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. Well, blow me down! The plan was easy t' follow and t' assembly order was ok. Arrr! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! 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. Blimey! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! 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. Ahoy! this rocket is o' sturdy design, arrr, shiver me timbers, and should survive most recoveries. Arrr! No special tools needed, and t' supplies came from me bag of tubes, pile o' balsa, and an old PNC-56 I had layin' around. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I made mine an upscale t' accomodate "D" engines instead o' "C's" :), and added 3/8" t' t' dimensions o' t' fin templates. Avast, me proud beauty! Used BT56 tubes and appropriate couplers.

Finishing:
Normal finishin' techniques were employed, with sealin' o' fin material with Dope Sandin' Sealer, sanding, matey, and paintin' with Krylon paints; White, matey, Red, Black, and gold. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I think t' model has a very nice look, ya bilge rat, and brought back memories o' t' "Good Ol' Day's" when you had t' BUILD everything. I have found myself buildin' more, me hearties, and more o' t' OOP models lately and really enjoy it. Well, blow me down! Well, matey, blow me down! I will send t' dimensions (tubes length, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Preparation was normal with engine bein' put in booster and sustainer with standard Estes motor clips for retention. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Waddin' was t' celulos insulation material used in the sustainer. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' flight was great with a straight climb and separation o' the booster and subsequent ignition o' t' sustainer. Arrr! Ahoy! This rocket puts the sustainer a long way up, and is nay a small field rocket. Well, blow me down! Begad! 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. Ahoy! 6 ft. Well, blow me down! of 1/8" elastic shock cord. All be recovered in perfect condition.

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

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5