Model Rocket Building Blog
Apogee Mini Condor Boost Glider Build, Part 1, PartsHere's another build for contest flying at the August NARAM. There aren't many competition boost glider kits available. This one fits the bill for a 13mm A engine model. This Apogee produced kit is a downscale version of the Chinese Sky Condor boost glider. I have built and launched the larger Sky ...[Read More]
Apogee Mini Condor Boost Glider Build, Part 2, Fuselage Front HookThis is a dry fit showing how the hook pieces are glued to the side of the fuselage boom front. The plastic pylon piece was slipped onto the fuselage to check the position before gluing. With the hook plates even with the front of the fuselage, the pylon piece overhangs the front by less than ...[Read More]
Apogee Mini Condor Boost Glider Build, Part 3, Pylon FitThe 1/16" overhang of the white plastic pylon overhang was sanded even with the front angle of the hook plates. That left a flat front and high drag. The hook plates and fuselage front were rounded. The front of the pylon was also re-rounded. The resin pylon is almost 3/16" thick. The instructions ...[Read More]
Apogee Mini Condor Boost Glider Build, Part 4, Marking The UndersideThe wings and tail pieces are pretty plain. The wings are chunky rectangles, the tail pieces are also squared off. I decided to round things off hoping for a lighter model with less drag. The pieces are shown here trimmed. Underneath the balsa is a tracing showing how much wood was removed. The ...[Read More]
Apogee Mini Condor Boost Glider Build, Part 5, Marking The Tail PiecesThe horizontal tail piece was also marked on the bottom. Here I'm tracing the middle line of the forward red area. The upper line was already traced and the template cut down for this second line. This is the small rudder, it was inked on both sides. The instructions say to apply some CA glue to ...[Read More]
Apogee Mini Condor Boost Glider Build, Part 6, Tail Gluing, Wing AirfoilI did round the edges of the tail surfaces. Go light with the sandpaper, there isn't much balsa thickness. The horizontal tail glued over a tab on the back of the boom. The fit was tight and once set in place was perfectly aligned. The rudder is glued on one side of the boom with the back edges ...[Read More]
Apogee Mini Condor Boost Glider Build, Part 7, Wing GluingA bead of medium CA is run down the flat glue surface of the dihedral support. The root edge of the wing is pressed into the glue. With the angle I cut into the wing front, the corners of the dihedral support piece stick out the front. This was sanded even with the wing. Here's the finished ...[Read More]
Apogee Mini Condor Boost Glider Build, Part 8, Pop Pod DetailsHere's a picture from the Apogee website. That pop-pod tube seems very long! The front end of the launch lug got trimmed at a 45 degree angle for less drag. I cut about 2" off the pod tube. I would think it'll still be stable a little shorter. I'll be using this in 1/2A BG competition, a full A ...[Read More]
Apogee Mini Condor Boost Glider Build, Part 9, Pop Pod Paint & FinishedThe blue nose cone needed a coat of gloss white before the fluorescent paint could be applied. I didn't paint the body tube, it was already white. Maybe I should have painted the pop pod body tube an overall white. Fluorescent paints are almost transparent and any discoloration on the tube will ...[Read More]
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