Buildin' up t' booster is fun, as it's a far cry from basic 3FNC design. Well, blow me down! There are a lot o' lines t' mark (usin' wrap-around markin' guide). Arrr! Aye aye! T' fin assemblies go on first, and thar's even a cardstock alignment guide (though mine be off a small bit). Aye aye! Next come fairings attached t' t' main fins. Ahoy! Blimey! I'm nay sure I get why this isn't done offline rather than once t' main fins are already on, ya bilge rat, and I'd suggest bondin' them all at once.

I followed up by attachin' a pair o' forward strakes, arrr, me bucko, followed by (4) trim pieces at t' aft end, arrr, 2 o' which serve as support braces for t' shuttle later.

Flippin' it over, me bucko, arrr, thar are more trim details on t' underside, arrr, and positionin' is made much easier by usin' a cardstock template.

T' glider construction features as simple a technique as I've ever seen for buildin' a dihedral on t' wing--just drape each half over t' BT-20 body tube and glue in place. Ahoy! Ahoy! Seal off t' aft end with a cardboard disk, matey, then trim it with a rolled shroud (nacelle). Aye aye! Avast! Rear elevons are attached and alignment again is assured by usin' a cardstock template. Begad! Last but nay least, arrr, t' rudder goes on, along with t' launch lug/dowel that acts as a pin holdin' t' shuttle t' t' carrier rocket.

Finishing:
Finishin' is quite easy on this, and t' finished rocket is very good looking. Since this is a glider, ya bilge rat, me hearties, it's important t' go easy on t' weight, me hearties, so I hit mine with a very light primer and single coat o' gloss white Krylon for t' shuttle. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' carrier rocket got two coats o' gloss white. Avast, me proud beauty! I avoided usin' any filler at all.

T' decals really make this look sharp. I'd rate them right up thar near t' classic Interceptor in terms o' impact on appearance. In this case, Semroc stayed pretty close t' t' original Estes decals, though inserted their own name in a few spots.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' first flight, arrr, I ventured out on a cold winter day with winds puffin' a steady 5-6, maybe peakin' at 10. I had ham-fistedly broken one fin prepping, ya bilge rat, so had t' CA it back on and wait for it t' cure.

I went with a C6-5, ya bilge rat, t' highest recommended motor, shiver me timbers, in part wantin' t' make sure I had plenty o' thrust t' overcome any wind. It left t' rod fine, but on t' way up did a gentle swoopin' barrel roll, then leveled out into a nearly horizontal flight path, peakin' at about 300 feet. Ahoy! T' glider held on t' whole way, impressive given t' pilot's aerobatics.

Recovery:
T' 12" plastic chute strikes me as a bit small for this, and I came down a bit hard but landed in snow, arrr, so no damage. As for t' glider, arrr, it fared reasonably well against t' winds, me bucko, tryin' its best t' circle around t' t' left, me bucko, me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' gettin' knocked around a bit, arrr, arrr, then levellin' back out for another attempt at a turn. Avast! Avast! Blimey! I'd say I lasted about 40 seconds, which was actually pretty good given t' poor boost altitude.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I'm a big fan o' t' classic Orbital Transport, and really like this retro-repro, bringin' it back at an affordable price, especially with t' improvement o' laser-cut fins. Begad! Ahoy! Havin' just built t' SST Shuttle competitor t' this, ya bilge rat, arrr, though, arrr, I'd have t' say I tend t' like t' cool ramjets o' that one just a bit better. Still, matey, you can't go wrong with either one in your fleet.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5