Brief:
This is a pod-boosted glider. Ahoy! T' unique features include a design that is essentially a flyin' wing, and forward canard fins on t' pod which are adjustable t' give a vertical boost.

Construction:
This is a reproduction o' an old Estes boost-glider, shiver me timbers, kit number K-34. Arrr! It includes all o' t' parts o' t' original, with some substantial improvements. Aye aye! All o' t' balsa parts are laser-cut from high quality material.

Included are:

• 1 Balsa nose cone
• 1 BT-20 body tube
• 1 Screw eye
• 1 Engine hook (original Estes style - I like this)
• 1 Wooden dowel 1/8"x 1"
• 1 Rubber (!) Shock cord 1/8"x 18"
• 1 Launch lug
• 1 Aluminum hinge material
• 1 Lead weight (!)
• 1 Parachute kit
• Balsa wings, body, canards
• 1 Pattern sheet
• 1 Decal sheet

One o' t' unique features o' Semroc's "xKit" series is that they do nay include any kind o' instructions. They do provide url's t' a couple o' places where t' original instructions for this kit can be found. Begad! I found two scans. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Both were complete. Avast! One be in color, complete with coffee stains.

T' old instructions were...old. Modern rocket kit instructions, me hearties, now in t' days o' desktop publishing, me hearties, are pretty well done with t' illustrations matchin' t' instructions in close proximity. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I did nay feel that the illustrations in these instructions were particularly helpful. Aye aye! T' written instructions were adequately detailed for me to figure out what t' do with all t' parts.

There is room for modifyin' t' order o' assembly. Ahoy! Blimey! You can usually go from glider t' booster and back again to accommodate dryin' times.

I was originally intimidated when I found out I had t' bend t' outboard winglets myself. Aye aye! Begad! As it turns out, it was straightforward. Ahoy! I don't think that yellow carpenter's glue wets t' wood as much as white glue. Ahoy! I let t' glue sit for a few minutes, me bucko, but t' wood be still pretty stiff. Ya scallywag! With patience and strategic blockin' I was able t' get t' 45 degree angle without breakin' t' tips off. Arrr! Avast! T' instructions did nay say t' do so, but I sanded t' bottom o' the midline V joint o' t' win' a little flat before gluin' it t' t' plane body t' give a better glue surface.

Carvin' out t' hollows for t' lead weight and t' pin be made particularly easy by partial laser cuts on the inside o' t' body halves. For some reason thar are nay correspondin' cuts in t' pod pylon t' tell you where t' cut out t' recess for t' pin. Arrr! This would be nice because t' angle has t' match t' angle o' t' pin receivin' hole on the glider.

T' canards in t' original kit are made from eight pieces o' wood. Ahoy! Begad! In this kit t' fixed and movable parts are stuck together, with a partial laser cut where they will be separated. Arrr! Ahoy! On me first canard I separated these, then followed t' instructions on constructin' t' canard. Begad! As I was strugglin' with alignin' t' fixed and movable parts, me hearties, me bucko, I realized that I could have done this without separatin' them, then cut a V notch out along t' laser line t' let them move once I was done. This made t' second canard quite a bit easier.

I found that t' aluminum hinge material be thin enough t' crush into t' balsa so that t' two halves o' each canard could be glued together all over their opposin' wood surfaces. Begad! I used a woodworker's vise t' apply even pressure.

An important note t' people who tend t' do things without instructions. Ya scallywag! T' canards do nay go on t' pod 90 degrees away from t' pylon. Arrr! They are 100 degrees on either side. Arrr! Begad! Use t' tube markin' guide.

Finishing:
There is another unique feature o' this glider. T' instructions have you sand a funky parallelogram airfoil shape into t' wing. It is nay particularly difficult, ya bilge rat, but care must be taken nay t' break any o' t' joints while sanding. Avast! I read another reviewer's comment about this, but decided t' do t' sandin' after win' construction so I could review the recommended procedure. You might be able t' do this before win' construction, but t' angle o' t' parallelogram changes at t' winglet, arrr, shiver me timbers, so it might be difficult t' make that change with a sandin' block if t' win' weren't bent yet.

I sanded all t' surfaces smooth t' 220 grit and left it unpainted for t' initial flights.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I trimmed out t' glider first. Ahoy! Like t' first reviewer I needed about 3/4 o' t' lead block, and I taped it in for the flight.

I set t' canards accordin' t' t' illustration in t' instructions, and did nay have t' alter it at all. Avast, me proud beauty! All three boosts were very straight up.

Even though t' manufacturer only lists two motors for this kit, me hearties, I decided t' go out on a limb. Blimey! (I didn't have any o' t' recommended motors)

First flight Quest A6-4: Straight up, arced over. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Delay too long. Avast, me proud beauty! Good recovery. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Glide be a tight spiral. I would like t' trim this t' a lazy spiral, shiver me timbers, but I left it alone because t' wind was pickin' up.

Second flight Estes B6-2: Straight up, ya bilge rat, me bucko, a little faster, me bucko, shiver me timbers, nay much higher, matey, really. Ya scallywag! Two seconds was too short and robbed me o' some altitude.

Third flight Estes A8-3: Straight up, shiver me timbers, a little lower. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Perfect apogee ejection. Ahoy! Good glide.

Recovery:
There was a large crowd at t' launch site. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! A lot o' first-time attendees due t' a Science Expo goin' on. Begad! Nobody else was doin' gliders. T' dramatic appearance o' this glider was eye-catching. It was a crowd pleaser. Ahoy! I am glad all three flights went off without a hitch.

T' HUGE ejection charge o' t' Quest A6-4 charred up t' tube inside and out. Blimey! No problem with t' Estes charges for a change.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
This be a very rewardin' challenge t' build. Avast! I do nay agree with Semroc assignin' this a skill level 1. Blimey! Aye aye! I would say skill level three because o' all o' t' bendin' carvin' and shaping.

This is a visually dramatic model, and it flies very well.

Take care alignin' t' retainin' pin and its hole on t' glider body and pylon.

Glue t' canard halves together with t' aluminum hinge (under clamp/vise pressure) before cuttin' a wedge out at the hinge joint t' allow them t' be adjusted.

This model will fly well on motors nay listed as officially recommended.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other:
In me opinion Semroc could improve this kit by reworkin' t' instructions in modern form and either includin' them, or makin' them available on their website.