Note: This is a slightly condensed version o' all the information that Frank has produced for his Level 3 project. Visit t' Tripoli Netherlands site (look under Projecten) t' read t' additional information and enjoy additional pictures.

I decided t' fly a Level 3 rocket at ALRS 1 in Switzerland on t' 24th and 25th o' March 2000. Begad! Well, blow me down! After contact with Juerg Thuering, arrr, t' Prefect o' Tripoli Switzerland and also one o' t' TAP members t' evaluate t' project and flight. Well, blow me down! I decided that me intended flight of Ignis Volans Gamma Mark II on a M1315 would have problems with t' waiver that be granted up t' 7600', t' IVGMII would reach at least 14000' so that flight was out o' t' question. Avast, me proud beauty! Now I had a M1315 casing, ya bilge rat, a reload in Switzerland, shiver me timbers, but no rocket t' fly it durin' ALRS 1. Begad! After a week o' pacing around and rethinkin' t' possibility's, matey, from rearward ejection up t' building the Ignis Volans Epsilon (which is planned for next year), or a Nike Smoke, I always found a major problem. Begad! Rearward ejection would take place at 450 km an hour, well those rocketman-reinforced drogues are strong, but if an airframe would be able t' withstand t' forces if t' drogues deployed t' stop the rocket before t' ceilin' be reached.....T' parts for t' Nike and the Epsilon were all still somewhere on a boat across t' North Atlantic, matey, so that gave me a definite time problem as ALRS 1 was still 60 days away.

So on 24 January 2000 I decided t' built t' followin' project, matey, as it would be a great pity nay t' use that M1315 motor at ALRS 1 (Aerotech with serial NR. 13 !). Ya scallywag! I had planned t' built a PML Pterodactyl this year for t' launch in July at t' ASK in t' Netherlands. Begad! So t' followin' plan developed after allot of designin' in RockSim 4.0 and mailin' with Juerg Thuering. Arrr! T' Pterodactyl has a good airframe for a Level 3 flight but needed some ''small'' adjustments:

Conversion from PML kit t' Level 3 M.

1. Replace t' 54mm motormount with a 75-mm motormount and attach a Aero Pack Quick Change Motor Retainer. Aye aye! Blimey!
2. Reinforce t' through t' wall fins with aircraft plywood for strength along t' roots o' t' fins that would be in t' Booster Section.
3. Coat t' whole airframe with 2 layers o' Epoxy and Keelhaul®©™.
4. Replace t' launch lugs with BlackSky Aluminum rail guides.
5. Extend t' Airframe by 48'' t' make room for a Rocketman R18C Experimental Main Chute, me hearties, me hearties, a Reinforced Rocketman Drogue Chute RHDC , t' AED RDAS Main and BlackSky AltAcc Backup Computers. Avast! Called Chute Section and Coupler - Avionics Section.
6. Built a compartment into t' Nose Cone for extra weight placement. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Called Weight Section. Aye aye!
7. Design a Main and Drogue Chute Section with Piston ejection for t' Main Chute.

After contacting PML for t' parts, Fedex arranged t' delivery on t' 5th o' February with help from Peter Fakkeldij, me bucko, who sent t' package. Ahoy! As I had a free day I started with unpackin' and stackin' all t' parts in our garage on our tennis table. Avast, me proud beauty! After wonderin' about t' size I started with t' construction. First I dumped the parts o' t' PML kit that I would nay use into t' parts corner o' t' hobby room. Avast! As I had just finished t' stand for t' rocket t' rest in, me hearties, I started with applyin' Elmers Wood filler on t' 2 main body tubes. Begad! Begad! After that I calculated t' fin position and trimmed t' fins t' fit t' 75-mm motor tube. That day I finished t' fillin' o' t' grooves on t' tubes and got all the fins aligned on t' 75-mm motor tube and 2 centerin' rings attached. Arrr!

Hmmm this rocket had already flown with Fedex up t' 35.000 feet at least, wasn't every flyin' object allot o' spare parts flyin' in close formation?

T' next construction day I started with makin' t' reinforcements for the fin attachments from aircraft grade plywood. I Also sanded t' Chute Section and applied 2 layers o' Keelhaul®©™ and epoxy resin over it and set it t' dry. Arrr! Arrr! Blimey! After the reinforcements had been attached t' two fin sides it be covered with one layer o' epoxy resin. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! Then I started with t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! I first made two centerin' rings t' make a 3.90'' Weight Section and made t' body tube t' the right length. Ya scallywag! Blimey! After fittin' it into t' Nose Cone I attached a bulkhead in the top o' t' 3.90'' Weight Section and attached t' two centerin' rings. Blimey! Blimey! I also made t' closure o' t' Weight Section and attached a U-bolt t' it for the recovery harness. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' Weight Section will be carryin' t' extra weight during the flight t' get t' CG right. After t' Chute Section be dry I coated it with another layer o' epoxy resin. Blimey! Blimey! Then I cut one layer o' Keelhaul®©™ t' fit between t' fin reinforcement and applied it with a layer o' epoxy resin t' dry overnight.

