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Old 11-18-2021, 02:43 AM
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blackshire blackshire is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2009
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Default Cox RTF Dyna-Soar B/G (link)

Hello All,

In the April 1970 issue of "Model Rocketry" magazine (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/Mo...02n07_04-70.pdf ), an article about the 1970 HIAA (Hobby Industry Association of America) trade show includes a photograph--on page 11--of a prototype of Cox's RTF Dyna-Soar (X-20) semi-scale boost-glider. It was also called the "Astra Glider" (this name was used in a COX RTF model rockets ad--which showed their Saturn IB--that appeared in model airplane magazine issues of that period; the back of their altitude tracker's box [Estes now sells it as the AltiTrak: https://estesrockets.com/product/002232-altitrak/ ] also showed the boost-glider, with the "Astra Glider" name). Now:

What became of their Dyna-Soar/Astra Glider? I never saw it for sale anywhere. I'm guessing that their Space Shuttle America (with the white core booster, having the two--one red, one blue--swept-wing orbiters with wing-tip vertical stabilizers on the core booster's sides) replaced the Dyna-Soar/Astra Glider (giving Cox a boost-glider in their RTF model rockets lineup), but I don't know why; maybe the Dyna-Soar/Astra Glider was much better at "boost" than at "glide?" (The Space Shuttle America gliders aren't sailplane-like by a l*o*n*g shot, but for what they are [with their wing planform and aspect ratio, wing loading, and glider masses], they're fairly good--they're good "foul-weather" boost-gliders, having good wind penetration; using a higher-impulse motor gets them to a higher release altitude, which lengthens the glide duration.)

Many thanks to anyone who can help!
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