Brief:
This is QCR's 1/4A Slidin' Win' competition rocket glider. Blimey! I built this kit durin' me club's (ASTRE, NARRRRR #407) winter build session in February 2004. Begad! Avast! I flew it in our local chapter NARRRRR competition this summer, placin' third. Begad! Nay too shabby for an inexperienced competitor like myself.

T' R/G functions by havin' t' wings tied as far back as they can durin' boost. Begad! Ya scallywag! Once t' ejection charge fires, me hearties, me bucko, it burns t' strin' holdin' t' wings back. Begad! Ahoy! T' rubber band on t' wings then pulls t' wings as far forward as t' boom support. Blimey! T' motor is taped on t' t' motor tube. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Thus, me hearties, me bucko, t' entire Rocket/Glider glides t' t' ground in one piece.

Construction:
T' kit comes with:

• Body tube and balsa nose cone
• Balsa for wings, arrr, rudder, etc.
• Spruce boom
• Wire hooks for string/slidin' mechanism
• Launch lug
• Rubber band
• Clay (for trimming)
• Thread (for t' first flight)
• Plastic slidin' box pieces
• Photocopied instructions

T' kit's contents are excellent quality. Avast, me proud beauty! T' first drawback though are t' instructions. Begad! Begad! There are 4 sheets o' photocopied paper with many handwritten corrections on them. Arrr! Arrr! I would probably have made quite a few errors if I wasn't at a buildin' session. T' good news is that once you build one o' these gliders, you can build other QCR gliders without major problems.

T' first step is t' shape t' wings, stabilizer, ya bilge rat, and rudder. This is accomplished by sandin' air foils, particularly on t' wing. Blimey! Then I had t' cut t' wings and create t' appropriate dihedral. Next, matey, I glued t' plastic slidin' boxes under t' wing. Fortunately, t' teacher o' t' build session told me how t' use t' plywood win' support, shiver me timbers, which is nay mentioned in t' instructions but is included in t' parts. I used CA glue for all t' gluing. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! After t' slidin' boxes are on, me bucko, I placed t' win' on t' t' spruce boom, then added t' shaped stabilizer and rudder. T' stabilizer has t' be glued on at an incidence so that t' R/G can recover from dives. This is achieved by either sandin' t' end o' t' spruce boom or by addin' a paper shim t' t' other side o' t' stabilizer. Avast, me proud beauty! I ended up doin' a little bit o' both. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! After this, I added t' stand off at t' other end o' t' boom, then glued on t' body tube and t' nose cone. Arrr! Well, blow me down! I added all t' wires t' their correct location (1 on slidin' box, matey, one at aft o' glider, one near t' burn holes on t' body tube, arrr, etc.)

After this, I added t' launch lugs and proceeded t' do a little flight trimming.

PROs: Cool kit with slidin' win' feature. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' engineerin' on this glider is really neat.

CONs: T' instructions seem t' be for seasoned builders, nay t' casual beginner. Begad! It would be great if QCR considered rewritin' their instructions.

Finishing:
Since this kit is meant for NARRRRR competition (doesn't mean it can't be for sport, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, matey, too, but competition seems t' be t' main purpose for this kind o' design), shiver me timbers, me bucko, no paintin' is encouraged. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I used a magic marker t' create black stripes on t' bottom o' t' wings, then added me NARRRRR number.

Trimmin' is a little more tricky. Ahoy! I used t' rubber band t' pull t' win' forward, placed an empty 13 mm motor in t' body tube, and began t' toss t' glider around. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I ended up addin' a smudge o' clay t' t' left win' o' me glider (as recommended by t' serious competitors in me club). Ahoy! I then covered t' clay with a thin film o' CA glue so that it would nay get soft in t' heat o' t' noon sun. Begad! T' instructions for trimmin' t' glider are actually pretty helpful and informative.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
It takes some time t' tie t' win' t' its launch position, matey, tape t' strin' t' t' body tube, tape t' motor t' its correct location (you know t' correct location o' t' motor based on trimmin' t' model), ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and then addin' t' rubber band t' t' win' and front o' t' spruce boom. Well, blow me down! It takes me perhaps 10 minutes or so t' do all o' this.

Because t' wings are so far back and t' motor is so far forward, t' rocket has a very nice, me hearties, straight ascent. Avast, me proud beauty! Upon ejection, t' wings slide forward immediately, shiftin' t' CG, ya bilge rat, causin' t' rocket t' glide. Blimey! My first flight was a DQ because some CA from a hastily added launch lug dripped back onto t' wing, gluin' t' win' t' t' stabilizer. Ahoy! Once I had loosened t' wing, arrr, ya bilge rat, me second flight pulled in a time o' 17 seconds or so. Blimey! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Unfortunately, Estes does nay make a 1/4A3-1T. T' three second delay is just a little long for t' R/G event. Avast, me proud beauty! T' ejection occurs 2 seconds or so after apogee. Avast! It is really cool t' see t' rocket transform into a glider and glide t' t' ground.

After observin' t' flight, shiver me timbers, matey, it was pointed out t' me that me turns are a little tight. I need t' re-trim t' rocket again for better glide times.

Recovery:
T' body tube does take a beatin' on t' ejection charges. Arrr! Blimey! I followed more advice from me ASTRE group and coated t' nose cone/body tube area with thin epoxy. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Also, matey, t' body tube standoff needs epoxy because t' wings can really slam hard into it durin' t' transition t' glide phase. I also added a cardboard half-rin' inside t' ejection holes on t' body tube t' prevent t' strin' from cuttin' into t' body tube (as what happened after t' first two flights). Begad! Blimey! Blimey! This, o' course, meant I had t' re-trim t' glider after addin' a little more weight t' t' nose.

In order t' get 25-30 second or more flights on this bird, it really requires major trimmin' and experience. It will certainly take me time t' achieve this, but me Bumble Bee has held up well for over 4 flights now.

PROs: R/G is really cool, but requires patience, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, multiple flights, and major trimming.

CONs: T' motor selection for this rocket is only 1: t' 1/4A. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' Bumble Bee would probably be too flimsy t' handle a 1/2 A or A unless t' glider was somehow strengthened with tissue paper or another lightweight material.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Well, ya bilge rat, me hearties, you know how I feel about QCR instructions. Begad! I would have missed a lot o' things had it nay been for t' build session. Avast, me proud beauty! I still think t' designs are cool, arrr, particularly if you are lookin' for competitive rockets for NARRRRR competition.

I liked t' design so much, I went ahead and also ordered t' 1/2A Easy Slide I, me hearties, arrr, shiver me timbers, QCR's larger R/G based on t' similar designs o' t' Bumble Bee.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5