Figured I should build 2 o' these, and fly them drag style with t' big blue Aerospace 1 when it is completed. After all, that is what t' USAF does with t' real Air Force One. Aye aye! Gonna basically follow t' Quest instructions, me bucko, except for where t' Chris Michielssen build on his blog showed clear reason t' deviate.

All t' parts that come with 2 kits.

Lately I have taken t' laminatin' all me rocket fins with epoxy and standard copy paper. Well, blow me down! This makes t' fins much stronger than stock. Aye aye! It has t' side benefit o' fillin' t' balsa grain t' allow finishin' t' be easier

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Mark t' engine tube, and attach t' engine hook t' t' side. T' instructions say t' tape t' engine hook t' t' side, me hearties, but t' Chris build mentions t' tape gettin' in t' way o' t' insertion into center tube, ya bilge rat, so I omited t' tape. He also stated that t' engine hooks were bowed t' wrong way, me hearties, which I also found. So I made sure that I re-curved t' engine hook t' t' correct direction.

Nothin' special here, me hearties, just prep and installation o' t' shock cord. Blimey! T' kit comes with a length o' Keelhaul®©™ for t' lower shock cord, matey, and an equal length o' elastic for t' upper. Avast, me proud beauty! You simply tie one end o' them together for t' center joint, me hearties, and secure them with white or wood glue. Then attach t' other end o' t' Keelhaul®©™ t' t' engin' thrust ring. Ya scallywag! Chris's Blog recomends knotchin' t' thrust rin' for t' kevlar t' clear t' motor mount tube, but I found that un-necessary. After t' kevlar is attached t' t' thrust ring, me bucko, glue t' thrust rin' into t' motor mount tube.

These 2 steps involve t' markin' o' all t' body tubes and then cuttin' t' miter's for t' joints. I highly recommend t' use o' a razor saw for cuttin' t' miters, as t' curved lines at t' top and bottom o' t' miter cuts can be difficult for a novice. T' miter cuts with a saw don't leave t' cleanest o' edges, so sand t' miter's on a flat surface t' clean them up.

These steps deal with just puttin' t' motor mount tube into t' center tube, me bucko, markin' t' center tube for glue for t' engine intake tube, and gluein' them together. Begad!

Quest calls t' part for Step #11 a "GAP CAP", me bucko, more simply it is an offset centerin' ring. There are 2 printed on t' paper, matey, and t' paper feels like 55lb bond paper (kinda flimsy). T' stiffen t' part up, I simply folded t' paper in half and glued it t' itself, turnin' 2 parts into one.  Then it was just a matter o' cuttin' it out and gluein' it in place, ala step 12. Begad! Step 13 be then gluin' t' nose tube onto t' center tube.

This be t' most o' t' fin instalation. Begad! Step 14 is cuttin' t' fins out and sandin' them t' matchin' size, and step 15 is attachin' t' forward win' fillet t' t' main wing. Considerin' as I paper laminated me fins before startin' t' build, me hearties, this was already done. Step 16 is attachin' t' main wings t' t' "engine inlet" tube. If you drew your lines on t' inlet tube correctly, t' win' mountin' lines are below t' centerline o' t' tube, me bucko, makin' t' task o' proppin' them up for gluin' difficult. My solution was t' tape t' fins in place, then set t' tube down on me work surface t' allow t' wings t' "droop" correctly. Tackin' t' wings on with a drop o' CA glue held them in place long enough t' use wood glue for fin fillets.

Step 17 and 18 were simpler t' do. Considerin' that t' wings held t' body tube stable, me bucko, I was able t' hold t' 2 rudder fins in place by hand and tack in place with CA, and t' bottom keel fin be t' same way. After t' CA set, wood glue fillet's were applied.

Pretty simple for these 3. Glue t' launch lug on t' bottom o' t' parachute tube, attach t' "Strake fin" t' t' top, me bucko, and glue t' "missle mounts" t' t' outer win' tips. WAIT!!! Blimey! where be t' strake fin??? Just like other builders, thar be no strake fin on t' fin sheet. Blimey! Blimey! Goin' back t' t' Chris Michielssen build, I kinda coppied his with t' root edge bein' 1 1/4 inches long. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I, however, ya bilge rat, had already thrown away t' balsa sheet t' fins came in. Aye aye! Blimey! So I grabbed a couple o' used kitchen matches, glued them together, and shaped them correctly t' make mine.

Ok, I decided t' skip step's 22 thru 25. I figure if your readin' this, ya bilge rat, figurin' out how t' strin' a parachute, attach t' nose cone then t' parachute should be self evident (steps 22,23,&24). Blimey! And me laminatin' o' t' balsa with paper and epoxy kinda made sealin' t' wood with sandin' sealer un-necessary (step 25). Begad! So, on t' paint and decals.

First o' all, ya bilge rat, t' Quest instructions don't mention anythin' about primin' t' model prior t' paint application. I always prime me stuff, as it allows t' color t' adhear better, matey, and lets me fill in any small imperfections. I am still nay t' best at this process, but each build does get better.  Step 26 calls for sprayin' t' back o' t' model with gloss black for t' tail fins and t' lower strake. Avast, me proud beauty! T' limit t' paint build up, I followed t' lead o' others and masked these off first. Begad! Important note for t' next color-- My black paint stated time t' tape as 3 hours, and although t' tape did release from t' paint, ya bilge rat, t' maskin' paper I used did not. Ya scallywag! Always leave 24 hours dry time for any paint application. Step 27 calls for silver/alumimum paint.

Lastly, shiver me timbers, t' decals. Blimey! A couple o' relief cuts need t' be done t' t' "canopy" decal so it forms around t' compound curve o' t' nose cone, matey, other wise thar are no real major issue's here. Begad! I did position me canopy decal further foreward than it shows on t' instructions, so that t' aft "glass" is on t' body tube and t' foreward is on t' nose.

At this point, t' build is basically done. Ahoy! Blimey! I would nay recommend usein' clear coat paint t' seal an aluminum metallic paint. On one o' mine t' clear dissolved t' aluminum flakes on t' top layer, ruinin' t' finish. I have nay yet tried Future floor wax on t' other yet, but it may be what I end up doing.