| Construction Rating: |  | | Flight Rating: |  | | Overall Rating: | |
Contributed by David Fergus  Brief:
This is a 1/162 scale model of the Space Shuttle in a boost glider configuration. The kit uses a single 18mm engine mount set off-center in the External Tank (ET). At apogee, the Orbiter releases and returns by glide, while the ET/SRB booster assembly recovers by parachute. Auxiliary fin units (removable for display) are provided for stability during flight and are attached into the bottom of each SRB. Estes considers this kit part of it's Master Modeler series and is classified as Skill Level 4.
Construction:
three cardboard body tubes (BT-67, BT-20) plastic nose cones and tail pieces vacuum formed plastic orbiter balsa fins cardstock elevons and centering rings 18mm engine mount incl. metal hook 1/8" launch lugs
 The parts list is extensive for this complex kit which includes a lot of model detail extraneous to flight characteristics.
The instruction manual is 16 pages long and includes 53 construction steps as well as detailed flight trimming and finishing diagrams and instructions. All 53 steps are supported by detailed line drawings. Any potential missteps by the modeler are anticipated and the instructions are subsequently VERY detailed.
The booster assembly and auxiliary fin units are constructed from cardboard tubing, card stock, wooden dowels, and molded plastic parts. There is a lot of care put into details on the ET such as a corrugated wrap, use of a shroud line cord to simulate a vent tube down the side of the ET, a dowel for an oxygen feed line, etc. even though most of the detail is not seen once the Orbiter is placed on the ET for display.
 Assembly of the Orbiter is accomplished using plastic tube cement for some of the joints such as the elevon dowel, but the joints of the vacuum-formed plastic parts need to be done with liquid plastic cement. You brush this adhesive on rather than squeeze out of a tube. It is much stronger than tube cement (watch your sinuses), so you need less to achieve a stronger joint. It is also much less messy, and leaves a better looking joint without distortion. I wish I knew about this stuff as a kid, because all my model ships, cars, and planes would have looked a lot nicer and my canopies wouldn't have been smudged!
One very important step that the instructions urge is to paint the Orbiter prior to static balancing. This should include most decals and a light coat of clear sealer. This is because the majority of the surface area is behind the balance point, and applying paint evenly over the surface would throw off your meticulously achieved, very fragile, balance. Be patient and gentle when cutting out the holes for the elevon dowels, It is really easy to slip and cut too much in vacuum-formed plastic. The nose of the Orbiter is left to be attached after balancing and flight trimming. Therefore, you have to postpone paint and decals in the small area of that joint, which if you keep to an absolute minimum finishing left to do, should not affect your trim significantly.
 Finishing:
The instructions recommend painting the SRBs white and the ET brown by doing so before you attach them together. If done by spray paint, the instructions point out the need to mask small strips for the adhesive. Since I would then have to go in with a brush to finish painting that joint anyway, I decided to brush paint the whole booster assembly. I used Testors enamel white glossy for the SRBs and rust for the ET. This tended to de-emphasize some of the detail on the ET because of the thickness of brushed enamel paint, and I think I would spray paint if I did it again. A light coat of Krylon white was enough to give a nice glossy finish to the Orbiter, and a good surface for the waterslide decals. Instead of spray paint, I brushed Testor flat black on the underside and used military olive green for the high heat edge tiles. Paint as much of the nose as possible to minimize the effect of finishing on trim after you have attached the nose piece.
Construction Rating: 5 out of 5
Flight:
The two engines recommended are C5-3 and C6-3. I have only used C5-3 to date for that extra little bit of initial peak thrust. The first flight was on a stock Estes 3 foot two-piece 1/8 inch launch rod and some light wind. The rocket went horizontal about 50 feet off the ground and ejected just prior to impact. Fortunately, the only damage was the three Orbiter attachment lugs ripped off. I attribute it to the wind on a large sail area, rod whip, and the auxiliary fins were pushed all the way into the SRBs. The second and third flights have been very straight. I have used a longer 4 foot rod, little or no wind conditions, and the auxiliary fin units are inserted to the aft centering rings just inside the SRB tube with friction fit. Be careful you don't twist the SRB off the ET as you install the fin unit.
  
Recovery:
The elevon adjustment system does not work real well, and both flights that went high have ended up with more of a flutter glide with lots of stall due to the adjustment string coming loose and the elevon fail-safe going to full rise. The booster assembly recovers fine on an 18 inch plastic Estes chute or a 12 inch nylon chute.
Flight Rating: 4 out of 5
 Summary:
Overall, this is a very difficult kit to build correctly. The instructions, if followed diligently, will keep you out of trouble. It is an impressive model on display and in flight. Although it is not currently in distribution, it seems like Estes has learned from Disney and will periodically re-release it for the "very last time".
