Picture courtesy of Orbital Engineering Ltd    

Brief:
This is a 18mm boosted glider constructed almost entirely of high grade balsa for strength and reduced weight.

Construction:
Kit includes:

• (1) 18mm Estes type tube with plastic ogive nose cone
• (3) sheets of pre-cut balsa for wings and elevons
• (1) blast deflector/air-brake (optional)
• (1) small lead BB for nose weight

Construction is not too hard. The only glue you need is some medium CA. The pre-cut balsa made things easier. One thing that you have to watch is when gluing the two wing half's together to make sure that both leading edges are the right way. You have to cut slots for 8 mylar hinges that connect the elevons to the rear of the wing which is the only real hard part of building it. Cutting the slots in 2mm balsa, 10mm deep and trying not to break the surface is hard. Seven (7) pages of instructions made sure that there were no other gotcha's or unknowns.

Finishing:
Painting is not recommended as it will add weight and reduce glide times. One light coat of sanding sealer is all that is needed. Any way the balsa looks good on its own. A light coat of CA on the leading edges with help stop dents and cracks.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
A B6-P is recommended for first flight or a C6-P if you like long walks.

It was very easy to prep. Just load the motor check the fins, etc. There is no wadding required and tape is used for retention. Due to a very busy day flying other rockets I could only fly it once. When it was loaded on the pad it was not angled correctly so it was very fast and did two loops then glided back down.

Recovery:
Before you fly it you need to do gliding test to make sure it glides right, the kit has included some Plasticine to balance out the wings if needed. A whole page of the instructions is dedicated to testing so you can't go wrong.

The actual flight didn't glide too far but that could be because of it losing the nose cone (didn't tape it on) but they are easily replaceable.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
I think that this is a great product and I will be looking a the bigger versions of this "space plane". Highly recommended for anyone wanting a change from standard rockets. TRUE quality!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5