This design was done by Stephen Corban and William Anderson. Begad! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! I am 15 years old and have been in rockets for about a year, and William is 14 and has been in rockets for 3 or 4 years. Begad! Begad!

This rocket is called t' Flyin' Birthday Party Hat o' Death. Avast, me proud beauty! It be a conglomerate idea betwixt William and I. Ya scallywag! We had a great idea, and had t' do a LOT o' explorin' t' get t' machine t' work. Avast!

T' idea came from... Blimey! Well who knows where it came from, matey, but it was a good idea. Ya scallywag! We wanted t' build a rocket that would float and fly straight. Begad! Aye aye!

We started out by gettin' a pack o' small party hats from t' local variety store. Begad! Then we got together and CAed a piece o' BT 5 t' t' top o' t' cone. Avast! We then filled t' rest o' t' void areas with 2 part foam. Blimey! This is party hat number 1. Begad! After gettin' this filled, ya bilge rat, and lettin' it set we shoved a 3/16" launch rod through t' foam t' make a 1/8" launch lug. Arrr! T' we loaded up an A10-3 and took it outside t' fly. We set up our launch controller, and William backed up and I stayed low. Avast, me proud beauty! We check t' make sure t' area was clear and gave an audible countdown because we didn't know what was goin' t' happen. 5...4...3...2...1... Liftoff. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket went no more than 75 feet in t' air doin' loops. Well, blow me down! It hit t' ground about 50 feet away. Aye aye! T' ejection charge fired and sent t' hot motor flyin' back at us. Begad!

Well, ya bilge rat, we went back inside his house and knew a few things. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! It was SERIOUSLY underpowered, it needed noseweight, arrr, ya bilge rat, and we needed some way t' keep in the motor. Aye aye! Avast! So we got another hat, matey, packed clay in t' top and stuck a chunk o' BT 50 in it. Avast! We again pored t' foam, me hearties, rammed a launch guide, and shoved a bit more clay down t' BT 50. Avast! We wrapped 2 baskin' tape rings around a B6-4 and took it outside again. Ahoy!

We again took t' procedures t' make sure t' launch are was clear, and gave another countdown. Well, blow me down! Arrr! 5...4...3...2...1...Liftoff. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! This time t' rocket had a marginal flight t' a couple hundred feet, me hearties, hit t' ground and t' ejection charge fired. T' engine stayed in place, but our clay packed tip went flying across t' yard. We laughed and went back inside. Well, blow me down!

This was t' one. Blimey! Begad! Excuse me, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, t' two. We went ahead and made 2 this time as we were sure he had it down. Begad! We packed t' nose with clay again, and put some more around t' tube. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! We then poured in t' foam, and rammed t' launch guide. This time we inserted little pieces across t' motor tube for positive motor retention. We also drilled holes from each side above that for vents. This was sure t' work!

Well, shiver me timbers, t' weekend came when I took William, and another fiend Jason t' our cabin at Lake Mattoon for 3 days. If you remember t' original idea be for this t' float : ) Well, me hearties, on t' Sunday we arrived t' family was still there (more than usual as it be a family reunion, shiver me timbers, arrr, and we couldn't make it). Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! So we went out into t' half a cornfield lot that we own behind our house. Arrr! We set up next t' t' knee high corn and did a test fire. Ahoy! T' rocket flew as straight as an arrow, me hearties, and landed on me Aunt's camper : ) We also used an Estes igniter to light a bottle rocket : )

Well once t' family left we took our fishin' stuff, me bucko, and t' launch equipment into t' pontoon boat. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! We then went tubin' behind t' speed boat. That night we were wound so went out on a night cruise. We were cruisin' around the lake at about 9 o' clock at night and we had an idea. Avast, me proud beauty! We set up the launchpad on t' front o' t' boat. Hooked William launcher t' t' 12v battery in t' boat, arrr, and had continuity. Ya scallywag! We couldn't get too far away for this flight! I armed t' Q-Beam and William began a countdown. Blimey! 5...4...3...2...1 LIFTOFF. T' rocket screamed into t' air. Begad! It looked so cool havin' a B motor leave at night from feet away! I lost it with t' Q-Beam, shiver me timbers, but got sight just as it hit the water. Begad! Blimey! It did more than float, me bucko, it bounced back up another 3 feet. Arrr! We recovered t' rocket and headed in.

T' next day we were too busy fishin' and swimmin' t' shoot. Aye aye! However, that nigh we again cruised out about 9 o'clock and loaded a C motor. Avast! Aye aye! This could be great. Begad! Begad! We loaded everythin' up, set t' rocket on t' pad in t' front o' the boat and pushed t' button. T' cone stuck a bit, shiver me timbers, matey, nearly pullin' our pad into the water, matey, but it flew and was successfully recovered. Begad! Ya scallywag!

T' next day we decided t' launch it durin' t' day, so we could see the whole thing. Aye aye! Begad! We went out, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, set up everythin' as before, but loaded a D12 motor. This would be great. Begad! 5...4...3...2...1...Liftoff. Ya scallywag! T' rocket shot up t' about 1000 feet and plummeted down for a picture perfect splash landing. Arrr!