Generations is the scratch rocket that I built recently. Begad! It be me first scratch rocket and also my first rocket motor mounts bigger than 24mm. Begad! I really wanted some punch so I also made it a cluster with 2 - 29mm motor mounts. Ya scallywag!

I happened t' be in Oklahoma City when I found t' tube that I wanted to start with. Avast, me proud beauty! My dad has a lot o' shop equipment so I figured that I'd start the hard part there. Blimey! I grabbed some scrap 1/4 plywood and cut it into three equal squares about 5 inches on each side. I screwed them together and then used a circle cutter t' cut t' 3" centerin' rings at t' same time. I sanded the edges o' t' centerin' rings t' where they were a perfect fit into t' body tube. Well, blow me down! I then measured across t' widest part o' t' centerin' rings and made an X on t' rings. Aye aye! Aye aye! I then made two marks on one o' t' lines at .75" from the center o' t' centerin' ring. Well, blow me down! I used this as t' startin' point for t' hole saw. Avast! Usin' a 1.25" hole saw I cut t' two holes for t' motor tubes. I like t' Great Plane's motor tubes that I got because they have an OD of 1.25". This made it real easy for me. Avast! I also used me dad's equipment to cut me motor tube in half. Avast! I used t' entire 36" tube t' make me motor tubes so I have 2 18" motor tubes. Begad!

Next I packed it all in t' car and took it home.

Fins
Next I used t' remainin' wood t' cut out t' fins. Well, blow me down! I screwed together three sheets o' plywood and drew this fin pattern on t' top sheet. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I used me jig saw to cut out t' fins and t' little sandin' wheel on it t' sand t' fins.

I be goin' t' put on t' fins just like they are on t' pattern. I be just goin' t' move t' small fins forward about 1 inch but me son suggested and talked me into flippin' t' small fin over and then movin' it up. I think it worked out real well.

That's t' reason I named it Generations.... Begad! Begad! My dad helped me with the centerin' rings, and me son helped me decide on t' fins.

Assembly
T' next thin' I did was cut fin slots in t' body. Once that was done I epoxied all o' t' motor mount parts. Ya scallywag! Begad! Unfortunately I be so excited when it was goin' together that I forgot t' get a picture o' t' motor mount before I glued it into t' body tube.

Since t' motor tubes where 18" I used three centerin' rings. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! One at t' top, one at three inches from aft, me hearties, matey, and t' last one a half inch from t' end. Begad! Since I had two holes in each of t' centerin' rings I used t' holes in t' aft one and added T-Nuts. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! In the top one I looped steel cable from a picture hangin' kit. Avast! Blimey! I crimped a connector onto it and then expoxied t' holes shut. Aye aye! On t' top o' t' cable I put in a bigger loop that had a 2-inch piece o' balsa wood in it. Ya scallywag! I was hopin' that this would help from zipperin' t' rocket by keepin' t' cable and elastic from hittin' t' side o' t' tube. Blimey!

I epoxied t' motor mount into t' tube and then used Elmer's wood filler to fill t' seams o' t' tube. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Once t' motor mount set up I numbered t' slots and then fins from one t' three. Well, blow me down! I notched t' fin tabs at t' same level as the middle centerin' ring. Avast! Since t' motor tube be nay exactly in center I had to trim each fin tab so it would reach all t' way t' t' motor tube.

T' next step be t' easy part. Begad! Aye aye! I glued on t' fins usin' 30 Min epoxy. Arrr! I wanted t' make sure that it was super strong. Aye aye! Begad! I used t' same type epoxy for my fin fillets. Begad! I did nay make t' upper fins TTW because they would nay ever hit the ground with any kind o' speed. Ya scallywag! Once t' fins were set it be just tyin' the elastic t' t' wire cable and t' t' nose cone, me hearties, matey, and addin' t' two chutes from my Bomarc kit. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I also pulled out me jig saw and cut what I call t' peanut. I use this for me motor retention. Since thar are two motors in t' rocket I did not want t' use tape t' keep t' motors in. Ya scallywag! Avast! There is a better picture at the end o' t' page that shows t' peanut.

Finishing
T' finishin' be t' most tedious part. Arrr! Begad! I covered t' fins with sandin' sealer to get them ready for paint. I sanded it smooth and primed t' rocket with light gray primer. Aye aye! While I was light sanding, me hearties, with 400 grit, I saw that the fins had too many little cracks in them. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! I filled all o' t' little flaws with Elmer's Filler and let it set. Arrr! Aye aye! I sanded that smooth and then shot another coat of primer on it. Begad! When I finished sandin' that coat I was happy with t' fins and let it all dry for 24 hours. Begad! I then shot more primer and sanded it again. I let that sit for a couple o' days and shot it again. Begad! I ran out o' primer about half way through t' rocket and grabbed another can. It was a DARK gray primer and caused problems. I ended up sandin' most o' it off t' get t' body smooth again and then shot it with a final coat o' primer. Avast, me proud beauty! After sandin' it with 400 grit I finally for you shoot on some real paint. Aye aye! I gave t' body about 3 coats of red and then made t' nose cone black. Avast! T' black parts that you see on the fins were actually painted on with a paint brush. It be hard keepin' t' lines but I got it done.

I finished it off with a clear coat. Arrr! I buffed this up and it made for a hard solid surface. Aye aye!

Launch day
I finally got t' launch it on 2/12/00 at NTHP XVI. Avast! Aye aye! I installed t' two F25-9s in t' rocket and sent it up. Well, blow me down! It flew great..... There be no corkscrewin' or any other type o' unstable actions. Begad! It deployed t' chutes right at apogee and floated t' a great landing. Avast! I figure that it hit about 1,800'. Begad! Once we saw it hit t' ground me wife said "OK, ya bilge rat, me hearties, time for bigger engines!". Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! We walked out and picked it up and thar was NO damage t' it at all. Well, blow me down! I could nay even find a scratch in t' paint.

I pulled out t' motors and popped in a pair o' G40-10s. Ya scallywag! Begad! I installed the Fire-In-the-Hole© igniters and got it ready for the next launch. T' LSO made me put more tape on t' nose cone because o' the bigger motors but we set it up on t' pad after that. Begad! Blimey! Thatís where I learned a great lesson about t' three position armin' switch that DARS uses. After they had t' pass me rocket over because o' a launch failure I when out and put t' armin' switch in t' correct place. Ya scallywag! I then got t' wait for the hobby pads t' clear, me hearties, t' yellow HP pads t' clear, me hearties, then they got back t' my rocket. Ahoy! Again t' launch went great. Ya scallywag! Both motors lit up and it screamed off the pad. Avast, me proud beauty! I think this time it hit about 3000'. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! At apogee it deployed t' cutes and landed a little further from where it had hit before.

I sim'd this rocket with RockSim and added t' nose weight so I can put bigger motors into it. If you want a copy o' t' .rkt file please click here. If all goes well I may get a chance to launch it in September durin' t' NTHP XVII. Avast, me proud beauty! We will pop in a couple o' H's into it and really see it go. I think that I'll add me Radio Shack alarm t' it when it goes high power. Avast! Ya scallywag! I really want t' get it back so I can send it up a few more times. Arrr! Well, blow me down! If you want more info about NTHP XXVII (North Texas High Power 17) please drop by t' DARS web site at HTTP://WWW.DARS.Org. It's goin' t' be a very big launch with a ceilin' around 25,000'. There is also a 1,600 acre recovery area with very, very few trees. Well, matey, blow me down!