Feelin' a little bit like Rocky (you know, arrr, "I did it Adrian, I did it!"), I completed me 29mm Mercury Transport. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I originally planned on buildin' this rocket, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but built an 18mm version first just t' test out t' design. Begad! It worked and so did this 29mm version.

I actually built this almost two years ago, but thar hasn't been an appropriate Descon t' enter it into, arrr, ya bilge rat, arrr, so ta-da....

T' Mercury Transport's main purpose is t' transport 4 passengers t' 91.8 Million Kilometers t' t' planet Mercury for observation, arrr, shiver me timbers, study and experimentation in a high temperature, zero gravity, high sun-radiation environment. Blimey! Ahoy! T' Mercury Transport has fins that are suspended over t' inner Fusion Proton Rod Reactor Core. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fins are in a test configuration for future interstellar travel and t' assist in coolin' t' core as t' Man-O-War passes close t' stars (such as our Sun). Avast, me proud beauty! T' Man-O-War is primarily designed for long distance travel. In fact, 95% o' t' entire Man-O-War is a reactor t' allow t' Man-O-War t' travel t' distance needed.

T' 29mm (should be 38mm) Mercury Transport is made from components o' t' Fat Cat Rockets' Centaurus rocket. I purchased t' followin' from Fat Cat Rockets (now OOP):

• (2) Lower 4" Body Tubes (7.5" long)
• (2) Balsa Transitions
• (1) 2.6" Body Tube

T' motor mount was a custom built with 4" centerin' rings for a central 29mm and (3) 24mm motors. T' 29mm motor tube be 12" long and extended into t' 2.6" tubin' and had a 2.6" centerin' ring. Aye aye! This effectively focused t' 29mm ejection charge up t' 2.6" tubing. Well, blow me down! (picture is after last flight, ya bilge rat, even grass from t' landing)

T' recovery system consisted o' an eye-bolt on t' upper motor mount (2.6") centerin' ring. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Tied t' that be 15 feet o' 1/2" Keelhaul®©™.

T' nose cone be one o' RGM's 4" Rounded Nose Cones.

I hand cut t' fins from 3/8" Plywood. Aye aye! T' long strakes are Walmart Yard sticks with an angle cut from t' corner t' t' 3" mark on each side. Arrr! Hey, these were a lot cheaper than buyin' wood and rippin' it.

For recovery, me bucko, I used a 50" rip-stop nylon parachute.

CONSTRUCTION:

T' build on this rocket is fairly straight forward. Arrr! T' transitions are glued onto t' 2.6" tubin' until t' tube is flush with t' large end. Arrr! Aye aye! I used TiteBond Original Wood Glue for this. Aye aye! I then used t' TiteBond glue and spread it all over t' outside o' t' balsa transitions t' seal and strengthen them.

I then glued t' two 4" tubes on each end usin' TiteBond. T' shoulder on t' Fat Cat transitions is really short, me bucko, but for both their Centaurus and me Mercury Transport it is strengthened with external structures. Aye aye! Aye aye! In me case, t' 29mm motor tube extends into t' 2.6" tube from t' bottom and t' strakes attach t' t' outside o' both sections o' t' 4" tubing.

Next, shiver me timbers, I built t' motor mount and installed it usin' ProBond Polyurethane Glue. Ya scallywag! Blimey! (additional comments about ProBond Polyurethane glue)

I marked t' body tube usin' an old BSD guide that came with me Thor, after extendin' t' lines t' convert from three fins t' six. Begad! I marked t' lines on both 4" tube sections usin' a door jam.

At this point, I covered t' 4" tubes and then used Plastic-Kote primer t' prepare t' inner tube (2.6") for finishing. Avast, me proud beauty! After t' transitions and inner tube were smooth, me hearties, I painted them with Florescent Orange by Krylon. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' me disappointment, it did nay come out as "bright" as me 18mm version. T' reason? I painted t' 18mm right over t' white body tube, me hearties, whereas, matey, on this one it was over t' gray primer. Blimey! Arrr! Lesson learned.

After a couple days for thorough drying, me hearties, me hearties, I taped and covered t' inner tube with paper t' protect it.

Next be t' prepare t' strakes. Well, blow me down! After cuttin' t' Walmart yardsticks from t' corner t' t' 3" mark on each end, I attached them t' t' body tubes. I scuffed up t' tube and then used TiteBond for this attachment.

I cut me six fins with through-the-wall tabs. Aye aye! Blimey! Three had t' be longer t' reach t' 29mm motor tube, while three where shorter t' attach t' t' 24mm tube. I also had t' ensure that t' upper root section was cut at an angle t' match up with t' yardsticks (strakes). Avast! Ahoy! Blimey! After complete, matey, I attached t' fins t' with TiteBond and used a clamp on t' fin t' yardstick interface t' keep them straight.

