Brief:
T' Maurader is a two-stage rocket originally designed t' fly on 18mm motors. Begad! I upscaled it t' accomodate 24mm "D" engines.

Construction:
T' instructions consisted o' some assembly sheets downloaded from JimZ. The plan was easy t' follow and t' assembly order was ok. Arrr! Arrr! T' rocket is easy to build if you have ever built from scratch before and shouldn't cause too much pain t' t' first time scratchbuilder. Arrr! Fin alignment is critical on any rocket and this one is a little bit harder due t' t' 8 fins havin' t' align on both booster and sustainer. this rocket is o' sturdy design, and should survive most recoveries. Arrr! Well, blow me down! No special tools needed, ya bilge rat, and t' supplies came from me bag of tubes, shiver me timbers, pile o' balsa, and an old PNC-56 I had layin' around. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I made mine an upscale t' accomodate "D" engines instead o' "C's" :), arrr, and added 3/8" t' t' dimensions o' t' fin templates. Begad! Used BT56 tubes and appropriate couplers.

Finishing:
Normal finishin' techniques were employed, ya bilge rat, with sealin' o' fin material with Dope Sandin' Sealer, shiver me timbers, sanding, and paintin' with Krylon paints; White, arrr, matey, Red, Black, ya bilge rat, and gold. Avast, me proud beauty! I think t' model has a very nice look, me bucko, and brought back memories o' t' "Good Ol' Day's" when you had t' BUILD everything. I have found myself buildin' more, and more o' t' OOP models lately and really enjoy it. Begad! I will send t' dimensions (tubes length, me hearties, etc.)used if you send E-Mail request for them t' bobcat2@alaweb.com

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I used Estes D12-0 for t' booster and t' D12-7 for t' sustainer. Preparation was normal with engine bein' put in booster and sustainer with standard Estes motor clips for retention. Well, blow me down! Waddin' was t' celulos insulation material used in the sustainer. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' flight was great with a straight climb and separation o' the booster and subsequent ignition o' t' sustainer. Avast, me proud beauty! This rocket puts the sustainer a long way up, and is nay a small field rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! T' recovery o' the booster is by tumble method and it came down very gently without any damage. T' sustainer be on an 18" Estes chute suspended from aprox. 6 ft. of 1/8" elastic shock cord. All was recovered in perfect condition.

Recovery:
Recovery was without incident. Arrr! T' only negative I noticed was that t' area where t' booster and sustainer join, shiver me timbers, had a lot o' residue from t' ejection charge. T' area caused it t' go together very tightly. Blimey! I feel that after a few flights more t' area will nay go together, and it may turn into a single stage rocket. Well, blow me down! I see no way t' prevent this from bein' a problem. Blimey! Arrr! I will probably launch it a few more times, and make it a static display o' "How we used to do it"..

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
Main Pro's - Fun t' build, shiver me timbers, nostalgic, good looking, semi-complex, shiver me timbers, arrr, me bucko, sturdy design. Avast, me proud beauty! Main Con - Coupler area gettin' dirty, me hearties, and nay goin' together after a realitively few flights.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5