Brief

As opposed t' typical 3FNC (Three Fins and a Nose Cone) this is 1FNC (One Fin and a Nose Cone) mini-engine sport rocket.

Construction

Because I decided t' paint parts before completin' construction, ya bilge rat, arrr, me hearties, I combined construction and painting.

This is a Bruce Levison design. Arrr! T' design itself is really cool. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! O' course, standard wisdom is that t' MINIMUM number o' fins for stability is 3. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Two fins won't work, me hearties, and o' course, arrr, one fin would be absurd. Begad! Unless, ya bilge rat, me hearties, o' course, it is a RING fin. Avast, me proud beauty! However, if you have t' ATTACH t' rin' fin with support struts, you could argue t' struts are ALSO fins. Well, me hearties, blow me down! so TECHNICALLY wouldn't be a one fin rocket. Blimey! So how do you symmetrical attach t' rin' with no struts?

You don't. Ya scallywag! Mr. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Levison attached t' rin' t' t' side o' t' rocket. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Looks funky and looks like it shouldn't work, but it does. Arrr! T' design is stable, although it does cause a pronounced "corkscrew" flight pattern, ya bilge rat, hence t' name. Ya scallywag! (Side note, discussion with one o' t' designers o' this "kitted" version indicates that t' degree o' "corkscrewing" changes with t' length o' t' rocket, this kitted version is specifically design t' demonstrate t' "corkscrew" flight characteristic. Blimey! Reference http://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/search/label/Corkscrew.

Enough about t' original design. Ya scallywag! T' guys that "kitted" this really did their homework on this one. Seriously, me bucko, this kit goes together EASIER than your basic 3FNC beginner kit. Blimey! Ya scallywag! For one thing--- NO BALSA. Nothin' t' sand, arrr, taper, round, or otherwise mess with. Well, blow me down! And with t' Reinforcement plate and TWO launch lugs it is a CINCH t' get t' rin' fin on straight (in me opinion EASIER than tryin' t' get 3 fins straight on your typical beginner rocket)

T' combined Keelhaul®©™/elastic shock cord is a nice touch. Avast, me proud beauty! This gets attached t' t' engine block. Ahoy! T' Keelhaul®©™ presumably provides t' burn resistance. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' elastic provides some shock resistance. Ya scallywag! Also, nay only do they provide you an empty engine casing, me hearties, but on t' instructions they even have a "quarter inch" mark for you.

I attached t' streamer t' t' elastic cord with tape as instructed. Avast! Didn't like t' initial position, me hearties, tried t' loosen t' tape and adjust it. Streamer material came apart just tryin' t' adjust t' tape. T' kit actually comes as a combo with a "Powered FLIC Profile Shuttle." I cut t' original streamer off, and used t' streamer from t' other kit.

T' marker card and t' TWO launch lugs are t' key. Begad! For all practical purposes, shiver me timbers, me hearties, ya bilge rat, you CANNOT put t' marker card on wrong (check that, me hearties, I guess you COULD put it on t' outside. Avast! If you do this, strongly recommend you reconsider rocketry for somethin' more compatible with your mechanical skills--- perhaps stamp collecting. Ahoy! Begad! This gets glued onto t' inside o' t' BT-80 rin' fin. Ahoy! Since it is exactly t' WIDTH (front t' back) o' t' rin' fin, assumin' you cut it out straight all you have t' do is put it on t' inside and line up t' "long sides" with t' edges o' t' rin' fin (very easily done)

T' marker shows you EXACTLY where t' put t' BT-50 body tube (rocket fuselage) and t' launch lugs. 

While t' instructions were clear, I modified me approach because I chose a different paint scheme, ya bilge rat, AND because me scheme would be difficult t' accomplish with maskin' after t' build. Arrr! So I elected t' paint BEFORE attachin' t' rin' fin t' t' fuselage. T' do this however, I had t' mask t' "contact areas" before painting, as gluin' painted surfaces guarantees a very weak joint, and in this case with only one fin (and that eccentrically places) this joint takes a lot o' stress (which t' kit designers anticipated and accounted for quite well.)

I attached t' markin' guide first, shiver me timbers, arrr, as per instructions. Begad! . Ya scallywag! Arrr! Note on me pictures, matey, I save original markin' guides whenever possible, me bucko, so I copied t' Reinforcement Plate onto a piece o' cardstock.

I decided t' attach t' launch lugs t' t' rin' fin FIRST. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Because o' t' relative small size o' t' lugs, ya bilge rat, it is pretty easy t' get them exactly aligned with t' markings. Blimey! Personally, I think this actually would make t' construction EASIER even if you didn't paint t' parts separately, as in me opinion it is easier t' get these two small lugs in perfect alignment than t' relatively big body tube. Once you have t' lugs in place, t' body tube literally falls into perfect alignment.

At this point, matey, I dry-fitted t' BT-5 tube t' t' rin' fin. I marked t' edges o' t' contact points on both t' RingFin/Lug piece and on t' body tube. I then MASKED t' areas o' contact on each piece.

T' tube spirals were pretty tight. Aye aye! I also felt me paint scheme would probably camouflage an residual spirals. Well, blow me down! So I used Krylon Primer t' Prime and fill t' spirals. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! T' true craftsmn may consider fill and finish, but t' tubes are high quality t' begin with and I felt that be overkill.

For a paint scheme, arrr, I thought I could come up with somethin' a little more excitin' than t' black and white spiral on t' cover picture. Ya scallywag! A really cool trick though was t' use o' electrical tape t' create t' tapered Barber Pole spiral. Avast! T' tape has enough flexibility that you can get a true tight "spiral" that you can't get with any other tape I know of. Begad! Avast! And visitin' t' hardware store (great place t' get rocket part ideas) I noticed they had OTHER colors than black. Hmmm...... How about bright yellow? Once I had t' yellow tape, matey, had t' pick a background color. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! How about--- PURPLE!

Off t' Hobby Lobby. Aye aye! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Problem. Ya scallywag! Avast! T' only cool purple they had was lacquer-based (Testors One Coat Lacquer Purple-Licious.) Wasn't sure how well this would go over t' Krylon Primer. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Did some quick research on Lacquer over Enamel, me bucko, ya bilge rat, anyway, me bucko, me bucko, with multiple VERY light coats came out fine.

I like t' hide t' nose cone t' body tube junctions on me rockets. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' stock paint scheme instead emphasizes it with t' different color. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Besides, isn't a corkscrew supposed t' taper t' a point?

I put a piece o' black tape on a metal ruler longer than t' yellow tape. Begad! Then cut t' long taperin' "Barber Pole" with a hobby knife and another metal ruler. Begad! Was able t' pull t' yellow tape piece off t' black tape. Ya scallywag!

I put a piece o' tape over t' nose cone t' body tube transition. Begad! Ran t' tape from tip t' tail, ya bilge rat, over t' piece o' tape (shield for nose cone edge). I be then able t' cut t' yellow tape over t' transition, arrr, remove t' shield, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and re-affix t' tape (spiral over nose cone edge).

I mated up t' unmasked ring/kug part and t' Body Tube part. Begad! Begad! Blimey! Matched up perfectly as expected. Blimey! Made attachin' t' body tube a snap. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I did put a generous "internal fillet" in place as I knew I wouldn't have access t' this area once t' pieces were attached. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Blimey! (Heavy Fillet). Blimey! Wiped away any excess glue. Did NOT put a fillet on t' outside. Ahoy! (So far, me bucko, it has held up quite well.)