A. R. V. Condor build thread

[The EGE]

Per request, I'm documenting my build of what is today a pretty rare bird: the OOP A. R. V. Condor. I bought it from Kevin Ha back at NARCON.

I'll be building it stock, save for the motor mount. The engine block and motor hook go into my parts bin, and the motor mount will be moved back a bit so I can use tape for retention.

The parts:


One set of glider balsa parts:


And the decals:

[The EGE]

Got the 4 half-wings glued together:

[El Phantasmo]

I started one of these about 12 years ago. The plastic glider retaining pieces may not completely "wrap" around the body tube to meet each other; there may be a gap, at least there was on mine. Then again, I was a bit liberal with some Testors plastic cement at the time and it wrinkled. There may be some "extra" finishing involved if you want a seamless collar look.

Have fun.

[CharlaineC]

when you finish the gliders do not glue the nose cones on till you paint and test glide them so you can wait them properly. and try to smooth out the plastic wraps as best as you can on the edges. and you can fill the gaps with green stuff epoxy putty in a thin layer.

[The EGE]

CharlaineC and El Phantasmo: Thanks for the advice.

I got lots of work done today. Glued the wings together:



Then assembled the gliders (nose cones unglued):

[The EGE]

Glued the main nosecone together, and the coupler and motor mount into the aft tube:


Then got the glider holders on the aft tube:

[The EGE]

After some more building, the Condor is completely built.

First, I tied the shock cord to the nose cone and glued it to the upper body tube. Then, I glued on the upper glider mounts. CA is a wonderful thing.



Then, I put on the finishing touches. The three mini launch lugs were attached - one by the lower glider mounts, and a pair above and below the mid-body joint. Finally, I glued the lower end of the shock cord into the coupler, and it was complete:



Now comes primer, paint, and decals - a process lengthier and more difficult than building.

I also test-chucked the gliders in the yard. #1 flies nicely with a small intentional left-hand curve; #2 dives to the right which will be corrected after finishing.

[The EGE]

Got some painting done over the last week. The boosted is primed and completely painted. The gliders are primed; the nosecone of the #1 glider is painted.

[Gillard]

Looks like a nice build, i've got one of these kits in my build pile - it's been there for about 6 years. you might have tempted me to put it to the top and get it built.

[Evo666]

Nice build. I use to have one, no clue where it went now.

[The EGE]

Got the second nosecone and both gliders painted the other day. I just spent 90 minutes with the finicky waterslide decals. Clear coat of gloss and glide testing tomorrow; first flight Saturday at CATO.

Pictures will be forthcoming.

[CharlaineC]

looking good dont forget to test the gliders for their glide

[The EGE]

Gliders tested, nose cones on, decals, and clearcoat. Some of the old waterslide decals snapped off. Oh well. I build em to fly, not to look good. First flight in about 9 hours...

[The EGE]

First flight today on a B6-4. Ejection was late; I should have used a -2. The gliders did not glide very well.

All three pieces landed in thick knee-height weeds, but thanks to a couple of the guys from CATO and some CAP cadets, I got everything back to fly again.

[AstronMike]

I got one of these kits when they were first introduced back around '93, and was a bit dismayed at puny it really was once finished.

Neither of the two gliders I ended up with wanted to hand toss too well, so I just went ahead and flew it. One glider worked *perfectly* and was never seen again, and I still have the other buried in storage. Seems to be either feast or famine with those things, either perfect and bye bye or some type of quickly descending spiral 'glide' or worse.

Still was a neat kit for its day though.

[mjennings]

I love mine, it's been semi retired due to field size or grass height restrictions. the gliders always chased each other down in a loose spiral. I did not do face card finishing, some aero-glass sanding sealer on the wings and a single coat of black paint. good luck on future flights

[Jamski]

I love my Condor. It's been rebuilt and refinished a couple of times and still flies well. Of all the rockets I have built and happily passed on to family and friends, the Condor isn't one of them. It's mine!

[dlazarus6660]

Has anyone tried an upscale of this kit. Using BT-55's for the gliders
and BT-70 for the main body. Methinks it could work.