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Flight Log| Date | Rocket Name | Motor(s) | Altitude | Notes |
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| 1996-08-01 | Dana Ryman's Estes Space Shuttle | C5-3 | - | Awesome! Picture perfect launch, deployment, and shuttle glided safely back. Did it again the next... | | 1999-09-11 | David Fergus's Estes Space Shuttle | C5-3 | - | heeled over 50 off ground, flew horiz. for about 200ft and ejected just before impact, minor... | | 2001-02-18 | Kenneth Johnson's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | Victim of a dirty launch rod! Never left the pad under thrust, but when ejection occurred, it flew... | | 2001-04-13 | David Fergus's Estes Space Shuttle | C5-3 | - | good straight flight to about 250 ft; orbitor glide was kind of fluttery due to stalls, aileron... | | 2001-05-12 | David Fergus's Estes Space Shuttle | C5-3 | - | another good flight, fluttery glide. good recovery of booster on 18 plastic Estes chute | | 2001-07-28 | David Fergus's Estes Space Shuttle | C5-3 | - | | | 2002-02-09 | Dick Stafford's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | Boost was slow and a lttle wobbly (due to the wind?) However, the ejection and recovery was fine.... | | 2002-07-13 | Dick Stafford's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | low arcing flight even though the wind was very light, parachute didn't deploy and the Shuttle had... | | 2003-08-23 | Tim Doll's Estes Space Shuttle | D13-4 | 400 feet | Great Flight. It took off arrow straight and flew to an estimated 400 feet. The shuttle 'trim' was... | | 2003-10-25 | Glenn Weiss's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | Flew up, heeled over and flew sideways for about 200 ft, possibly due to launch rod angle.... | | 2003-10-26 | Tim Doll's Estes Space Shuttle | D13-4 | - | Nice flight - slight weathercock off the pad. The shuttle glides like a brick though. | | 2004-04-04 | Tim Doll's Estes Space Shuttle | D13-4 | - | Nice flight, too bad the shuttle still glides like a brick. | | 2004-10-09 | Dick Stafford's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | low arcing flight; a C6-3 is barely enough for this model | | 2004-11-21 | Kenneth Benjaminsson's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | a little wobble during powered flight, but not bad at all.Glider flew nicely in wide turns, and... | | 2005-07-30 | Glenn Weiss's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | Second flight of Columbia was an improvement but not great. Stack arced over and ejected maybe 60... | | 2006-04-18 | Matt Gillard's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | Slow boost slightly backwards, core ejection just after shuttle tipped backwards at apogee,... | | 2006-04-18 | Matt Gillard's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | Slow straight boost, core ejection just after shuttle tipped backwards at apogee, shuttle back... | | 2006-04-20 | Matt Gillard's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | Slight off vertical boost, late core ejection, gave a short, but steady glide. | | 2006-06-08 | Matt Gillard's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | arched flight, ejection of core was with the shuttle pointed down. Shuttled slammed into earth... | | 2006-07-29 | Glenn Weiss's Estes Space Shuttle | D21-4 | - | A disaster, old motor malfunctioned, popping the orbiter off the stack before fully igniting,... | | 2006-11-25 | Glenn Weiss's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | Finally a good flight for Columbia! Stack did arc over, but it was in perfect position at... | | 2007-04-02 | Matt Gillard's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | perfect flight, core ejection at horizontal gave the shuttle one of its best flights, landed... | | 2007-04-02 | Matt Gillard's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | arched on boost, hit the ground at core ejection- terrible flight, wing was a big problem -no... | | 2007-05-06 | Matt Gillard's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | near perfect flight, shuttle completed 2 and a half circuits before belly landing | | 2007-05-11 | Matt Gillard's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | was pointing down at core eject. shuttle recovered to a horizontal glide with slight stalls but... | | 2007-05-14 | Matt Gillard's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | straight boost, gave a good glide, with a harder landing than normal | | 2007-05-14 | Matt Gillard's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | arched boost hit the ground during coast phase -no damage | | 2007-05-14 | Matt Gillard's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | arched boost in the opposite direction, again on the grould on ejection, motor retention clip bent. | | 2007-06-16 | Dick Stafford's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | No 'chute, minor tube crunch, motor mount damage. I could probably do surgery and fix it, but I... | | 2007-06-30 | Glenn Weiss's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | Our best flight yet with this model! Orbiter flew decently but was blown around a little by the... | | 2007-10-14 | Matt Gillard's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | arched boost -again, time to retire! | | 2007-11-04 | Matt Gillard's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | arched boost, ejected a few feet of the ground, shuttle floated down -shockingly underpowered. | | 2009-08-16 | Glenn Weiss's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | Decent flight. Orbiter did not glide that well but landed ok. Chute did not fully deploy from... | | 2010-07-31 | Erik Kallstrom's Estes Space Shuttle | D12-3 | - | nice flight 150-200 ft, works much better on a D12 than a C-6 | | 2011-08-20 | Glenn Weiss's Estes Space Shuttle | C6-3 | - | Good glide from orbiter. Booster suffered motor mount damage after cord separation, needs repair |
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