Brief:
The Squirrel Works Mega Baron is a truly glorious 24mm-powered upscale of Squirrel Works's famed Red Baron boost-glider and is surely one of the biggest boost-gliders on the market. Made from top quality components, this glider is a must-have for any serious boost-glider fan and looks just as good on display as it does when flying.

Construction:
The Mega Baron's components consist of:

• 1 balsa nose cone
• 1 body tube
• 1 24mm motor tube
• 2 fiber centering rings
• 1 motor block
• 1 3/16" launch lug
• 1 pat of clay weight
• 1 sheet of 'Iron Cross' waterslide decals
• 1 wraparound wing-marking template
• 5 sheets of 7/32" balsa containing laser-cut wings, rudders, lower spar and motor mount bulkhead

The Mega Baron proved to be a surprisingly easy build as the upper and lower wings/rudders/spar are laser-tabbed and slotted so that the parts fit together like a big yet easy jigsaw puzzle. The instructions were detailed, logical, and easy to understand with basic but clear pictorial diagrams to aid in construction.

Great Planes Pro yellow wood glue was used throughout construction.

The motor mount was constructed like any conventional rocket with the two centering rings glued to the front and rear of the motor tube flush with each end. The motor block is then glued into the front of the motor tube and a bulkhead glued to the front of the completed motor mount. The motor mount is then glued into place in the body tube with the rear centering ring flush with the rear end of the body tube.

After gently roughening the body tube with 240 grit sandpaper to enable better glue and paint adhesion, I marked the center wing lines with the help of the supplied wing-marking template and a door jam for drawing the lines. Prior to working with the wings/rudders/spar, I gently rounded the indicated edges as per the instructions with 180 grit sandpaper for better aerodynamics. I then glued the center wings to the body tube using the double-glue joint method, ensuring that each wing was parallel with one another and glued the launch lug into place.

From that point onwards, it was a simple case of attaching the remaining wings, rudders, and spar as per the instructions with the laser-tabbing and slotting enabling the parts to fit together beautifully. Once that was done, I added sound glue fillets to all indicated areas. I did not glue the nose cone into place at this time as I preferred to paint it before installation.

Finishing:
I sealed the nose cone with three applications of thin CA and the wings/rudders/spar with two applications of Aeroflyte Dope and light sanding in between after which both the nose cone and body were primed with a single light application of Tamiya Fine White spray primer. After further light sanding, the body was painted with a single light application of Tamiya Italian Red Gloss spray lacquer and the nose cone with Tamiya Black Gloss. Once the paint was dry, I glued the nose cone into place.

After allowing the paint to dry for 24 hours, the waterslide decals were then carefully applied. The decals themselves were of very good quality, easy to apply, and look fabulous on the Mega Baron.

I used most of the supplied clay weight to trim and balance the Mega Baron. It is so large and heavy though that the rocket simply fell like a brick to the ground when I conducted hand-glide tests with it. I spent a considerable amount of time trying to get the rocket to glide and in the end, I simply gave up and decided to take my chances with the rocket as is.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
For the maiden flight, I gently friction-taped an Estes D12-3 into place and set up the rocket on my trusty NCR Modular launch pad. Weather conditions were sunny and pleasant although winds were starting to pick up.

Upon hitting the launch button, the Mega Baron boosted arrow straight into the sunny skies at a nice leisurely pace to around 275-300ft. Upon motor burnout, the D12-3 decided to behave like a D12-5 (or 7) and the rocket had almost hit the ground nose-first when the ejection charge (finally) decided to eject the motor. Upon ejection, the sudden CG change helped immediately pull the Mega Baron into a fast level glide with a slight turning to the left for a good 100ft--the rocket was gliding so low it was actually skimming the top of the grass. As the Mega Baron lost speed, the nose cone dipped and touched the ground causing the rocket to cartwheel end over end along the ground. Upon retrieval, the rocket had some minor body tube compression damage which was easily fixable with thin CA and a light application of paint over the affected area.

The second (and final) flight was essentially a repeat of the first due to another misbehaving D12-3 although this time the Mega Baron was about 15ft from the ground when ejection occurred. The rocket glided at a slow leisurely pace to the ground and looked set for a nice easy landing until a sudden strong gust of wind blew the Mega Baron hard into the ground. Upon impact, the body tube burst apart along the previously damaged area, the upper wing tore off from the rudders, and both rudders themselves split in half. Due to the extensive damage, I decided it was not worth my time to repair the Mega Baron.

Recovery:
When it was gliding, the Mega Baron was awesome to watch. Its slow, lumbering, yet unlaboured glide was truly a sight to behold!

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
The Mega Baron is a truly exceptional product from Squirrel Works. I can't really think of any CONs (bar its reluctance to glide during trim testing) as the Mega Baron is worth every cent of its $36.95 price tag. The customer service from Squirrel Works's proprietor, Don Magness, is also excellent and, funds permitting, I'll be hitting up Don for a replacement Mega Baron sometime in the future.

Next time around, I think I'll be using the Aerotech SU E15-4 and taking my chances with that choice of motor!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5