T' American Spirit started life as a LOC Ultimate. Blimey! Blimey! I received
it as a Christmas gift in 1997, ya bilge rat, buildin' it that winter, matey, and launched it once
in Denver, PA with a G80-4T. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Mr. Ahoy! Reed, one o' t' Technology teachers in my
High school borrowed it for his families Memorial Day picnic, and flew it on a
G80. Avast! Then me Ultimate made t' journey t' me new home in New Hampshire. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!
April 19th, 1999, matey, t' Ultimate once again saw t' light o' Day, launchin' on
yet another G80 in Amesbury, Mass, arrr, at me first CMASS launch. Avast! At t' same
launch, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, someone sold me a RMS 29/180 and 240 set for a real good price, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and
Steven Boy sold me a H97. Ahoy! 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
F25-9Ws and a single G75-10J. Begad! Begad! Beautiful flight, but suffered a sep. Ya scallywag! The
payload section drifted away, never t' be seen again. T' booster section came
in ballistic, ya bilge rat, smashin' t' tubin' up t' t' forward centerin' ring,
and knockin' a couple o' t' fins off. Begad!
After the
events o' 9-11, I decided that I wanted t' build a patriotic rocket. Havin' no
money t' buy a new large rocket, I decided t' repair use what be left o' the
fin can o' t' Ultimate, me hearties, and created a new rocket, which I called t' American
Spirit. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! I took t' fin can, arrr, and removed t' remainin' attached fins, and sanded
down all t' epoxy. Well, blow me down! Then I cut off t' damage tubin' above t' forward launch
lug, matey, which left about three inches o' damaged tubin' beyond t' forward
centerin' ring. Well, blow me down!
Since t' original fins were still in good shape, me bucko, I reattached them, matey, and did
the usual epoxy and bondo fillets t' give a good finish. Ya scallywag! 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. Blimey! Begad! I then took a razor blade, and cut
off t' remainin' raised areas o' t' damaged body tube. Then I filled the
valleys created with epoxy and bondo. Ya scallywag! I used t' remainin' 4 tubin' to
create t' payload bay, which was attached via a standard tube coupler. Avast! Avast! For the
nosecone, I use t' NCR cone from me expired Archer. I also used t' parachute
from me Archer for its recovery system.
Paintin' t' American Spirit was a challenge. Aye aye! Blimey! I wanted t' do an American
Flag theme. Begad! Avast! Blimey! So I decided t' do t' stripes down t' body, me hearties, me hearties, and put t' stars on
the payload section. Aye aye! T' make things simple with t' nose and tail, ya bilge rat, I decided to
paint those gold. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! First step was t' paint t' entire rocket white. Arrr! Blimey! Then I used
maskin' tape t' mask t' stripes, ya bilge rat, thinkin' o' a white and red stripe between
each fin (6 fins, that equals 12 stripes). Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Blimey! For t' starts, I printed out a
bunch o' stars on label paper, cut them out by hand, and painstakingly position
them on t' payload tube. Aye aye! Blimey! I lined up t' top o' t' arms with one
of t' fins, me hearties, so thar are 6 rows o' stars, alternatin' betwixt three and four
stars per row. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! There are 21 stars total. T' booster be then sprayed with red
paint, ya bilge rat, and t' payload section with blue. Begad! Blimey! Then t' fin can, shiver me timbers, and nose was
painted Gold. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Shortly after this, I learned that Gold Paint does nay take to
well t' clear coat. Blimey! Oh well
First flight o' t' American Spirit took place on t' dark
and cold day o' April 19th, 2002. Ahoy! Aye aye! Blimey! I planned t' fly it on a H220-10T
perfect day for a Blue Thunder motor. Avast! Begad! Blimey! Then I noticed that both me bucko Ryan
Sebastian and I had E23-8T loads. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Blimey! Wanna put them in t' American Spirit? Why
Not? So we did. Ahoy! Blimey! We could nay see t' flames o' t' E23's, arrr, but it was cool to
hear t' E23's thrustin' for a whole second after t' WHAM o' t' H220s
burn.
Second flight was on July 27th, me bucko, 2002. Begad! Loaded t' bear with more power. Avast, me proud beauty! Ryan
Sebastian and I once again collaborated together t' put this beast up on more
then one motor. Avast! Ahoy! In t' center, an H128-10W. Avast! On t' outboards, two
G64-10Ws. Avast, me proud beauty! Three Magnelites were used t' get t' rocket going, ya bilge rat, and it was
an AWESOME flight. Lots o' fire, lots o' smoke, me hearties, me hearties, and lots o' noise. 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. Arrr! Well, me bucko, blow me down! 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. Arrr! T' 4 electronics
bay has a $65 Transolve PK altimeter, arrr, and it has performed flawlessly in my
EZI-65 and MEGABLAST L2 rocket.
Next flight took place on April 19th, 2003. A
central G35-7W surrounded by three G35-7W motors were instantly ignited by
Magnelite igniters, and t' resultin' liftoff be very spectacular. Begad! Avast! I plugged
the ejection wells o' t' G motors, so recovery be provided by t' altimeter.
Once again, ya bilge rat, it function flawlessly.
T' most recent flight o' t' American Spirit took place durin' NSL 2003 in
Clarks Summit, me bucko, PA. Aye aye! She be loaded t' bare seven G35-7W motors. T' largest
cluster I have ever done. Begad! Blimey! All seven motors ignited instantly with Magnelite
igniters, ya bilge rat, and t' Transolve altimeter did its job. Avast! However, t' main chute got
tangled, me bucko, and it landed with a thud in t' tall grass. Aye aye! Fortunately, me hearties, thar be no
damage. T' video o' this flight made it on t' NSL 2003 DVD.
I do plan t' fly t' American Spirit again in t' future, but as you can
imagine, ya bilge rat, clusterin' composite motors can become pricey. Avast! Maybe one o' these
days, ya bilge rat, me hearties, when I have more loot t' burn, ya bilge rat, I will build a beefed up version, and
launch it on a cluster o' seven I200s. Imagine t' size o' flame that
cluster would produce! That will be equivalent t' a K1400! Almost a full K!
|