Construction

Buildin' started with a roll call. Begad! I wanted t' make sure that everythin' was accounted for and that nothin' was bent, shiver me timbers, crumpled, arrr, ya bilge rat, or damaged. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I highly recommend doin' this with EVERY rocket you build. You should always check t' quality o' t' components before buildin' so that it can be replaced or fixed. If thar be a weak link in t' structure, bad things can happen. I don't expect this from Aerotech, but thar have been several reports about problems with t' nose cones.

Another thin' everyone should do before buildin' is t' STUDY t' instructions. Begad! Blimey! Aerotech has pretty good instructions and t' steps are in a logical order, but some o' t' illustrations could be better.

T' actual buildin' started with t' adapter (build this first because it will be used t' push back t' thrust rin' and flange). Aye aye! Ahoy! Afterwards, arrr, ya bilge rat, measurements are taken on t' motor mount and t' motor hook is inserted through a 1/4" slot that you cut. T' thrust rin' and flange are now glued together and pushed up until it butts up against t' back o' t' motor hook. Avast, me proud beauty! Aerotech says t' cement them in place, shiver me timbers, but I decided against it since t' fit betwixt t' rin' and tube is so tight and t' hook is so long that it's hard t' glue anythin' in place at all.

Now comes t' challenging, part-the FIN-LOC rings. Begad! They are so tight that t' front 1/8" o' me motor tube us torn and t' layers o' paper are separated. Ahoy! Avast! T' get them into place, me bucko, I suggest gently tappin' them into place with a rubber mallet or small hammer.

What comes next is super important. Arrr! Begad! DO NOT glue t' FIN-LOC rings in place until you have test fitted t' fins and they fit properly. Slide t' centerin' rin' into place and make sure it does nay interfere with t' fin placement, then remove t' fins and glue t' FIN-LOC rings and middle centerin' rin' in place. Begad! I used Gorilla Devcon 30 minute epoxy throughout t' motor mount assembly (because most super glues will deform t' plastic and because I had never used liquid epoxy before).

T' only problem I came across be t' epoxy takin' half an hour t' set. It runs like syrup. Avast! I simply kept rotatin' t' assembly and everythin' worked fine. Aye aye! In t' future, I will use 5-minute epoxy.

Now you make four 1/4" slits at t' top o' t' assembly that are 90 degrees apart, arrr, stretch out t' coolin' mesh, and cement t' baffle in place. Arrr! Unfortunately, I made a stupid mistake and glued in t' baffle before I inserted t' mesh. Well, blow me down! Begad! After about 5 minutes o' wonderin' what t' do, shiver me timbers, matey, I ended up cuttin' away t' first 1" o' t' tube, peelin' t' paper away from t' baffle, insertin' t' mesh, arrr, replacin' t' baffle, and gluin' it in place with t' front centerin' rin' over that.

Tie t' shock cord t' t' screw eye and screw that into t' baffle. Avast! T' whole assembly is then inserted into t' lower body tube and t' fins are snapped into place so that t' assembly doesn’t move. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Now t' whole thin' is glued into place, me bucko, and t' fins are removed and tacked down, me hearties, shiver me timbers, both at t' root edge and where t' fin tab meets t' motor mount.

Then insert t' last centerin' rin' and add t' launch lugs, arrr, and t' bottom half is finished!

Now comes t' coupler. Arrr! Blimey! I highly suggest test fittin' t' coupler, ya bilge rat, matey, sanding, and test fittin' again until it is snug, but still slides in easy enough so that t' glue doesn’t grab before t' coupler is in all t' way. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! When all was said and done, shiver me timbers, thar was still a 3/32 gap betwixt t' two tubes, shiver me timbers, so i filled and sanded it down with two-part epoxy clay from Apogee. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket be then set aside t' dry overnight.

Now is where t' strakes come into play. T' strakes need t' be shaped by hand, matey, ya bilge rat, and that can be a bit o' a challenge. Avast! Make several shallow passes with a new razor knife close t' t' lines that you draw onto t' plastic. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Then sand down t' last little bit and wipe away t' dust and any remainin' flash. Aye aye! Here is where I found t' one, and only, gotcha. There is a wrap (similar t' an Estes fin wrap) that marks where t' strakes go. T' problem is that t' launch lugs are already glued on. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' avoid this, arrr, either use a straight edge, me bucko, or wait t' put on t' lugs.

Draw t' lines at least 6" past t' lower body tube. Blimey! Now glue on t' strakes.

Next tie t' parachute t' t' shock cord and tie t' shock cord t' t' nose cone. Avast! Ahoy! T' assembly is done!