Brief:
This was originally produced by Estes Industries and is currently out of production (OOP). Ahoy! Plans were obtained from Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe. Design was for an 18mm mount with a parachute recovery.

Construction:
Design has four fins with 2 representin' wings and 2 rudders. Aye aye! Two long sections of body tube represent scramjets.

Components:

• 1 BT-55 body tube 14" long
• 2 BT-50 body tubes 6.5" long
• 1 BT-20 engine tube 2.75"
• 2 CR2055 centerin' rings
• 1 Engine hook 2.75"
• 1 BNC-55AO nose cone
• 3/32" fin stock
• 36" shock cord
• 18" parachute

The instructions were very straightforward and followed a logical sequence, however, it did nay mention sandin' t' root edge o' t' wings at an angle to fit tight against t' body tube. Arrr! Aye aye! I also sanded t' root edge o' t' rudders into a 'V' shape t' fit tight betwixt t' main body and scramjets. I put in the standard 18mm motor mount in t' main body tube and later added 13mm motor mounts in t' scramjets. Well, blow me down! I used t' standard tri-fold shock cord mount and an 18" parachute. Ya scallywag! No nose weight be required for t' standard configuration but I added weight after addin' t' additional motor mounts.

I had all o' t' parts needed for construction at hand with t' exception of t' nose cone which I bought from BMS.

Finishing:
T' model was given an overall coat o' white paint and t' decals were applied to give t' desired look. T' decal scan from Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe was grainy so I cleaned them up usin' Microsoft Paint. T' flag decals lacked stars so I substituted flags that I had made myself. Aye aye! Begad! T' blue was too light for t' flag so I used a darker shade o' blue. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I printed them on Bels decal paper and coated them with Krylon Crystal Clear before application. Blimey!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew t' model for 3 flights on a single motor and then added t' motor mounts in t' scramjets.

First flight be on a B4-4 and t' flight was straight but arched over and ejection was past apogee. T' second flight be on a B6-4 and ejection was still past apogee but just barely. Blimey! T' third flight was on a day with winds in the 15-18 mph range and on a C6-3 and t' rocket went up straight but t' back end displayed a lot o' undulation possible due t' t' asymmetrical design and the high wind. Begad! Begad!

After addin' t' motor mounts in t' scramjets, arrr, arrr, I flew it twice on a combination o' C6-5 main and A10-PT in t' outboards. Ahoy! Flight on this configuration was nearly perfect with a high straight flight and ejection at apogee. Avast, me proud beauty!

Recovery:
I used t' standard Estes type tri-fold mount with a 36" piece of 1/4" sewin' elastic. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Recovery on an 18" plastic chute was acceptable for t' large field I be flyin' on with all recoveries (except for t' high wind day) within 100' o' launch pad.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I really enjoyed this clone. Blimey! Begad! It has that futuristic "space plane" look that I personally am attracted to.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5