If you are interested in filmin' digital video from the perspective o' an estes rocket itself, arrr, then you've come t' t' right place. What follows is a project which be inspired by the Eye Soar design. Ya scallywag! Avast! Mine is simpler and uses only t' parts from two Estes Stormcaster rocket kits, an Aiptek 1.3 Pencam and a bit o' paddin' material. Begad! Aye aye!

Below are t' simple steps required t' build a D12 powered rocket with on board video.

1. First you must purchase two Stormcaster kits and an Aiptek Digital Pen Camera. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! Believe it or nay these incredible little cameras are sometimes on sale for as little as 20 dollars. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! When they originally came out they were nearly 100 dollars. Avast, me proud beauty! I purchased mine on sale for 39.99 down from 59.99 Go t' www.aiptek.com t' learn how to purchase yours. Mine be t' Mini Pen Cam 1.3 although it also says Mega Cam on it. Ahoy! T' newer SD Pen Cam is a bit larger and may nay fit very well in the Stormcaster body tube. Arrr! These cameras support up t' 640 by 480 video and have very impressive image quality because they use a good lens. Ahoy! They also support two different video modes. Begad! Here is a picture o' t' camera I use. Ahoy! Arrr!

2. Ahoy! Build t' lower half o' one o' t' Stormcasters as usual includin' the insertion o' t' coupler at t' end o' t' lower body tube. Begad! NOTE: Although it is nay necessary at this point, me bucko, you may want t' slide the bottom section's coupler in an additional amount equal t' t' thickness o' the engine mountin' rings. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! This will probably be approximately 1/16th o' an inch. If you do nay slide it in this much further then later you will need t' trim the top end a bit t' make a clean fit with t' payload bay bottom.

3. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Now you will want t' take one o' t' upper body tubes from either of your kits and cut off t' top 5.5 inches o' tubing. Ahoy! Blimey! This will become your payload bay for t' camera. Avast! T' bottom piece that you have left after cutting off t' payload section now needs t' be glued t' t' coupler on t' lower section o' t' rocket.

4. Now take one o' t' nose cones and cut off t' complete section that would normally slide into t' top o' t' rocket. Well, blow me down! Blimey! This will become your payload cup. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I used a razor saw which is available at any hobby shop or Michaels Arts and Crafts stores etc.

5. Now take one o' t' shock cords and usin' t' tri fold method, arrr, position and glue t' mount up into t' 5.5 inch payload tube about t' thickness o' t' lower nose cone section plus half of one o' t' couplers. Arrr! Aye aye! You can figure this out by takin' t' bottom nose cone piece and insertin' it cut end first into one end o' t' 5.5 inch body tube. You then slide half o' one body tube coupler into t' body tube behind t' nose cone piece(Or use t' lower rocket section with it's already glue coupler). Push t' t' coupler in until it is halfway. Arrr! Take t' coupler out and note approximately how far in t' piece o' nose cone has been pushed. Arrr! For good measure you will want t' place t' tri fold mount a little forward o' where you estimated, just so you have enough room later. Begad! T' image below [right] is lookin' in from t' top o' t' 5.5 inch section down t' t' nose cone section formin' t' cup with t' tri fold mount just above it.

6. Well, blow me down! You will want t' run t' shock cord out through t' hole in the bottom o' t' cup and place a thick rin' o' white tacky glue or other glue you are comfortable with usin' inside t' bottom o' t' 5.5 inch body tube. You want t' glue rin' t' start at least half t' coupler's length inside t' tube. This is so thar be no dried glue later which will obstruct t' coupler o' the bottom rocket section. Once you have your rin' o' glue inserted you want to insert t' bottom nose cone cup section again with t' cupped part facin' up as seen in t' above photo. Once t' cup is slid in you will QUICKLY take either a coupler piece or t' bottom rocket section and slide t' coupler into the bottom o' t' 5.5 inch payload section, pushin' t' plastic piece t' it's final restin' spot. At this point t' cup and t' tri fold mount may be allowed to dry. Begad! DO NOT leave t' coupler in t' bottom o' t' 5.5 inch tube!

