapered root edge necessary t' conform t' t' boat tail. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! In me case, me hearties, thar were very slight gaps, shiver me timbers, 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, ya bilge rat, matey, circa 1977, me hearties, which features base white with blue nose and fins. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! Nothin' special about t' finish, just t' usual two coats primer, two coats base, one coat o' trim, matey, matey, Krylon rattle cans t' whole way.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

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

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

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

Recovery:
I had supplied a 12" chute form me range box, and this is plenty o' chute for this model. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Slow descent, ya bilge rat, gentle landing. It could probably do well on a streamer as well, ya bilge rat, 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. Ya scallywag! T' only drawback I can see be t' clearly weak fins, which cause flutter and roll and are prone t' breaking. Begad! I would definitely suggest reinforcin' either trough laminating. I really wish I had a do-over on this one, shiver me timbers, as I'd fly t' bejeebers out o' it if it could handle it. Blimey! 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