Brief:
Near reproduction o' a boost glider (BG) kit from 1965 made by AMROCS. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! This is a forward motor BG which changes from boost t' glide by ejectin' t' motor casing, matey, shiftin' its CG t' t' aft for glidin' flight.

Construction:
This kit contains:

• (2) Balsa fin sheets - laser cut
• Nose cone - Balsa
• Motor mount 18mm
• Launch lug
• Decal

One thin' was nay clear and caused me a few moments o' uncertainty be t' two fuselage pieces are referred t' as "halves." What is not made explicitly clear is that they are glued perpendicular t' each other, nay edge t' edge. Rather than "halves," one could have been referred t' as a "cross-piece" or "T-piece." A close inspection o' t' exploded drawin' (which is great) does reveal this, matey, but it is not, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, in me opinion, obvious enough.

I used a stationary belt sander t' shape t' airfoils on t' wings. Well, blow me down! Arrr! This went pretty well until I dropped one into the sander and ruined it. Ahoy! Luckily I had some identical balsa lyin' around and I made another wing.

Finishing:
For finishin' I wanted t' be as light as I could. Avast, me proud beauty! All I did was sand everythin' down t' 180 grit and paint t' motor mount and nose cone gold. Then I applied t' single decal t' t' side o' t' motor mount. Some o' t' sandin' would have been better done before assembly but t' instructions said t' do it after, so I did. Begad! Arrr! Some edges were impossible to round after assembly. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Oh well.

It was nearly in trim before I painted t' nose. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Then it needed some tail weight. Ahoy! I be able t' trim it out by gluin' a small brad nail t' a corner in t' stabilizer section. It would glide smoothly with a little left turn on a hand toss.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
My three flights were a tribulation. Let me say that I believe that this is a really cool kit, ya bilge rat, but that mine be a victim o' excessive black powder ejection charges.

My first flight on an A8-3 looked good until it arced over, matey, ya bilge rat, ejected and dove straight t' t' desert floor breaking off t' tail section. Ahoy! Ahoy! Inspection showed t' nose cone missin' and t' motor casin' still in t' motor mount.

After repairin' t' boom with epoxy and attachin' a spare nose cone, ya bilge rat, I retrimmed t' glider. Begad! Blimey! Another A8-3 flight showed t' same initial promise o' a good boost. Avast! T' ejection again occurred past apogee and this time t' force o' the ejection broke t' boom just forward o' t' aft stabilizer assembly. Avast, me proud beauty! Both pieces came flutterin' t' earth.

I finally got a glide on t' third flight. Ahoy! This was a B4-2. Begad! It gave a very high boost - fairly straight up, thank goodness. Arrr! T' short delay had it ejectin' while it still had some upward velocity and t' boom did nay break. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' glide was a little steeper and nay a long as I wanted, but that can be fixed for next time.

Recovery:
I do nay recommend t' A8-3 for this glider. T' B4-2 worked well. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! With an appropriate adapter, a 13mm motor could be used. Begad! If so, I would use t' 2 second delay.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This should be a solid performer. I believe t' design is sound. I had a bad experience with t' A8-3's. Avast, me proud beauty! I would use the shortest delay possible. Epoxy t' nose cone in place.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5