After some consideration o' a smaller kit for general purpose flyin' I chose t' LOC Precision Vulcanite kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Since I was goin' t' be flyin' it on higher powered motors also I ordered it with one extra centerin' rin' for t' motor mount. Arrr! Arrr! Blimey! After gettin' t' kit I opened t' package and inventoried t' parts, arrr, all were thar and in good order. Begad! Blimey! I had decided t' make some changes t' t' design for better strength and t' ability o' flyin' with an altimeter for two stage recovery on higher altitude flights.

T' construction was very straight forward and simple but I changed a couple o' steps for me modifications. Avast! Blimey! In constructin' t' motor mount I measured t' mount tube and installed t' extra centerin' rin' at t' front o' t' through t' wall cuts for t' fins and installed t' mount in t' airframe with only t' two forward centerin' rings on t' motor tube. Begad! Blimey! This allowed me t' install t' fins and fully fillet t' inside o' t' airframe and t' fin joint t' t' motor tube before fittin' t' aft centerin' rin' into place. Blimey! Blimey! This way t' fins are joined t' t' inside o' t' rocket at t' motor tube, leadin' edge t' a centerin' ring, trailin' edge t' a centerin' ring, ya bilge rat, and t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' fins are highly shaped and aerodynamic with both t' leadin' and trailin' edges havin' a good taper. Arrr! Blimey! After installation they were sealed with a coatin' o' thin epoxy t' seal t' ply's.

T' standard payload section became t' avionics bay and I added an 18-inch piece o' Giant Leap tubin' t' t' front for a forward parachute bay (the reason for t' Giant Leap tubin' be that I had an order goin' out t' them anyway). Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I changed t' way that t' recovery attached t' t' nose cone by drillin' holes into t' aft o' t' nose cone and threadin' t' hardware through t' cone instead o' usin' t' lug as this is almost a guarantee you will eventually loose your nose cone. For t' avionics bay t' forward parachute section I used three #12 button head screws t' attach it with blind nuts epoxied into t' aft o' t' parachute section. Ahoy! Then I drilled three 1/4 inch holes at t' base o' t' avionics section t' allow for proper ventilation o' t' altimeter, t' holes are far enough t' t' aft t' be through both t' airframe and coupler, matey, ya bilge rat, then are finished out with an epoxy coatin' t' smooth and strengthen t' area. Arrr! T' altimeter is attached t' t' back o' t' parachute section usin' a mount I made myself so that it is quick changeable betwixt rockets, ya bilge rat, only two #12 button head screws and two wires. Arrr! Blimey! I installed a rocker switch on t' back o' t' parachute section betwixt t' legs o' he altimeter mount and this is also installed on me other rockets.

I finished t' rocket in day-glow orange and yellow with t' forward parachute bay wrapped in black and white checkerboard monocoat. It proudly caries t' name o' Mr. Aye aye! Spock and most o' t' regular Texas fliers recognize it immediately. T' inaugural flight be on an H128 and it flew great, me hearties, I did nay have t' avionics bay installed on this flight so it was nay t' full length. Avast! Since then it has been flyin' on everythin' from a G35 t' an I195 and in all configurations o' motor or altimeter recovery. Blimey! T' Highest altitude so far has been 4562 feet with an I211. Well, blow me down! T' next planned flight is goin' t' be on an I284 so that will be increased significantly. T' rocket flies straight and true in almost any conditions and recovers well with any o' t' chutes that I have used with it, from a LOC 36 inch t' a B2 Skyangle three footer. I have included flight logs for examination and with over twenty flights o' all kinds on t' rocket it is gettin' a little beat up but still flies like a champ.

