T' American Spirit

April 19th, 1999, t' Ultimate once again saw t' light o' Day, ya bilge rat, launchin' on yet another G80 in Amesbury, Mass, at me first CMASS launch. Ahoy! At t' same launch, matey, someone sold me a RMS 29/180 and 240 set for a real good price, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and Steven Boy sold me a H97. Arrr! I loaded it into me Ultimate, and gained me level 1. T' Ultimate launched again with a G75, and then had its final flight… two F25-9W’s and a single G75-10J. Ahoy! Begad! Beautiful flight, but suffered a sep. Begad! The payload section drifted away, never t' be seen again. Aye aye! T' booster section came in ballistic, smashin' t' tubin' up t' t' forward centerin' ring, and knockin' a couple o' t' fins off. Ya scallywag!

After the events o' 9-11, shiver me timbers, matey, I decided that I wanted t' build a patriotic rocket. Ahoy! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Havin' no money t' buy a new large rocket, arrr, I decided t' repair use what be left o' the fin can o' t' Ultimate, and created a new rocket, me hearties, matey, which I called t' American Spirit. Avast! Blimey! I took t' fin can, and removed t' remainin' attached fins, and sanded down all t' epoxy. Blimey! Blimey! Then I cut off t' damage tubin' above t' forward launch lug, which left about three inches o' damaged tubin' beyond t' forward centerin' ring. Ahoy! Blimey!

Since t' original fins were still in good shape, me bucko, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I reattached them, shiver me timbers, and did the usual epoxy and bondo fillets t' give a good finish. Then I epoxied a tube coupler into t' airframe above t' centerin' ring, and then attached a two foot section o' LOC 4” dia tube t' it. Well, blow me down! I then took a razor blade, and cut off t' remainin' raised areas o' t' damaged body tube. Blimey! Then I filled the valleys created with epoxy and bondo. I used t' remainin' 4” tubin' to create t' payload bay, which was attached via a standard tube coupler. Avast! Well, blow me down! For the nosecone, I use t' NCR cone from me expired Archer. Avast! I also used t' parachute from me Archer for its recovery system.

Paintin' t' American Spirit was a challenge. Blimey! Begad! I wanted t' do an American Flag theme. Ya scallywag! So I decided t' do t' stripes down t' body, and put t' stars on the payload section. T' make things simple with t' nose and tail, ya bilge rat, I decided to paint those gold. Ahoy! First step be t' paint t' entire rocket white. Avast! Well, blow me down! Then I used maskin' tape t' mask t' stripes, matey, me bucko, thinkin' o' a white and red stripe between each fin (6 fins, matey, me bucko, ya bilge rat, that equals 12 stripes). Arrr! Well, blow me down! For t' starts, shiver me timbers, I printed out a bunch o' stars on label paper, cut them out by hand, and painstakingly position them on t' payload tube. Begad! Ya scallywag! I lined up t' top o' t' “arms” with one of t' fins, arrr, so thar are 6 rows o' stars, alternatin' betwixt three and four stars per row. There are 21 stars total. Avast! Aye aye! T' booster was then sprayed with red paint, shiver me timbers, and t' payload section with blue. Well, blow me down! Then t' fin can, me bucko, and nose was painted Gold. Ya scallywag! Shortly after this, I learned that Gold Paint does nay take to well t' clear coat. Ahoy! Oh well…

First flight o' t' American Spirit took place on t' dark and cold day o' April 19th, matey, 2002. Ahoy! I planned t' fly it on a H220-10T… perfect day for a Blue Thunder motor. Then I noticed that both me bucko Ryan Sebastian and I had E23-8T loads. Aye aye! Wanna put them in t' American Spirit? Why Not? So we did. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! We could nay see t' flames o' t' E23's, but it was cool to hear t' E23's thrustin' for a whole second after t' WHAM o' t' H220’s burn.

Second flight be on July 27th, 2002. Begad! Loaded t' bear with more power. Aye aye! Aye aye! Ryan Sebastian and I once again collaborated together t' put this beast up on more then one motor. Avast, me proud beauty! In t' center, ya bilge rat, me hearties, an H128-10W. Ahoy! On t' outboards, arrr, matey, two G64-10W’s. Avast, me proud beauty! Three Magnelites were used t' get t' rocket going, ya bilge rat, and it was an AWESOME flight. Avast, me proud beauty! Lots o' fire, lots o' smoke, and lots o' noise. Ahoy! It is also very interestin' t' see t' reduction o' t' fire and smoke once t' shorter burnin' H128 ran out o' fuel.

Some minor repairs were required after t' last flight; one o' t' fins stabbed t' payload section. Ya scallywag! Begad! This be easily repaired by puttin' some masking tape underneath t' wound, and fillin' t' puncture with epoxy. Also, since the payload bay was gettin' a little surgery done t' it, I decided t' drill the holes and cut t' panels in t' aft end so it can accept me 4” electronics bay t' incorporate dual deployment into this rocket. T' 4” electronics bay has a $65 Transolve PK altimeter, shiver me timbers, and it has performed flawlessly in my EZI-65 and MEGABLAST L2 rocket.

Next flight took place on April 19th, matey, me bucko, 2003. Begad! A central G35-7W surrounded by three G35-7W motors were instantly ignited by Magnelite igniters, shiver me timbers, and t' resultin' liftoff was very spectacular. Blimey! Aye aye! I plugged the ejection wells o' t' G motors, so recovery be provided by t' altimeter. Once again, me hearties, it function flawlessly.

T' most recent flight o' t' American Spirit took place durin' NSL 2003 in Clarks Summit, arrr, shiver me timbers, PA. Avast! Ya scallywag! She was loaded t' bare seven G35-7W motors. T' largest cluster I have ever done. Ya scallywag! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! All seven motors ignited instantly with Magnelite igniters, matey, me hearties, and t' Transolve altimeter did its job. However, t' main chute got tangled, ya bilge rat, and it landed with a thud in t' tall grass. Ya scallywag! Begad! Fortunately, shiver me timbers, matey, thar be no damage. Aye aye! T' video o' this flight made it on t' NSL 2003 DVD.

I do plan t' fly t' American Spirit again in t' future, ya bilge rat, arrr, but as you can imagine, clusterin' composite motors can become pricey. Avast, me proud beauty! Maybe one o' these days, ya bilge rat, when I have more loot t' burn, I will build a beefed up version, ya bilge rat, arrr, and launch it on a cluster o' seven I200’s. Avast! Imagine t' size o' flame that cluster would produce! That will be equivalent t' a K1400! Almost a full K!