Brief:
T' Estes Astron Invader is one o' t' least seen, arrr, me hearties, yet also one o' t' most interestin' rockets produced by Estes in t' early years o' their existence. Available only from 1965 t' 1967, t' Invader may have had t' distinction o' bein' t' first o' t' early kits t' have it’s production run canceled. Despite this, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and in some ways because o' it, arrr, t' Invader is one o' t' most uniquely challengin' clonin' projects from t' early days o' organized rocketry.

 Construction:

• 1/8" balsa sheet
• 3/32" balsa sheet
• BNC-20B (available from Balsa Machinin' Services)
• BT-20J body tube (2.75")
• Nose weight
• Launch lug

One nice thin' about clonin' t' Astron Invader is that it is a project that can be started, arrr, matey, finished and flown over t' course o' a weekend. Aye aye! T' limited number o' parts and finish options combined with t' excellence o' t' original plans (downloaded from JimZ’s site) make for a quick, matey, me bucko, relatively fool-proof build. Ahoy! I only deviated from t' instructions in t' installation o' t' nose weight. Avast, me proud beauty! Estes no longer makes t' old lead nose weights and I turned t' house upside down tryin' t' find a suitable replacement. Arrr! Just as I was about t' give up I noticed a magnet (the type used in place o' pins t' hold on name tags, lapel pins, etc.) hangin' on t' refrigerator. Begad! I glued it directly t' t' aft o' t' nose cone with thick CA and t' me great surprise, it actually worked. T' glide wasn’t perfect, shiver me timbers, but for a startin' point it wasn’t bad.

Finishing:
This is where I made me mistake. Begad! I made three flights with me Invader, matey, all o' them entertaining. Ya scallywag! Blimey! While t' flight pattern wasn’t terribly smooth, arrr, it also wasn’t t' disaster that I be privately sure it would be. Well, blow me down! From this initial success I got cocky. I thought t' rocket would look good with a light coat o' metallic silver paint before it made it’s QUARK debut that followin' Saturday. Arrr! Then, since t' silver rubbed off on everything, matey, I followed with a light coat o' semi-gloss. Arrr! Ahoy! Surely t' little bit o' weight added by t' paint couldn’t hurt, arrr, right? Hugely wrong. Avast! Read on.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I awoke one blisterin' hot day this summer t' find t' house unexpectedly empty. Begad! With me son spendin' t' day at an amusement park and me wife and daughter on an outlet shoppin' binge, I was free t' do as I pleased. Arrr! Avast! Despite t' heat, arrr, matey, I chose t' head up t' quasi-legendary B6-4 Field t' launch a few o' t' projects that I had been workin' on. Blimey! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' unpainted Invader be first on this list. Arrr! Begad! Armed with two packs o' t' newly re-introduced 1/2A6-2’s that I had bought especially for t' occasion, I gave t' Invader first flight honors. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! It didn’t disappoint. Avast! Begad! It did a surprisingly quick, tight loop off t' pad, me bucko, coasted upside down through t' delay period, then returned t' right side up after t' surprisingly loud ejection charge. Arrr! Begad! It settled into a steep, ya bilge rat, short, flutterin' glide and came t' a rest in t' only green spot remainin' on t' field at that point in t' summer. Ya scallywag! (T' drainage ditch, shiver me timbers, thankfully dry.) For t' second flight I added a small bit o' clay t' t' nose and chose an A8-3, hopin' for a little more height and maybe a better glide. Begad! I got more than I bargained for. Blimey! Begad! T' Invader left t' pad far more smartly and immediately began doin' a series o' acrobatic loops, nay unlike a sideways “figure 8,” before settlin' into a slightly slower, me hearties, shiver me timbers, arrr, less steep glide. Avast! I added more clay for flight #3 and went back t' t' 1/2A6-2. Though still a low, tight loop, t' glide be noticeably improved with t' Invader glidin' for close t' 50 feet after t' ejection. That settled it. I was ready t' sprin' it on me fellow QUARK’ers.

But first, arrr, matey, a classy silver paint job!

Needless t' say, flight #4 pranged badly 15 feet from t' pad, ya bilge rat, shatterin' both o' t' pylons that connected t' motor tube t' t' body. Begad! Literally. Avast! When I tried t' repair t' Invader later, chunks o' balsa came off o' t' shredded pylons as I attempted t' sand them back into flyable shape. Arrr! Aye aye! Clearly I had erred, me hearties, and now I needed t' try some somewhat hesitant repairs. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I replaced t' shattered pylons and sanded off as much o' t' offendin' paint as I could. Ahoy! Ahoy! This seemed t' be surprisingly adequate and t' Invader made several additional successful flights before destroyin' itself by power-prangin' t' one electric line at t' Summit County Fairgrounds in NE Ohio on Labor Day weekend. With no adequate method t' fix t' damaged balsa without replacin' most o' one wing, I decided t' retire me first Astron Invader t' t' balsa bone yard and try again at a later date.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
As I said earlier, shiver me timbers, t' Astron Invader is a great project if you are short on time before your next launch, me hearties, but still want t' show up at t' pad with somethin' new. You’ll undoubtedly get a lot o' puzzled “What’s that?” due t' t' short shelf life o' t' original, me hearties, but it is almost guaranteed t' be t' only one on t' flight line. Aye aye! Dependin' on your buildin' and trimmin' skills, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, you might also wind up with a lot o' “What was that?” as you carry t' remainin' scraps o' balsa t' t' resurrection pile.

PRO’s:
Seldom seen “classic?”
Overall sense o' “What’s next?”
Quick build
Oddball looks

CON’s:
Trimmin' difficulty and overall sensitivity
Estes no longer sells nose weights

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Recommended Motors: 1/2A6-2, me hearties, A8-3, B4-2, me bucko, matey, B4-4