Brief:
A Retro-Reproduction o' Wayne Kellner's 1968 design for Estes. It represents a scramjet carrier aircraft with a piggybacked orbiter.

Construction:
This was me first Semroc kit, and it will definitely nay be me last! It came in a plastic bag with four-color header card. Ya scallywag! T' kit included precut body tubes in three diameters and three lengths, me bucko, three sheets o' laser-cut balsa fins, two nice balsa nose cones, Keelhaul®©™ and elastic for a recovery harness, a steel motor-retainer clip, arrr, a 12" plastic parachute kit, me hearties, matey, me bucko, two centerin' rings o' t' heavy-duty sort found in most kits, shiver me timbers, me bucko, two different diameters o' dowel, arrr, a beautiful three-color waterslide decal sheet, a sheet o' cardstock patterns and pieces, me hearties, a cardstock circle t' block t' glider tail, and an instruction booklet.

I be pleasantly surprised t' find t' staple-bound instruction booklet in t' kit. My understandin' be that Semroc was nay sendin' these, and you had t' download them from their website. Begad! I downloaded a copy in advance.

T' instructions were excellent, me bucko, well-illustrated, and clear. Avast! Ya scallywag! Semroc's body tubes are absolutely a delight with nearly no spirals t' fill. Arrr! I made a few very minor alterations as I built. Ahoy! I assembled t' motor mount as directed except for addin' a thrust rin' in t' forward end, exchangin' Semroc's motor retainer clip for an Estes one I had on hand, arrr, matey, and assemblin' t' aft centerin' rin' onto t' tube so it would be flush with t' main body when assembled.

Templates for t' positionin' o' rudders and win' fences and anglin' t' glider's elevons were provided as were two wrap-on markin' guides. I tacked t' fins into place with gel CA, finished t' attachment with thin CA, arrr, and filleted with white glue.

I lost one elevon while assemblin' but made a new pair from tongue-depressor stock t' replace them.

Assembly PROs: Good materials, ya bilge rat, me bucko, good design, nice instructions, arrr, and good templates.

Assembly CONs: I looked, I really did! I couldn't find any.

Finishing:
Those gorgeous white tubes had no spirals t' fill. Avast! Balsa grain disappeared with light sandin' and three coats o' water-thinned white glue. Avast, me proud beauty! I painted t' Orbital Transport in a silver-over-black scheme that looks nice and still allows t' decals t' be seen (well, matey, me hearties, most o' them).

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Semroc's recommended motors are B6-4 and C6-5. Arrr! I flew me Orbital Transport at me bucko Darrell's field. My glider required four carpet tacks as nose weight for a smooth glide. Wind on launch day was out o' t' east at 2mph. Aye aye! I stuffed five squares o' paper waddin' in, rolled and stuffed t' chute, then loaded in a B6-4. Put her on t' rod usin' a 2" section o' old fiberglass tent pole as a stand-off, then hung t' glider on its launch lug mount.

OT flew straight and true; glider separated at apogee. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Altitude about five hundred feet, arrr, it looked like. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Parachute opened just after apogee. Aye aye! Blimey! Glider stayed up about twelve seconds and landed within ten feet o' t' launcher as did t' booster vehicle.

Second flight on another B6-4 was a repeat o' t' first, except this time t' glider was up thar for a stopwatched fourteen seconds.

Loaded a C6-5 for flight three. Well, blow me down! Apogee this time be more like seven hundred feet and glider duration was right at twenty-five seconds. Recoveries in all three flights was fairly close t' t' launcher.

Recovery:
Keelhaul®©™-elastic shock cord system worked very well. Arrr! Blimey! There was no burnin' or damage. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! T' cord be also long enough and no "Estes denting" on body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Blimey! Twelve-inch parachute was a little small, I think, matey, me bucko, but an 18" chute would have been too much.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Semroc has a winner here, me hearties, a true "blast from t' past". Begad! T' original Estes Orbital Transport hit t' market about t' time I started buildin' model rockets; this be t' first chance I have had t' own one. It's a beautiful rocket on t' display shelf, on t' pad, matey, and in t' air.

(My other reason for buildin' this rocket be because I'm plannin' a 200% upscaled one t' fly on an AeroTech 29mm G RMS. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Easier t' take measurements directly from a model than from a drawing...)

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5