As soon as I got me hands on some Quest Micro-Maxx motors, me bucko, arrr, me first thought was t' build a glider. Ya scallywag! T' first, Flit, matey, had only a 3" wingspan, matey, pudgy, thick wings, and balsa body stick. Ya scallywag! T' second, Flake, matey, may be seen elsewhere in EMRR because it be an entry in DesCon V. In both cases I be thrilled with a 35-foot boost and six-second glide, but I kept fiddlin' with t' design t' try to refine both boost and glide. Aye aye! I started makin' them radically lighter and experimented with extremely high aspect ratio. Blimey! Aye aye! That one glided well, me hearties, but had a lot o' drag on boost; less aspect ratio might be a good thing. Ya scallywag! I built this glider light and delicate like t' high aspect ratio version, shiver me timbers, but with dimensions more like t' earlier models. Aye aye!

This one has flown twice. Well, blow me down! T' first flight, matey, at a local park, matey, it be up there for over 30 seconds before hittin' t' top o' a tree in a backyard across the street. A boy who lived in that house was watchin' and retrieved t' glider from t' base o' t' tree for me. Avast!

T' second flight was at our club launch near Sheridan, April 15, arrr, 2000. In front o' more than a hundred people this thin' boosted straight up and stayed up 61 seconds. T' pod be recovered twenty feet from t' pad. T' glider was seen landin' and found about 50 yards downrange. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down!

Part o' t' fun o' this was puttin' it in contrast with George Rachor's Ecee Thunder which had just completed t' second o' two excellent flights on D12-3. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey!

A word o' caution: I've built a number o' these, shiver me timbers, but only this one has performed at this level. Begad! Ahoy! With tiny gliders like this, balance and alignment is extremely critical and luck played a big part in hittin' t' right numbers with this one. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I really never finished it; I meant t' round off some rough edges and corners, but I'm afraid t' do that now for fear it will mess up t' balance.

Parts and Dimensions:

Body stick is a basswood HO scale 2x4, me bucko, about 1x2.5mm, matey, 120 mm long. Sometimes I use 1/16" x 1/8" spruce. Avast, me proud beauty! Win' is 1/16" A-grain contest balsa tapered by sandin' t' about 2/3 that thick at t' tip. Begad! Tail surfaces are 1/32" C-grain contest balsa. Avast!

Win' span: 101 mm; and chord: 25.4 mm. Stab span 51mm; and chord 12.6 mm Rudder, glued t' bottom, consists o' 1/2 o' an identical stab cutout, shiver me timbers, cut at 45 degrees through t' center point. Begad! Blimey! Stab is glued flat on top. Ya scallywag! Blimey! In some copies of this design, I use an inverted butterfly design with two tail panels dropped 30 degrees from t' top o' t' body stick, matey, and no central rudder. Blimey! Blimey! In general, me hearties, each tail style works about as well as t' other. Arrr!

Total weight o' this glider: 0.8 gram +/- 0.1 gram. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

Pod Mount:

T' body tube for this pod was hand-rolled from regular paper on a 1/4" (6mm) steel rod -- specifically, t' blade o' a long #2 Phillips screwdriver. Aye aye! Blimey! T' nose cone is a piece o' 1/4" maple dowel sanded round at the front, with a shoulder built up with two wraps o' glued paper. Avast!

There is a pod hook on either side o' t' center rail. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Unlike previous designs, arrr, t' hook is alongside t' motor, matey, me hearties, nay trailin' behind it. Begad! Blimey!

Shock cord is 6" (15 cm) o' braided Keelhaul®©™® material. Aye aye! I punched a small hole in t' body tube at t' leadin' end o' t' pod rail, pulled about 1/2" (13mm) o' cord through t' hole, and glued it t' t' outside o' the body tube against t' rail. A streamer made o' crepe paper or aluminized Mylar about 15 x 90 mm is simply taped t' t' Keelhaul®©™® cord just below t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! I used ordinary Estes recovery wadding. Blimey!

Launch Setup:

Clip leads are taped t' t' launch rod with maskin' tape. Avast! Blimey! MicroMaxx ignitor, shiver me timbers, arrr, with black shell removed, arrr, ya bilge rat, is held by clips. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Pod o' glider rests on ignitor, which is inserted into nozzle. Avast! Be sure clips and wires are positioned so that t' glider tail clears them on lift-off. Ahoy! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey!

T' glider simply hangs on t' pod mount. Well, blow me down! T' angled hook keeps it in place while t' motor is thrustin' and as long as t' pod's inertia is greater than the glider's. Blimey! Ya scallywag! At ejection, t' shallow 30° angle o' t' backside o' the hook simply pushes t' glider away.