7. Ahoy! Blimey! You now need t' create your sealin' assembly t' prevent hot gases from enterin' t' payload bay. Begad! Blimey! This is done usin' t' notched engine mount rin' from your second Stormcaster kit along with it's punched out middle piece. Begad! Blimey! First punch out t' center piece that you would normally discard. Do nay discard this piece! Blimey! You now need t' enlarge the notch which would normally accommodate t' engine retainin' clip so that it is just wide enough t' allow t' shock cord t' pass through. You then want t' put some white glue around t' inside o' this engine mountin' ring. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Now take the punch out piece and reinsert it back into t' ring. Arrr! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It should fit perfectly and you will see your flat notch at t' bottom where t' shock cord will eventually come out. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! You will want t' make sure t' fit betwixt t' punch and t' rin' is nice and flat t' make a good seal. Avast! Blimey! Now usin' your finger smear more white glue around t' edge o' where t' punch out piece meets t' inside edge o' the engine mount ring. Do this on both sides. Avast! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! You now want t' prop this piece onto somethin' so that it does nay dry deformed or get stuck. Aye aye! Blimey! You can rest it on part o' t' plastic from your kit bag, or on wax paper. I laid mine across the middle o' a roll o' tape. Arrr! Blimey! If you leave t' engine mountin' rin' in it's parent piece o' press board you have more material t' prop it with as is seen in my picture below. Aye aye! Blimey! Notice t' perfect seal betwixt t' inside edges o' t' punch out piece and t' ring. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Also notice t' notch now perfectly sized t' fit the shock cord. Aye aye! Blimey!

8. Once t' above assembly is dry you need t' gently push this piece out o' it's parent piece o' press board. I recommend usin' an exacto knife t' remove t' little bindings holdin' it in so that you do nay damage your assembly or warp it. Avast! Now thread t' loose end o' t' shock cord through the notch. Begad! Make sure it is nay twisted and that it is flat in t' notch. At this point you can either insert a rin' o' glue just below t' plastic cup or not. Arrr! Ahoy! I recommend simply insertin' t' assembly and then droppin' t' loose end of t' shock cord into t' bottom rocket section so that you can push this piece into place usin' t' coupler which is glued t' t' bottom section. It should push it flat against t' bottom o' t' payload bay plastic cup. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Now add a glue fillet around t' inside o' t' body tube where it meets your new 'firewall' assembly. Once this is dry you may notice that when t' bottom section is fitted with t' payload bay that it has about 1/16th inch o' space between t' two sections. Above I mentioned pushin' t' coupler in this amount so as t' accommodate t' firewall assembly. If you did nay push it in this extra amount then simply cut off a rin' o' material around t' end o' your bottom section's coupler so that when you slide t' two together, matey, they fit snugly.

9. You should have a perfect seal now at t' base o' your payload area. Avast! If you want t' you can add glue around and in t' notch where the shock cord goes in if t' seal is nay complete. Well, me bucko, blow me down! This prevents hot gases from enterin' your payload bay. Avast, me proud beauty! T' image below should resemble what you have done. Ahoy!

10. Begad! Ahoy! Now you need t' take your unused nose cone from one o' your kits and usin' your razor saw, cut t' angled section off o' it's base. Aye aye! It will then look like t' image below. Begad! Ya scallywag! Notice the bit o' plastic which normally creates t' eye for t' loop o' parachute cord has also been removed. Ahoy! NOTE: In this example me nose cone is already painted black in this case because I am usin' parts from a prior Stormcaster to some degree.

11. Ya scallywag! Once you have gotten t' this point you will want t' slide in your camera and see how well it fits. Begad! Avast! You should be able t' slide t' nose cone in on top o' it. Ya scallywag! If you cannot then you will need t' cut a notch out of one side o' t' nose cone base. Aye aye! This is pictured below. T' notched area will fit over t' front o' t' camera and lens. Ahoy! Note that you also may want t' add a layer o' maskin' tape t' t' base o' t' nose cone t' provide a snug fit.

