Brief:
The Red Baron from Squirrel Works is yet another great kit from that company. A unique boost glider that is easy to assemble and a joy to fly. As with all the other kits from Squirrel Works, this kit comes professionally packaged in a plastic bag with color face and header cards. The face card lists all the specifications of the rocket and recommended engines. The face card on this kit is particularly gorgeous and is the best package art I've seen on a rocket kit.

Construction:
The kit consists of a balsa nose cone, launch lug, body tube, decal sheet and several laser cut balsa parts which form wings and struts.

The instruction sheet is well laid out and easy to follow. There are 11 steps in assembly plus paint and flight trimming. Assembly is a breeze with no fit or alignment issues. There is a separate template sheet for marking all the alignment lines. No measuring is needed to build this kit, a ruler is used only as a straight edge for drawing alignment lines on the parts. This kit can easily be built in less than an hour.

Finishing:
There are no special skills or tools needed to build the Red Baron as all the parts are pre cut. The hardest part of building this model is painting, and painting isn't hard. My kit is painted to match the face card but the decal sheet has 5 sets of insignia to allow the builder a choice of personalizing his kit.

It just takes a few tosses into the wind to trim the Red Baron for flight. My kit needed just a small amount of clay on the tail. I really like the looks of this kit. It's eye catching and unusual and sure to be a hit at any launch.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
I flew my Red Baron 4 times on an A8-3. Nice straight boosts and long glides each time. The rocket will weathercock in a good wind but that's to be expected with the amount of wing area. I flew the Baron once on a B6-2 and I won't be doing that again. A very high straight boost and a long, long glide. The model soared completely out of sight and it took me almost an hour to find it.

The pro's and con's of fight and recovery are the same. The model glides very well. Too well sometimes. It can easily be lost if flown on any engine bigger than an A8-3.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
The Red Baron easily earns 5 points. It's almost worth the price of the kit just to get the package art. It's unusual good looks and superb flight profile will make this kit the pride of any fleet.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5