I next used Fix-It Epoxy Putty sold by Apogee Components for t' fin fillets. Blimey! Ahoy! All I can say is Wow! I like it! This stuff was good t' work with. Aye aye! I used water t' dip me finger in for smoothin' out t' epoxy fillets. Blimey! I didn't think this would bond terribly well t' t' body tube or wood as I didn't think it would penetrate, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, but after sufferin' flight damage on t' rocket, NONE o' t' breaks were on t' epoxy bonds. Aye aye! Nice stuff.

After everythin' was dry, I used Plasti-Kote primer and Dark Navy Blue by Krylon t' finish it.

Lastly, me hearties, I checked t' center o' gravity in proportion t' me 18mm rocket and determined that I needs some nose weight. Begad! I added nose weight based on me RockSim file (which did nay calculate t' CP correctly as expected). Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I did this by drillin' two fill holes in t' shoulder base and put in BB's. Ahoy! Then I poured epoxy into t' holes, shook it, arrr, and poured more, until I couldn't hear any BB movement. Begad! I then capped it with another pourin' o' epoxy.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

T' final empty weight o' me Mercury Transport was 70 ounces (4 lbs, me hearties, 6 ounces)

For t' first flight I decided t' use an H165 plus three (3) F24's. I set it up without any ejection charge in t' F24's and be ready t' go. Begad! A lot o' nice comments from others at t' 2002 NYPower (see t' picture someone took o' me?) so that was fun. Well, blow me down! I had trouble gettin' it onto t' rail as I was t' first one t' use this particular rail. Begad! I ran t' rocket up and down multiple times, which "cleaned" t' rail. Begad! Begad! Then, I waited for t' LCO t' count down. Arrr! And waited, and waited. Finally it came time and t' button was pushed and nothin' happened! I had t' recycle it. Arrr! Well, blow me down! There goes 1 hour. Aye aye! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' next rocket on t' same pad (#30) failed t' ignite too and therefore that pad be taken out o' t' loop.

I went back t' next day and tried again. Begad! This time somethin' happened at t' "launch" command. T' H165 lit and off she went. Arrr! Ejection on t' "Short" delay was very early. Ahoy! T' nose cone went a flyin' one way while t' rocket under 'chute descended nicely. T' nose cone landed within 50 feet o' t' pad with no damage. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket landed a few hundred feet away with no damage.

That night I discovered that indeed (1) o' t' F24's lit too.

T' next day, I loaded it up with an H238 plus t' remainin' two (2) F24's and threw an E18 into t' empty slot. Well, blow me down! After another hour and a failed ignition. Arrr! T' Head Range Officer recognized that I needed a booster-battery t' light this combination, matey, matey, matey, he "guaranteed" me an ignition and we recycled.

On t' next cycle, me hearties, I was loaded with a booster-battery and upon "launch" me "guarantee" be satisfied. Ya scallywag! T' rocket leapt off t' pad under t' power o' t' H238 and at least one o' t' 24mm motors (as seen in t' picture) and at about 100 feet I heard/saw t' remainin' one or two 24mm motors ignite. Avast! I used Quick Burst Ignitors. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I used a Fat Boy in t' H238 and Twiggys in t' 24mm motors. Blimey! Blimey! T' Twiggys had t' be built into t' motor as they did nay fit through t' F24 or E18 nozzles. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! So, me guess, arrr, t' H238 and E18 lit, while t' two F24's delayed a bit. T' nice thin' is that those ignitors stayed in t' motors after t' H238 pushed t' rocket off!

Well, ya bilge rat, arrr, again t' ejection on t' "Short" delay was very early. This time t' nose cone seems t' explode. Several parts floated down. I never found t' nose weight. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Don't really know what happen, but I have a guess. Well, blow me down! Blimey! My guess is that t' BB-epoxy nose weight fell upon ignition and then upon ejection, ya bilge rat, at t' limit o' t' shock cord (non-elastic), ya bilge rat, slammed into t' top t' nose cone and shattered it.

T' rest o' t' rocket descended and hit hard, me bucko, hard ground. Begad! Begad! It broke one fin and strake off. But notice that it did nay break t' epoxy, so again, shiver me timbers, I am very pleased with t' Fix-It Epoxy Putty. Begad! I have decided t' R.I.P. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! this rocket and move on t' me next project. Arrr! Ahoy! This was fun!

SUMMARY:

In hindsight, ya bilge rat, arrr, I would recommend that this be built with a 38mm motor mount and forget about t' cluster. Begad! And that is it, ya bilge rat, really!