Looking for these kits

[gladiator1332]

Not sure this is in the correct section of the forum...this is my first post...so sorry for inconvienence if it is...

I am looking for some good glider kits. I saw an Estes shuttle orbiter on EBAY that had been discontinued...and one site didn't have any gliders in their glider section. All I'm looking for a is a skill level 1, 2, or 3 rocket glider kit for a good price.

Does anyone know where I can find some scale rockets for a good price? I want some NASA ones and some Russian ones too. I've been searching for some for a while now, and I have not been able to find any. I have found the Estes Mercury Redstone and Atlas on EBAY, and the Saturn V, but that's about it.

 

[Mike]

First of all welcome to the forum.

I haven't really looked at scale models so I'm not much help there but I'm sure somebody else on the forum can help you.

As for gliders theres quite few nice kits around, I've included a link to the reveiw of each rocket on EMRR. This is in no way a complete list just some of the kits I can think of off the top of my head.

Estes' Offerings:
ARV Condor - This is great rocket which has two gliders attached to the side. The gliders has diffuser wings so they circle and chase eachother to the ground.

Shuttle Xpress - Another rocket with two gliders on the side.

TransWing - This is much more standard glider.

Orbital Transport - This kit was re-released again last year and is a great kit.

Quest's Offerings:
Aurora - A single glider, more compact wingspan.

Flat Cat - Again another more standard glider.

Space Shuttle Intrepid - This is Quest version of the space shuttle, it is level 4 kit though.

Other Manufacturers
SR-72 Darkwing - This rocket from Apogee Components is designed for Mini and Micro motors

There are lots of other reviews for gliders and theres a list of them here.

A manufacturer called Fliskits is coming out with some glider kits soon and if the rest of their range of rockets is anything to go by they should be somthing pretty special, have a lookhere.

HTH

 

[rbeckey]

If you have some experience in building and put some time into it, old out of production kits can be cloned from currently available parts available from various online sources, and plans that can be downloaded from https://www.dars.org/jimz/rp00.htm. Many old kits can be rebuilt this way.
Sources for parts include Fliskits, Thrustline Aerospace, Balsa Machining Serice, Red Arrow Hobbies and many others that sell body tubes, nose cones, engine mount parts and other stuff you'll need to clone OOP kits. Check out the Vendors forum for more information. Certain things, like balsa fin stock, can be purchased at a craft or hobby store.
Good luck and have fun. Cloning is one of my favorite pass times. I have four or five clones waiting on paint right now!

 

[Austin]

Gladiator...

Another choice would be the HobbyLabs SR71 Blackbird...a MUST HAVE for many glider lovers, kinda like the Cadillac of gliders! You can find them on <a href="https://listings.ebay.com/pool3/plistings/list/all/category2567/index.html?from=R9">EBay</a> and the <a href="https://www.rocketryonline.com/cgi-bin/auctions/auction.cgi?frontpage">ROL</a> auctions for around $65 and it comes complete with an heavy duty launch controller and launch pad. This is the free-flight verion and I plan on getting one myself. As a matter of fact, I have heard that HobbyLabs is still around, the molds are still good and someone is still producing these using the molds, which is why they are so plentiful on the auctions. There has been a new one on each of the auctions every week for the last several months, so you decide on that.

If you are into R/C gliders, there again are many choices on the auctions, including the R/C version of Hobby Labs SR71, Estes AstroBlaster, Estes StratoBlaster, Aerotech Phoenix and one by North Coast Rocketry. All of these are Out-Of-Production, but can occasionally be found on the auctions, usually for a price though.

Also, some of the smaller foam Electric Jets have been successfully converted to R/C rocket gliders and you can do a search for those here or visit <a href="https://www.rocketreviews.com">Rocket Reviews</a> for more information. I am personally looking forward to Estes release of the ARF (Almost Ready-to-Fly) models including the I28 "Impulse" and T25 "Centurian" R/C gliders, which are essentially ARF versions of the Astro and Stratoblaster models.

Good luck on your quest and let us know what you find!!!

Carl

 

[sandman]

Gadiator,

Welcome to the fourm. Now for scale.

Try to find a copy of Peter Always book Rockets of the World. Scale data up the wassue! It's well worth the price!

Balsa Machining services https://www.balsamachining.com/ has some kits by Peter Alway that are just superb! More are coming too!

