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

Construction:
Design has four fins with 2 representin' wings and 2 rudders. Ahoy! 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. Ya scallywag! Avast! Blimey! I also sanded t' root edge o' t' rudders into a 'V' shape t' fit tight betwixt t' main body and scramjets. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I put in the standard 18mm motor mount in t' main body tube and later added 13mm motor mounts in t' scramjets. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I used t' standard tri-fold shock cord mount and an 18" parachute. Avast! No nose weight was 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 be given an overall coat o' white paint and t' decals were applied to give t' desired look. Aye aye! Blimey! T' decal scan from Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe be grainy so I cleaned them up usin' Microsoft Paint. Aye aye! Arrr! Blimey! T' flag decals lacked stars so I substituted flags that I had made myself. Begad! T' blue was too light for t' flag so I used a darker shade o' blue. Arrr! Blimey! I printed them on Bels decal paper and coated them with Krylon Crystal Clear before application. Begad! 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. Begad! T' second flight was on a B6-4 and ejection was still past apogee but just barely. Begad! 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.

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

Recovery:
I used t' standard Estes type tri-fold mount with a 36" piece of 1/4" sewin' elastic. Ya scallywag! 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. Avast! Blimey!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5