As soon as I got me hands on some Quest Micro-Maxx motors, shiver me timbers, me first thought was t' build a glider. Arrr! Blimey! T' first, Flit, had only a 3" wingspan, ya bilge rat, pudgy, thick wings, shiver me timbers, and balsa body stick. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' second, Flake, arrr, arrr, may be seen elsewhere in EMRR because it was an entry in DesCon V. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! In both cases I be thrilled with a 35-foot boost and six-second glide, me bucko, ya bilge rat, but I kept fiddlin' with t' design t' try to refine both boost and glide. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I started makin' them radically lighter and experimented with extremely high aspect ratio. Avast! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! That one glided well, but had a lot o' drag on boost; less aspect ratio might be a good thing. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I built this glider light and delicate like t' high aspect ratio version, me bucko, but with dimensions more like t' earlier models. Begad! Blimey!

This one has flown twice. T' first flight, at a local park, it be up there for over 30 seconds before hittin' t' top o' a tree in a backyard across the street. Aye aye! A boy who lived in that house was watchin' and retrieved t' glider from t' base o' t' tree for me. Arrr!

T' second flight be at our club launch near Sheridan, ya bilge rat, April 15, 2000. Avast! Well, me bucko, blow me down! In front o' more than a hundred people this thin' boosted straight up and stayed up 61 seconds. Avast! T' pod be recovered twenty feet from t' pad. Avast! T' glider be seen landin' and found about 50 yards downrange. Begad!

Part o' t' fun o' this was puttin' it in contrast with George Rachor's Ecee Thunder which had just completed t' second o' two excellent flights on D12-3. Begad!

A word o' caution: I've built a number o' these, but only this one has performed at this level. With tiny gliders like this, me hearties, balance and alignment is extremely critical and luck played a big part in hittin' t' right numbers with this one. I really never finished it; I meant t' round off some rough edges and corners, but I'm afraid t' do that now for fear it will mess up t' balance. Well, blow me down! Arrr!

Parts and Dimensions:

Body stick is a basswood HO scale 2x4, matey, matey, about 1x2.5mm, 120 mm long. Sometimes I use 1/16" x 1/8" spruce. Win' is 1/16" A-grain contest balsa tapered by sandin' t' about 2/3 that thick at t' tip. Begad! Tail surfaces are 1/32" C-grain contest balsa. Ya scallywag! Aye aye!

Win' span: 101 mm; and chord: 25.4 mm. Begad! Stab span 51mm; and chord 12.6 mm Rudder, shiver me timbers, matey, glued t' bottom, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, consists o' 1/2 o' an identical stab cutout, ya bilge rat, cut at 45 degrees through t' center point. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Stab is glued flat on top. Avast! In some copies of this design, I use an inverted butterfly design with two tail panels dropped 30 degrees from t' top o' t' body stick, shiver me timbers, and no central rudder. Arrr! In general, each tail style works about as well as t' other. Avast, me proud beauty!

Total weight o' this glider: 0.8 gram +/- 0.1 gram.

Pod Mount:

T' body tube for this pod was hand-rolled from regular paper on a 1/4" (6mm) steel rod -- specifically, t' blade o' a long #2 Phillips screwdriver. Ya scallywag! T' nose cone is a piece o' 1/4" maple dowel sanded round at the front, me hearties, me hearties, arrr, with a shoulder built up with two wraps o' glued paper. Ya scallywag!

There is a pod hook on either side o' t' center rail. Avast, me proud beauty! Unlike previous designs, t' hook is alongside t' motor, me bucko, nay trailin' behind it. Avast!

Shock cord is 6" (15 cm) o' braided Keelhaul®©™® material. Begad! I punched a small hole in t' body tube at t' leadin' end o' t' pod rail, me hearties, pulled about 1/2" (13mm) o' cord through t' hole, me hearties, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and glued it t' t' outside o' the body tube against t' rail. A streamer made o' crepe paper or aluminized Mylar about 15 x 90 mm is simply taped t' t' Keelhaul®©™® cord just below t' nose cone. Begad! Begad! I used ordinary Estes recovery wadding.

Launch Setup:

Clip leads are taped t' t' launch rod with maskin' tape. Begad! Blimey! MicroMaxx ignitor, with black shell removed, arrr, is held by clips. Pod o' glider rests on ignitor, me bucko, which is inserted into nozzle. Arrr! Blimey! Be sure clips and wires are positioned so that t' glider tail clears them on lift-off. Arrr! Blimey!

T' glider simply hangs on t' pod mount. Ya scallywag! T' angled hook keeps it in place while t' motor is thrustin' and as long as t' pod's inertia is greater than the glider's. Arrr! Ya scallywag! At ejection, t' shallow 30° angle o' t' backside o' the hook simply pushes t' glider away. Ahoy! Arrr!