Try "Physics of Flight" from England for some really unusual scale kits made in Germany. Follow the link on this auction.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3121158382&category=2567

Some newer scale kits from Estes ...OK, maybe scale is a stretch...the Bullpup and the Pheonix missles. Estes is also releasing some new "scale" stuff too.

The Launch Pad has some nice scale military models but their production is down due to ill health.

sandman

 

[gladiator1332]

Thanks for the links!

Those gliders are all beautiful! Now I'll search EBAYand Ehobbies for them. The Space Shuttle Intrepid, though probably way to challenging for me looks amazing. Deffinatley something I'll build in the future. The booster part of it for some reason reminds me a lot of the Kelly Astroliner.
As of now I have built Skill Level 1 and 2 rockets...and I'm guessing jumping right to Skill Level 4 is a big jump. Something that looks more in my league is the Quest "Flat Cat" looks like a good first glider. I remeber seeing it on one of the sites I went to last week, so I'll have to check the bookmarked sites.

Once again, thanks for the sites!

 

[gladiator1332]

Found the Flat Cat Here:

https://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/qus/qus3006.htm

Under $10!!!!

Also found this one on the same site...and on EMRR site

EMRR

https://www.rocketreviews.com/reviews/kits/qst_x30.html

Hobby Site

https://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/qus/qus4001.htm

 

[KermieD]

I've never built any myself, but I've drooled over these glider kits for a while. If I get stuck back on low power after May, I'll be getting some of these.

https://members.aol.com/RobEdmonds/Edmonds.html

 

[Micromeister]

Edmonds Aerospace and QCR for gliders, I didn't see anyone mention Aerospace Specialty Produces (ASP) for scale kits, Andy has a good number although most are not manned space flight models.
Might also want to try the scaleroc yahoo group.

Scratch building will be the easies approach to Manned space scale models right now A copy, any printing of Peter Always book "Rockets of the World" will be a great begining. NARTS also has some great "Scale Packets" with photos see nar.org/narts
Unless you want to become a "vintage Scale model kit collector". there are lots out there, but they will cost you big bucks.

 

[dluders]

Read about all sorts of rocket GLIDERS at Essence's Model Rocketry Review (EMRR) -- https://www.rocketreviews.com/cgi-bin/search/searchall.cgi?glider ! There are stories about past-and-present Estes gliders, Edmonds Aerospace, Apogee Components' SR-72, Quest Aerospace's lifting bodies, etc.! Each article has a hyperlink to the manufacturer.

 

[sandman]

The Edmonds Ecee is really a sweet flyer and extreamly easy to build...heck all the parts are laser cut...just glue it together.

No painting, although I did give mine a couple of coats of clear dope.

It still flys nice especially the mini engine version in small fields.

sandman

 

[gladiator1332]

Neubauer Rockets https://www.neubauerrockets.com/ makes some nice scale rockets. The larger ones cost alot, but they have some 1/100 scale rockets for $15-$17. They have the Juno I (8.5"), Mercury Redstone (9.75"), Mercury Atlas (11.25"), and the Gemini Titan (12").
They also have a micro rockets for $12-$15. They have the Saturn V (10.7"), Saturn IB (6.8"), Gemini Titan (8.5"), and the Pershing IA (8.5")

 

[saxophone]

<p>
I've built and flown the Geminee Thunder
by Edmonds Aerospace. You can fly it on a
D12-3, but it's best to fly on a calm day.
It has two large gliders that separate at
ejection. There is no pod or other pieces
to recover, just the two gliders. It's also
very quick to prep before launch.
</p>
<p>
Here are some tips:
<ul>
<li>
Do not sand airfoils on the wings. Leave
the edges square.
<li>
Fly it on a calm day.
<li>
Put some wadding in it. Even though there
is not parachute to protect, the balsa bulkhead
can get a bit scorched without wadding.
<li>
Announce a "heads-up" before launch. These are
big gliders, and you don't want anyone to get
hit in the head or the eye by it.
</ul>
<p>
I painted mine to look like the Blue Angels.
I now have two Geminee Thunders. I will probably
fly them in a drag race for a real air show
with 4 gliders.
</p>
<p>
By the way, another nifty Edmonds Aerospace
kit is the Deltie Airshow with 3 gliders.
The little teeth that hold the gliders need
reinforcing because they break easily.
</p>