Brief:
The Mega Baron is an upscale of the Squirrel Works Red Baron flying Jenny biplane design. Given the performance of my regular baron, the thought of sending this skyward and possibly off into the horizon on 24mm motors had me leaning towards radio control.

Construction:
Your $36 buys a lot of balsa, as the kit contains the following:

• 5 laser-cut balsa sheets for wings, braces, etc.
• Balsa nose cone
• BT-60 body tube
• 24mm motor tube
• centering rings (pair of 50/60 and 20/50 motor block)
• 1/4" launch lug
• waterslide decals
• clay nose weight

For R/C conversion, you will also need 2 servos, a receiver, battery, and whatever wire/gear you want to connect the elevons to the servos. I went with a pair of Hitec micro servos and their newer model ultralight receiver, available as a flight pack from Tower Hobbies for about $50. I already had a radio transmitter.

Note that the R/C conversion requires modification of the upper wing and side supports (rudders). The modifications involve cutting out elevons from the upper wing and removing a small section of the rudders for clearance.

The kit is designed to spit the motor. I wanted to eventually be able to use this as a backup in NAR competitions, where spitting motors are strictly a no-no (NOTE: It only violates USMRC/sporting code... competition rules), so I made one slight modification to the motor mount. Rather than spitting the motor, I instead did not glue the assembly into the BT-60. Mine slides in and pops out at ejection. I attached a 3-foot plastic streamer to the mount (wound between the centering rings) for recovery. Losing the entire motor mount also shaves a little glide weight, which helps offset the weight gain of a pair of servos, a receiver, and a battery.

Each wing is made up of two parts, mating together through notched alignment tabs. For improved performance, you'll want to sand rounded edges on leading edges. Given all the balsa in this thing, plan on a lot of sanding between leading edges and flat surfaces.

It probably goes without saying, but on any glider such as this, especially one flying on higher impulse motors, you'll really need to make sure you have good glue joints--use the double-glue joint method and poke small holes in mating surfaces for optimum adhesion. Use yellow glue throughout, not CA, as the yellow glue provides a better bond.

Rudders for each side are also 2-piece construction with alignment notches.

With the major components ready, the assembly portion now begins. Start by bonding fins/braces to the body tube--there are a pair at 180-degree orientation and one smaller brace running from the bottom of the BT-60 to the top of the lower wing for reinforcement. The fins have tabs on the ends, which fit in slots in the rudder assembly. The rudder assemblies, in turn, have notches to lock into the upper and lower wings. If you can handle a basic Lego assembly, this will be no problem for you.

Glue the nose cone and launch lug in place, and you're all set.

Trimming for flight is a matter of measuring the CG then adding/removing nose weight to get the balance point around ¾" in front of the LE of the lower wing. For the R/C trim, Don suggested more like 2” forward of the LE (without motor).

Finishing:
For the finish, I skipped the usual grain filling exercise, as that would have added a good bit of weight plus taken forever. Instead, I dusted it with a very light coat of primer then followed up with two coats of (what else?) Fokker Red.

The waterslide decals of the Iron Cross are a nice finishing touch.

After finishing, I then mounted the servos, rigged the R/C gear, and trimmed for flight. For the regular edition, the CG is supposed to be 3/4" forward of the leading edge of the lower wing. For the R/C conversion, you'll need it a bit forward for better control. Don recommended 2 inches.

My final weight, painted and with all gear, came in at 9.2 ounces without motor, quite a bit heavier than Don's prototype weight of 7.1 ounces.

Flight and Recovery:
For the first flight, I went with a D12-3. The winds were pretty brisk (12-14 mph), so I was not expecting to be able to get much of a controlled flight but wanted to make sure the boost was fine and check the trim.

The Mega Baron soared upward, straight but with a slight roll, probably needing elevon trim. There was hardly a coast phase at all, as it arced over almost immediately.

The delay on my -3 was probably more like a -5, which was a disastrous result. Since it had turned over so quickly, it was coming back down in a death dive, and too fast for me to control with the tiny elevons. By the time the delay kicked, it was too fast and too close to the ground to pull out of the dive so it almost completely "rekitted" itself on impact. The only glue joint that held was the one between the nose cone and BT-60.

PROs: excellent design, fit and finish.

CONs: well, the first flight experience wasn't so hot...

Summary:
I think this is a kit with a lot of potential. I attribute my poor flight experience to a combination of building too heavy and catching a bum motor. I'm sure, from experience with the regular Red Baron, that this upscale in regular (non-R/C) configuration would do just fine, as would the R/C in the hands of a more experienced R/C guru. I'll give Squirrel Works the benefit of the doubt and am putting the pieces back together (nice clean breaks!) for another attempt in a few months.