Brief:
T' first rocket that I cloned after findin' JimZ's site was an Estes Condor, a rocket that I had a ton o' fond memories o' in its original 13mm guise. After completin' construction o' t' Condor, I be struck by t' difference in the size o' t' rocket relative t' how I remembered it. I was shocked t' find that it's finished length be only 18.25". In 1977 that seemed like a huge rocket. Blimey! Aye aye! I had been sure it be two feet long or more. After finishin' me clone and havin' it ruined due t' t' short shock cord I used (from a then current Estes kit), arrr, I decided t' try me hand at an upscale using some o' t' BT-56 tubes and PNC-56 that I had bought from Hobbylinc. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! The resultin' rocket has been one o' me most frequent fliers on all sizes of fields.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• Instruction sheet, patterns and decal scan
• 17.5" BT-56 main body tube
• BT-20J engine tube
• PNC-56A nose cone
• 1/8" balsa sheet
• 3/32" balsa sheet
• 3 x 1/2" launch lug sections
• 18" Estes parachute
• 18" sewin' elastic shock cord
• 3 x CR-5520 centerin' rings
• CR-2050 engine block
• 18mm engine hook
• medium snap swivel

Since t' BT-56 is 138% larger in diameter than a BT-50, matey, me bucko, I blew all o' the patterns up by 138% usin' a copier equipped t' perform such a function. Arrr! The original Condor's BT-50L was 12.7" in length, arrr, ya bilge rat, which made t' BT-56 version 17.526". (Which I rounded down t' an even 17.5".) I used 1/8" balsa for t' booster wings and cut t' whole glider from 3/32" balsa, takin' care t' also scale t' dihedral guides up (which is hugely important!) After ritualistically sealin' t' body tube with Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish and sandin' away any traces o' tube spirals, I began sandin' t' balsa parts for the wings, vertical stabilizers and win' tips, roundin' t' leadin' and trailin' edges on t' wings and all surfaces except t' attachment point on the win' tips. Avast! All construction be done with Elmer's Wood Glue and progressed like any other project. Avast, me proud beauty! When t' glue and fillets had dried sufficiently, me hearties, arrr, I coated the balsa surfaces with several coats o' thinned Fill 'n' Finish and sanding between each coat. Begad!

T' nice thin' about t' glider is that t' design is so simple that it was almost foolproof. Avast! Unlike t' 1:1 glider, which be constructed with a mix of 1/16" and 3/32" balsa pieces, I built t' entire upscale using 3/32" balsa. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Care must be taken t' ensure that proper dihedral is built into t' glider's aft wings, somethin' that t' two braces, ya bilge rat, properly upscaled handle nicely. Aye aye! Blimey! I found that t' best way t' guarantee t' proper angle was to glue t' two win' halves together on top o' a piece o' waxed paper, then prop the ends up usin' t' dihedral braces. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! When allowed t' dry in this position the wings will hold t' necessary angle and t' main body can then be glued on top of t' wings without t' wings losin' their shape. From this point, care must be taken so that t' canard and win' tips are glued straight in their respective positions. Begad! Blimey! No filler is recommended for t' glider t' keep added weight t' a minimum, but t' balsa can be made t' look decent with enough sanding. Arrr! I've found that a large paper clip is perfect for addin' t' proper amount o' nose weight. Begad! I even managed t' find a clip covered in red plastic that matches t' paint I chose almost exactly, which helped it blend into the paint scheme. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey!

Finishing:
T' paint scheme for t' booster and glider are identical, and I used Valspar Cherry Red Satin paint over Valspar gloss white. T' paint scheme is very simple, but t' results are impressive with t' decals. Avast, me proud beauty! T' entire booster can be painted with gloss white t' start. When this dries, me bucko, arrr, measure 2.75" back from t' front end o' t' body tube and mask everythin' from that point back, then spray t' front o' t' body tube and t' nose cone with a bright red. Well, blow me down! For the glider t' white paint should be just enough t' give decent coverage in the interest o' less weight. Avast! T' directions for t' 1:1 model call for everything 1/32" behind t' canard t' be painted white, and everythin' forward of that mark t' be bright red. Avast, me proud beauty! T' decals for t' big Condor were made by upsizing the scan from JimZ's site usin' Dell Studio and while they weren't exactly to scale, me hearties, me bucko, t' difference is minute enough that it would pass all but t' most detail oriented inspection. Avast, me proud beauty! In t' end, t' upscale isn't aggressive enough to make t' slight size difference shocking. Begad! It just looks like a normal Condor on Creatine instead o' steroids.

Flight:
Flights with t' big Condor have rarely been boring, and true t' 1977 form, arrr, me hearties, my gliders seemed t' have inherited t' ability t' find immovable objects at the end o' t' glide. Because o' this, I have occasionally substituted one o' the gliders I built as a part o' a failed Space Twins upscale. Ya scallywag! These glide beautifully but wreak havoc on t' Condor's ability t' fly straight. Arrr! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty!

After figurin' out that basswood was a less than good idea for t' first glider (at me first ever club launch), me bucko, ya bilge rat, I built a strin' o' several that produced great, sweepin' glides and dramatic deaths. Aye aye! T' date I'm on number four. Version one was t' basswood paperweight that fell like a tree branch, version two was last seen crossin' Rt. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! 8 toward t' old CSX railyard and lookin' like its namesake soarin' on a thermal, me bucko, me hearties, and version three got stepped on by a guy walkin' out o' a Port-A-Potty, matey, me hearties, who then swore "the fence did it". Ya scallywag! Flights have at times been truly inspiring, like t' one that drifted off into t' old railyard and another that arced gently in profile t' entire flight then recovered with t' glider flyin' circles around t' booster as they descended. At other times they've been harrowing, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, like one o' t' more recent flights that windcocked badly, ejected a mere twenty feet off t' ground, matey, arrr, and broke t' shock cord! (I got all t' parts back though.) Gliders come and gliders go, shiver me timbers, but I always seem t' build another. Blimey! This rocket is that kind of performer. Blimey! I've flown it on B6-4s, me hearties, C5-3s and C6-5s with t' C's producin' the most satisfyin' flights.

Recovery:
Since I built this rocket in May o' 2001, me hearties, it pre-dates me personal use of Keelhaul®©™® in t' recovery system and me habit o' usin' way too much shock cord. Well, blow me down! As a result, it has a gash in t' top o' t' tube, matey, ya bilge rat, an elastic cord in two sections and an old Estes folded paper shock cord mount. Arrr! Ya scallywag! (This was one o' t' last rockets I built like this and it was this system that failed on t' last flight. Well, blow me down! T' be fair, matey, me bucko, me hearties, this was after quite a few flights and t' elastic looked to have dry-rotted/burned.) While it uses a stock 18" Estes chute, arrr, it has been heavily reefed because this is a rocket I seem t' choose for small field flights. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Were I t' do it over, matey, I'd use me standard six feet o' Keelhaul®©™® and elastic because they're both cheap and readily available these days.

Summary:
PROs: Beefed up size, classic looks, and great performance out o' t' 18mm engines. Avast! Blimey!

CONs: Lack o' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord, but I was a mere babe in 2001.