This design was done by Stephen Corban and William Anderson. Begad! Well, arrr, blow me down! 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. Avast!

This rocket is called t' Flyin' Birthday Party Hat o' Death. Blimey! It be a conglomerate idea betwixt William and I. Ahoy! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! We had a great idea, shiver me timbers, and had t' do a LOT o' explorin' t' get t' machine t' work. Well, blow me down! Avast!

T' idea came from... Well who knows where it came from, ya bilge rat, arrr, but it was a good idea. Avast! We wanted t' build a rocket that would float and fly straight. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

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

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

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

This be t' one. Avast, me proud beauty! Excuse me, ya bilge rat, t' two. Well, blow me down! We went ahead and made 2 this time as we were sure he had it down. Blimey! We packed t' nose with clay again, and put some more around t' tube. Begad! 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. Ahoy! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! This was sure t' work!

Well, arrr, t' weekend came when I took William, me hearties, and another fiend Jason t' our cabin at Lake Mattoon for 3 days. Aye aye! If you remember t' original idea be for this t' float : ) Well, shiver me timbers, on t' Sunday we arrived t' family was still there (more than usual as it was a family reunion, and we couldn't make it). So we went out into t' half a cornfield lot that we own behind our house. Begad! We set up next t' t' knee high corn and did a test fire. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket flew as straight as an arrow, me bucko, 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 hearties, and t' launch equipment into t' pontoon boat. 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. We set up the launchpad on t' front o' t' boat. Begad! Ahoy! Hooked William launcher t' t' 12v battery in t' boat, and had continuity. Avast, me proud beauty! We couldn't get too far away for this flight! I armed t' Q-Beam and William began a countdown. Begad! Ya scallywag! 5...4...3...2...1 LIFTOFF. T' rocket screamed into t' air. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! 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! It did more than float, it bounced back up another 3 feet. Begad! Blimey! We recovered t' rocket and headed in.

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

T' next day we decided t' launch it durin' t' day, me hearties, so we could see the whole thing. Well, matey, blow me down! We went out, set up everythin' as before, me bucko, but loaded a D12 motor. This would be great. 5...4...3...2...1...Liftoff. Avast! T' rocket shot up t' about 1000 feet and plummeted down for a picture perfect splash landing. Avast!