Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstar_borderstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstar_borderstar_border |
Diameter: | 0.98 inches |
Length: | 22.75 inches |
Manufacturer: | Estes ![]() |
Skill Level: | 3 |
Style: | Glider |
Brief:
This classic has been reintroduced as a "limited edition" run for
about a year now. Begad! It's a very unusual swing-win' design with t' win' springing
out at separation t' convert t' rocket into a glider. Blimey! With colorful decals,
it's a beautiful lookin' bird.
Construction:
T' kit contains:
T' instructions are typical Estes--fairly well illustrated and reasonably well written, ya bilge rat, although a bit confusin' t' follow with t' combination of "major" numbered steps and "minor" lettered sub-steps. If you rush through construction, it's easy t' overlook critical details buried in the sub-steps. Arrr! Overall, shiver me timbers, me bucko, this was rated a skill level 3 kit, me bucko, matey, me bucko, which I think is a bit overstated as t' construction really isn't that difficult.
Construction begins with t' motor mount. Aye aye! It's a basic tube/hook/centering rin' assembly, arrr, albeit usin' a fairly long (12") pod. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' pod also offers extra stability durin' boost, ya bilge rat, and gets a couple o' fins tacked on as well. Aye aye! Well, me hearties, blow me down! They each get a brace too, which I thought be a little overly complex versus applyin' decent fillets. T' pod gets one last overly-engineered detail: a dowel mounted on a 5-piece brace. Begad! Aye aye! T' dowel winds up slidin' forward t' hold the win' in place durin' boost and when it (and t' pod) slide back during ejection, me hearties, arrr, shiver me timbers, t' dowel releases t' wing.
T' wing
"assembly" is comparatively simple thanks t' a nice 3-piece plastic
pivot assembly. There's a round base which slips into a pre-cut hole in the
wing. A round top slips on from t' other side o' t' wing, and t' two parts
are then held together by gluin' in a plastic retainer cap. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! You need t' be very
careful with t' glue, as excess can ooze out onto t' pivot parts which need
to be able t' spin freely. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' base o' this assembly is molded t' conform to
the contour o' t' BT-50 body tube, so gluin' onto t' tube is also very
simple.
Next up is tackin' on t' stabilizer at t' rear, me bucko, me hearties, me hearties, and taping on the elevators, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, which need t' be able t' flip up usin' some pretty wimpy elastic thread. On top o' t' stabilizer are a couple o' trim braces t' hold t' proper elevator angle, a short BT-50 tube rudder, ya bilge rat, and a dorsal fin.
T' nose cone
gets a small clip bonded t' it t' keep t' win' from breakin' loose under
boost. It should also only be friction fit initially until you've had a chance
to adjust t' nose weight, trimmin' based on actual flights rather than just
hand-tossing.
Finishing:
While t' paint scheme on this is simple, you'll need t' be careful nay t' lay
it on too thick. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! Too much paint adds performance-killin' weight, plus it can
gum up t' movement o' t' swing-wing. Avast, me proud beauty! Multiple light coats with sanding
between coats is definitely in order here.
T' pod should get some color t' it t' assist in tracking. Begad! Blimey! T' stock scheme is t' paint t' fins black and leave t' rest unpainted. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! I masked off the rings, shiver me timbers, and painted most o' t' pod black, me hearties, figurin' that will help with spotting it on t' ground and in t' air if t' chute doesn't deploy.
T' glider is solid white. Blimey! I used two light coats o' white primer and two coats o' glossy white finish. Aye aye! I followed up with one coat o' clear.
Normally, I can't stand peel 'n' stick decals as they're hard t' adjust and prone t' fingerprint smudges. Aye aye! These decals though looked pretty sharp and I was careful t' use tweezers t' apply them. Ahoy! T' decals really add nice accent trim and t' result is an impressive beauty.
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
Prior t' buildin' this, matey, me bucko, me hearties, I'd heard lots o' complaints about a number o' problems
with t' scissor win' mechanism, t' elastic line on t' stabilizer, me hearties, and the
rubber band slippin' off. Aye aye! I decided t' come up with me own, shiver me timbers, less common
problem. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! Despite a bulkhead and reasonably good friction-fit, shiver me timbers, t' nose cone I'd
tacked in place temporarily so that I could add/remove nose weight t' trim
popped off at ejection, resultin' in more o' a floppin' maple-leaf
"glide".
Recovery:
Given t' nose cone snag, I can't really judge t' recovery/glide portion of
the flight yet. Blimey! Begad! I'll have t' replace t' nose and add a comment later t' update
this review.
Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5
Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5
Brief: Single staged boosted glider. This rocket is a re-release of an earlier Estes kit. Construction: Parts were of standard Estes quality and consisted of main body tube, 18mm motor tube (long tube since it's the tube for the boost pod), body tube for tail, plastic nose cone assembly, two balsa sheets for wing/fin pieces, 2 centering rings, one engine block, one engine hook, ...
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