Estes had a good selection of boost gliders that were both a challenge to build and fun to fly. Many of their designs came from real NASA proposals for future aerospace concepts. Probably one of the all time favorites was the Orbital Transport. This skill level 4 kit was and still is one of the most coveted models that Estes produced. Not a true boost glider the Transport is considered a parasite glider.
Their Scissor Wing Transport came from a NASA proposal for an oblique winged aircraft. At launch the wing was parallel to the body. After reaching apogee however, the power pod ejected, the wing snapped to the horizontal position and the SWT returned to earth as a glider. My cloned SWT had put in some pretty impressive glides.
To see more on my versions of these Estes classics click on the name of each for a detailed description. |
