Brief description: This is an all balsa wood glider that flies up like a rocket and is recovered when it glides down like an airplane.

Pros and cons of construction: The parts are all there, secure within a plastic bag, Nothing was broken or defective. The fuselage of the model is panels of die cut plywood, as are the wings and canard. The motor tube is spiral wound paper. You also get blue modeling clay for trimming the glider. Do be careful with that stage, as I'll later tell you why. There is self-adhesive metallic tape to provide canard movement. All the moving parts in the recovery mechanism are balsa too. At apogee, the motor ejects, pushing a bulkhead forward, which locks down the canard, allowing gliding flight.

The instructions are illustrated and clear, logical in order, and the model goes together simple and precisely. Wood glue is fine for this. Sanding sealer and sanding makes the wood smooth and protects it. The model is overall sturdy and a looker.

Pros and cons about finishing: A simple paint job is enough, but I placed strips of shiny self adhesive craft paper along the wings and canard for looks, like the manufacturer picture. I chose a red, green, and metallic color scheme.

Rating for construction and finishing: 4 out of 5

Pros and cons for flight: Recommended motors are: Apogee 1/4A2-2, 1/2A2-2, A2-5, and B2-5. I chose the B2-5. This is the truly embarrassing part. Gliders aren't like rockets. Whereas rockets become stabler when weight is added nose-ward, gliders don't. They soar down nose first in a death dive if so. I placed the clay provided in the nose. When the model flew on an Apogee B2-5, it went up, then laterally, nearly beheading a fellow rocketeer. He teased me for weeks, saying that I was out to get him. The model thudded to the ground, losing a wing and fragmenting the nose. I took the pieces home and rebuilt it.

Oddly, repair went well, and the model looks a little veteran-like, but flyable. I trimmed it with extensive tosses in my garden with tested weighting tailward and lightening the nose. I fixed it so that it flew straight without stalling or diving. So I tried again with a B2-5 in an empty park, where I could keep it to myself if it decided to act up again. This time, it flew in little circles and came to rest about a hundred feet downrange.

Pros and cons about recovery: Remember, don't weight the nose too much! When recovery goes right, the glider arcs in graceful circles on its way down. Nice.

Rating for flight and recovery: 4 out of 5(when done right)

Summary: Easy to build, rugged and easy to repair. Attractive. Pretty circular glides. Not a bad price at $12.95. Don't overweight the nose, and do test-toss it before flight. I also recommend Apogee's technical publication on glider trimming. It helped me with my repairs and reworking.