• Prior t' 9-10-99 - (1) H128, me hearties, first flight. (1) H97, (3) G64, and (4) G75 flights
• Installed a Cannonball Works RRC2 installed for flights after 9-10-99, rocket now 711/2 inches in length, matey, arrr, arrr, 3 pounds minimum flight weight with altimeter.
• 9-17-99 OSP -G75 with full two stage recovery, flew t' 873 feet with good deployment o' all recovery gear. Altimeter settin' at 300 feet for main deployment.
• 11-6-99 Bomber Field - H123 with full two stage recovery, flew t' 2119 feet with good deployment o' all recovery gear. Avast! Altimeter set at 500 feet for main deployment.
• 11-13-99 Scout launch - H97 with full two stage recovery, no altimeter readout with good deployment o' all recovery gear. Altimeter set at 500 feet for main deployment.
• 1-1-00 Bomber Field - I357 with full two stage recovery, flew t' 3166ft with both a good apogee deployment and main deployment, me bucko, shiver me timbers, main set at 800 ft after t' failure t' deploy correctly with Gold Rush. Avast! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Immediate launch (fast igniter) and boost be very high G with a long coast t' altitude.
• 2-12-00 OSP -G35-7 with simple recovery as originally designed t' fly, matey, just over 1000 feet est, altitude.
• 3-18-00 OSP - G75 with altimeter recovery. Ahoy! Blimey! Check flight for t' returned RRC2 Cannonball Works altimeter. Begad! Blimey! Flew t' 671 feet in high winds with good recovery. Aye aye! Blimey! Bounced off t' hard-packed access road t' t' hill and kinked t' body tube at t' forward centerin' ring, repairable.
• 4-22-00 OSP -Flew on a G38-4 (new fast jack EconoJet) t' about 1000 feet with good recovery usin' t' 36" B2 Skyangle chute, arrr, matey, looks good with t' chute rotatin' in t' air, shiver me timbers, will have t' try this on a high power flight.
• 5-6-00 Bomber Field - Flew on an I211 t' 4562 feet with altimeter recovery. Arrr! Blimey! Flawless flight with a 1/2 mile walk t' recover due t' high winds.
• 6-18-00 OSP - G75 with two stage recovery usin' t' 36" B2 chute. Ya scallywag! Good flight t' 775 feet with everythin' comin' out at once for recovery, nose cone nay tight enough. Begad! Blimey! Good landin' close t' t' pad t' t' oohs and ahhs o' t' crowd. 36" B2 chute good match for flying, just a little tight t' pack.
• 7-8-00 McGregor Inaugural launch - Attempted t' fly on an I300 but t' motor CATO’d, blew t' aft closure out o' t' rocket. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Postmortem by Aerotech determined t' thar was one grain o' white lightnin' propellant with three grains o' blue thunder. Avast, me proud beauty! Aerotech replaced t' damaged parts and t' reload, t' rocket will fly again after makin' another altimeter bay bulkhead and straightenin' out t' coupler a little, minor damage considerin' t' impact o' t' case inside t' rocket after t' blowup.
• 9-2-00 Windom Texas - Flew on t' I300 motor t' 4428 feet reported altitude. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Good straight fast boost t' a good altimeter recovery with no damage and a great flight. Arrr! Arrr! Put rocket on scales before flight and was 4 pounds on t' dot, shiver me timbers, very high G takeoff.
• 9-18-00 McGregor - Flew on an I195, arrr, do nay think I will get any more black jack 38mm motors, t' 4305 feet. Begad! Had a perfect two stage deployment and recovery about 200 yards from t' pad. Avast! Boost was good if boring, nay as many G's as expected and less performance than t' four grain motors proceedin' it. Well, blow me down! Plan on an I284 next time.
• 2-1-01 P3 field - Flew on an H242, shiver me timbers, perfect flight t' 2266 feet with two stage recovery.
• 2-3-01 P3 field - Flew on an I284, arrr, me bucko, great flight t' 5837 feet. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Very high G launch, 30-35, matey, and a very straight flight, used 4 seconds o' mach delay and may have needed it. Two stage recovery worked well and recovered inside o' t' field.
• 2-10-01 P3 field- Flew in an H242 t' 2153 feet reported. Begad! Good flight in windy conditions, t' altitude was about a hundred feet less than t' same motor in calm conditions. Good motor for windy days and smaller fields.
• 2-24-01 P3 field - Flew on an I435 for a neck snappin' flight t' 5728 feet with a good recovery just on t' other side o' t' trees, t' rocket got a little muddy but otherwise be ok. Begad! With t' kind o' instant velocity available with this motor thar was no weathercockin' but at altitude it did move around a little due t' confused winds aloft. Used trackin' chalk for t' first time and made findin' t' apogee easier (big red splotch in t' sky), me hearties, will use again even though it is a little messy.
• 4-14-01 at P3 field - Flew on an H242 t' 1987 feet with dual recovery and t' 36 inch B2 chute, good recovery close t' pads in a medium wind. Begad! Low altimeter readin' was probably due t' t' extra weight o' t' B2 chute.
• 4-28-01 at P3 field - Flew on a J350 for a high G flight t' 6790 feet with good recovery deployment. Arrr! Winds caused about a half mile walk t' recovery. Trackin' chalk used and very helpful with findin' apogee. Blimey! Aye aye! Lost sight on t' way down and found again when t' main chute came out.

Overall I would recommend this kit for anyone gettin' into high power rockets and have certified other individuals who have chosen it as their level 1 certification rocket, it rarely fails t' test. Well, blow me down! T' most impressive flight that I have seen on a Vulcanite was at t' August McGregor, Texas launch when a stock Vucnite be flown on a J570, this figures out t' over 50 G's and t' rocket took it without a hitch, it just flew so high that we were unable t' find it t' recover it.

NOTE: Even though Rick has made a couple o' modifications, me hearties, he has flown t' rocket without t' extra payload, at its original length, and has reported much success.

Update 11/01 -

Changed t' Acme conformal launch lugs for rail launching.

• 9-16-01 P3 field - Took t' J570 out t' fly on t' new I285 Redline t' 4319 feet and a good straight up flight with recovery 200 feet from t' pad. Well, blow me down! Trackin' chalk really helped with t' apogee event. This be t' first flight o' t' RRC2 after t' L3 where it indicated a false altitude, matey, ya bilge rat, think it might be oversensitive with t' batteries now, would nay fly on a new Duracell Ultra but when Brett Noak offered a new Eveready Titanium it worked fine. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Will get with Jim Amos about t' situation. Performance is sterlin' with t' new rail launch system for this rocket. Ahoy! Arrr! Now all rockets are rail equipped and no rockets will be constructed in t' future without rail launch lugs.
• 10-20-01 P3 field - Flew on t' J570 with t' challenge t' take pictures if you can, me bucko, matey, matey, Dan Stroud succeeded. Avast! Ripped off t' pad (approximately 70 G�s) and with only 2 seconds o' boost made 8304 feet t' a perfect recovery inside t' launch field. Blimey! Blimey! No damage and a good altitude readout from t' flight. Avast! Last flight in t' Aerotech White Lightnin' series, now will concentrate on t' Red motors and EX launches.