12. Avast, me proud beauty! Now you must decide how you want to secure t' camera. Aye aye! First I recommend takin' a complete strip o' estes wadding as it would come in t' bundle from a waddin' pack and insert this crumpled up into t' plastic cup. Ahoy! This provides some cushionin' and is non flammable just in t' off chance some how a flame got through. Ahoy! You can use various fluffy filler material but t' estes waddin' will nay burn in that 1 in a million chance that you might get a spark through. Arrr! With t' camera sittin' on either the waddin' ball or other fluff, shiver me timbers, you then need t' take note how your camera fits in t' tube and measure where t' lens sits in relation t' t' outside of the payload tube. Begad! You will want t' remove t' camera and then usin' a very sharp exacto knife cut a square or round hole for t' lens t' see through. Once you have done this you will want t' use felt pads or other material t' brace the camera correctly so that it does nay move. Well, blow me down! In me example I use squares of Velcro sandwiched together. This is shown below. Well, blow me down! I also have a U Shaped piece of paper inserted t' keep t' sticky glue from t' Velcro pieces off o' the camera. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! You may want t' consider addin' filler material inside t' nose cone as well in case t' camera comes loose. However, ya bilge rat, I think this is less o' concern than t' nose one comin' off entirely. You may want t' secure it in someway. T' lens hole is t' t' right in t' picture below.

13. Well, blow me down! Here you see t' camera mounted inside t' payload bay. Arrr!

14. Arrr! Well, blow me down! And now is a shot o' t' lens lookin' out from it's nest inside t' payload section. Aye aye! Begad!

15. Well, blow me down! T' last step is t' attach a parachute in t' middle o' t' shock cord between t' payload bay and t' lower rocket section. Use whatever you feel comfortable with. A larger chute will provide a softer landin' but may carry the rocket farther away, matey, increasin' t' chance o' losin' it. I don't recommend usin' a swivel since they seem t' fail. Blimey! You may want t' tie a second chute at the base o' t' payload bay. Aye aye! You may also want t' then move t' middle chute to the top o' t' bottom rocket section. Ya scallywag! A nylon chute may be best t' prevent heat damage. Below are two images o' t' complete rocket.

Firin' Your Rocket
My method is simple. First set t' camera's video mode t' either high or low resolution. Begad! Then insert it into t' rocket and make sure t' lens is positioned correctly. Begad! Aye aye! Make sure t' focal length is set on infinity(Not the flower setting). Aye aye! You might want t' use a piece o' scotch tape t' secure the lens settin' in place. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Now push t' shutter button and smartly attach t' nose cone. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Get back a safe distance and press your launch button. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! There are several ways t' make a quick launch and you may want t' experiment t' see what works best for you. T' camera I use provides me with about 30 seconds o' high resolution video which is plenty o' time t' get t' nose cone on and fire the rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! T' lower resolution settin' will give you much more time and you can take a slightly more leisured pace back t' your launch controller. Once you retrieve your rocket you can download t' video t' a laptop or your home computer in t' normal manner. Blimey! Aye aye!

Due t' t' occasional hard landin' and t' fact that I wanted t' camera to descend at least somewhat vertically, arrr, I have created t' followin' modification for this setup. Aye aye! You first need t' cut a small 1/4 inch slot in t' back o' the payload bay about 2 inches from t' top. Avast! It should line up approximately with the lens view port cutout on t' other side o' t' payload tube. Begad! This slot is indicated below.

You now need t' feed t' shock cord from your second Stormcaster kit through t' slot and into t' body tube. Avast! Make sure it goes in flat and nay twisted.

Now you want t' create a tri fold paper glue mount usin' this end o' t' shock cord. You should place this mount towards t' bottom o' the payload bay inside. Well, blow me down! A closeup o' this is shown below. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! T' cord should come in taut and flat and directly into it's mount. Begad! You do NOT want any slack in this joint. Begad! T' mount o' t' lower shock cord is also visible in this image.

You should now cut a notch in t' coupler tub which mates with t' payload bay. Blimey! This will allow this new shock cord t' be passed into t' lower body tube where it is tied t' t' parachute. Ya scallywag! I recommend usin' a swivel for t' shock cord to parachute attachment so that t' camera assembly does nay spin on t' way down. However, me hearties, you want t' use a strong swivel sense it will be carryin' t' weight of t' entire rocket assembly. Blimey! It does nay need t' be as strong as you would think though because t' shock o' ejection is still absorbed by t' lower shock cord. Begad! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' swivel only connects t' t' parachute, supportin' t' rocket's weight on t' way down.

This next image below shows t' new shock cord tightly layin' against the payload bay and passin' through it's notch in t' lower section. Ahoy! That's it! Now you're ready t' launch!

These are frame captures from some o' me recorded video.

These clips are compressed for bandwidth purposes and do nay represent the full capabilities o' t' camera. Begad! They are a good representation however.
Video 1 Video 2