Parasite Glider
Rebuild of Estes Kit #
1280
Length: 12.0”
305mm
Wing Span: 4.5”
114mm
Weight: .16 oz
4.6g
Color Scheme: Red,
Dark Blue, Silver Trim
Date Completed:
12 April, 2017
“Hey…
...This One’s BUTT Don’t Light Up !!!”
The Firefly-B is a re-build of the original Estes
Industries kit first introduced in 1976.
It’s not a certainty, but the glider design appears to have been adapted
from an earlier ‘Cold Power’ rocket kit produced by Vashon Industries, the X-13
Rocket Plane. Vashon products were bought out by Estes and first appeared in
their 1972 catalog.
It is also Estes’ first model kit designed without its
own rocket power source, as it is intended to be flown attached to a different
carrier rocket.
The Firefly is a very quick and easy build, featuring a
balsa T-boom, delta wings and tail, and a forward dowel attachment pin.
The small aspect ratio of the wings takes the Firefly’s
performance out of any competition-grade flight characteristics, but it does
make for a fun-to-fly sport bird.
The model was built per kit instructions and was finished
with a single coat of Dupli-color white primer, well-sanded, and color coats
rendered by Sharpie markers to keep overall weight down.
Trimming the Firefly for gliding flight is a rather
tricky process. It is sensitive to very small differences in angle of attack
when hand launching. It also takes a
fair amount of trim clay on the nose to get it to settle into a smooth glide
pattern without stalling.
My original ‘old fleet’ Firefly (# 55) was constructed in
1976. It turned in six flights – two on
a custom designed carrier rocket, and the remaining four strapped to the side
of a Big Bertha.
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Right: Just me n' my Firefly.
This was a 1978 launch with the glider strapped to the side of a shortened
Big Bertha
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This original model was sold with the rest of the fleet in 1985.