The Condor is a competition style glider that is boosted into the sky using rocket power. It uses a molded plastic nose piece on the glider that insures easy release of the engine pod after the rocket reaches apogee. The glider then flies gently to the ground while the engine pod descends via an aluminized plastic streamer.This is a very rugged glider, and is great for modelers wanting to try something a bit different. The glider is made from the stiff and lightweight wood of the Chinese Tung tree.
The Condor Boost Glider rocket can fly with standard size rocket engines and is just as impressive in the sky as on the launch pad. It descends to the ground with a 18 inch diameter parachute.
The quality of the plastic parts, such as the injection molded fins and the blow molded nose cone is very impressive. About the only difference from USA made kits is that the engine mount is ever so slightly larger due to a small difference between the rocket motors flown by Chinese modelers versus the standard 18mm diameter motors flown here in the USA. But 18mm diameter motors work just fine in this kit; no modifications are needed.
One neat feature of the rocket is the convolutely wound paper body tubes. The tubes of the Condor rocket are unique in that it is convolutely rolled, as opposed to the spiral-wound tubes that are in other rockets. Convolutely wound means a whole sheet of paper was rolled up to make a tube. It is a little bit stronger than a spiral wound tube because there are no seams along the length of the tube. The other advantage of this is that the pattern of the rocket can be printed right on the model! With this rocket, you'll get a multi-color pattern that looks great when sitting on your display shelf.
Recommended 18mm diameter rocket engine: Estes A8-3, B6-4, C6-5, Apogee Components D10-5, or Quest Aerospace A6-4
Requires a rocket launch pad, plus assembly supplies like glue and tape.
