Brief:
Back in 1977, t' Condor was t' second rocket I ever owned and t' first "big" rocket I ever flew. Begad! Blimey! (T' Beta was me first.) This was me most prolific flier, arrr, and bore t' battle scars on both booster and glider t' prove it.

Construction:
Materials: (accordin' t' original plans. Ahoy! I used t' closest thin' available.)

• 1 - BT-50
• 1 - PNC-50 3/32" balsa stock for fins and glider body
• 1/16" balsa stock for glider wings and canard
• 18mm Engine mount from Estes Regular Engine Mount kit
• A too short length o' shock cord

I had been plannin' t' build this from memory, but back in February me brother-in-law and I discovered JimZ's OOP Estes plan site on a Friday night, me bucko, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and on Saturday I hit a local hobby shop and by late afternoon, had all o' t' parts needed t' recreate t' Condor. One change that I made be t' upgrade t' kit from t' original 13mm engine t' an 18mm. This be somethin' that had always puzzled me about t' original. It always seemed a bit big for a mini-motor, but I guess Estes had their reasons. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Back then it made sense for me from an economical standpoint, me hearties, ya bilge rat, (I got an extra flight per package,) but now that loot is no object, I decided t' power it up a bit.

Back when I built t' original I just slapped it together with glue, arrr, ya bilge rat, painted it, shiver me timbers, me hearties, decal'd it and got it in t' air as smartly as possible. It flew great! This time I be determined t' take me time and employ some o' t' techniques I had learned about over t' 24 years since I built t' original. I carefully shaped t' fins on t' booster, arrr, determined t' make it as aerodynamic as possible. Blimey! I also used several coats o' thinned Elmer's Fill'n'Finish as a sealer, ya bilge rat, sandin' betwixt coats. Elmer's glue was used both t' attach t' fins and t' create t' glue fillets t' keep them in place.

T' glider was lightly sanded, matey, then sprayed with a coat o' Walmart white paint, t' same as t' booster. Arrr! I then masked off t' front portions o' both t' glider and booster and sprayed them with Walmart red. Aye aye! It never occurred t' me t' use t' Fill'n'Finish t' fill in t' body tube spirals or use primer. (Then again, me bucko, me hearties, neglectin' t' do this made it look a lot more like me 1977 original.) JimZ decals completed me retro project.

Flight:
T' Condor originally flew on 13mm motors, so I had no benchmark t' go on in determinin' motor selection. Arrr! Because o' this I chose t' reliable old Estes B6-4 for t' first flight. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Fireproof insulation (treated shredded newspaper) was used as recovery wadding, and worked flawlessly. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! It's available in bulk at most home improvement stores and a little goes a long way.

T' flight was straight and stable into a light breeze, shiver me timbers, picture perfect until t' ejection charge went off. Aye aye! Arrr! T' sound that t' nose cone made when it rebounded back into t' body tube be clearly audible on t' ground. Arrr! T' glider, me hearties, which I had trimmed by stickin' straight pins into t' nose and which had flown so well when I had tested it t' previous weekend, made a beeline for t' ground on an 80-degree angle and broke on impact just behind t' canard. T' booster's 12" parachute worked perfectly, me hearties, and t' only evidence o' contact betwixt body tube and nose cone be a light scrape, almost a smudge, on each o' them.

I flew it one more time that day on a stray Estes A8-3 that had been rollin' around me range box for a few months. Blimey! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! This time t' flight was understandably lower and glider-less, arrr, and t' sound o' t' nose cone and body tube meetin' was once again clearly audible. My luck didn't hold out this time. T' top o' t' body tube was badly crushed, arrr, but repairable. Ahoy! In this sense it was a lot like t' old days. Begad! It seemed that I be always repairin' me original Condor after either t' booster or glider made contact with one hard surface or another. Ya scallywag! (We flew out o' an asphalt parkin' lot back then.)

Summary:
While it was great seein' t' Condor on t' flight line again, arrr, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and t' flight itself was very satisfying, me hearties, ya bilge rat, t' glider's suicide dive and t' short shock cord rained on me parade a little. PRO'S: T' upgraded engine made for a much improved flight and it's always great t' see an old timer fly again. Arrr! CON'S: Cheap feel t' t' balsa. Glider performance. Shock cord too short. Aye aye! Worst o' all, me original is probably a part o' a landfill somewhere.

Other:
1) Don't be stingy with t' shock cord. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Just because Estes does it doesn't mean you have to. Treat yourself t' some quality elastic and some Keelhaul®©™®. Begad! Ahoy! 2) Use Elmer's Fill'n'Finish for nay only t' fins, me hearties, but t' fill in t' spirals in t' body tube.