On day three o' the construction I started with fittin' t' Weight Section into t' Nose Cone and applyin' epoxy t' set it into place. Begad! Begad! Thereafter I started with t' second fin reinforcements o' plywood. Avast, me proud beauty! After that was set t' dry t' design o' t' Coupler - Avionics Section came next. Aye aye! I started with sortin' out t' Bulkplates and Centerin' Rings and attached t' U-Bolt for t' Main Chute rigging. It took a while t' sort out t' construction order, as t' safety plugs location had to be figured out. Aye aye! Also o' importance was that t' Avionics Bay for t' AED RDAS and t' backup BlackSky AltAcc were t' be fitted into t' Coupler betwixt the Booster Section and t' Chute Section. Blimey! T' Coupler would be havin' two purposes, one t' connect t' rocket parts together and second t' house the Avionics. Ya scallywag! Assembly came next after all t' measurements were taken and calculated.

Day four commenced with t' last fin reinforcements and a layer o' Keelhaul®©™ and Epoxy Resin t' add some more strength. Blimey! Also for this purpose 3 rods (see picture below) were added t' give some extra strength t' t' Centerin' Rings. T' Coupler - Avionics Section was also further constructed up t' t' part that it had t' wait until t' Booster Section would be ready for integration with the Coupler - Avionics Section.

After this the Booster Tube was joined with t' Booster Frame and so it formed t' Booster Section. Ya scallywag! It started t' look like a rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! A lot o' days passed with epoxy and Keelhaul®©™ t' join t' Booster Section together. Ahoy! A thin' t' plan with this step is to follow a construction order in which you can make all t' Epoxy filaments. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! I drilled some holes in t' centerin' rings o' t' Booster Frame t' be able to apply t' Epoxy with some big injection tubes. After every layer or reinforcement joint, t' epoxy had t' set and I had t' wait for t' next step. In t' meantime I made t' extra Weight Canister for t' Nose Cone and finished the Piston for t' Main Chute. Also t' main motor bulkplate was finished and the motor thrust plate construction. Ya scallywag! I took a 3.90'' Coupler t' act as a Weight Canister and fitted it with a Bulk Plate and 4 T nuts for attachment. During the rest o' t' construction I poured all t' excess Epoxy into this Weight Canister. Arrr! Later I would adjust t' weight for t' CG with it or just saw a piece o' t' get t' right CG adjustment.

Then I sanded and sanded. Blimey! Ahoy! After everythin' be fitted and sanded ok, me hearties, two layers o' 2 component Epoxy paint were applied as primer.

After t' Booster Section was finished t' Avionics Section was added t' the Booster Section but first t' BlackSky Aluminum Rail guides were attached by makin' a reinforcement in t' inside o' t' Booster Tube with T-nuts on the inside and a layer o' Keelhaul®©™ and Epoxy over t' reinforcement. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' Coupler - Avionics Section was further build up with installin' t' Activation Plugs and the T-nuts for t' connection betwixt t' Booster Section and t' Chute Section. Again a series o' epoxy pourin' and waitin' followed. And always makin' sure t' PML logo on t' tubes pointed upward in intended flight direction, kind o' a superstition under Rocketeers.

Then came t' next problem. Up until now I had planned t' use a piston in the Chute Section t' eject t' main chute and t' connect t' drogue on top of that with an own ejection charge. Aye aye! T' plan was that t' drogue charge would eject t' Nose Cone and t' Drogue Chute. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' Drogue Chute would be attached to the top o' t' Piston o' t' Main Chute. Blimey! Blimey! I was thinkin' o' usin' shear pins to hold t' Piston in place until ejection o' t' Main Chute. After some discussions with Juerg Thuerin' I found out t' pins were never goin' t' hold the Piston in place if t' drogue would be attached and pulled on t' Piston. T' forces would be too high for this size o' rocket. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! So back t' t' drawing board. Juerg came with t' idea o' usin' Chute Cannons, me hearties, well I hadn't thought about that idea yet. Arrr! Ahoy! After thinkin' it over I came t' t' conclusion that this would solve me recovery problem.
So a quick glance in me spare corner and out came some parts that would be needed t' build two Chute Cannons. And thar went t' nicely constructed Main Piston, arrr, arrr, into t' spare corner. Begad! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Then t' Main R18C Chute from Rocketman arrived for t' TinTin project o' Chiel Klijn, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and I figured me Chute Cannon o' 3.90'' would be way t' small t' fit me R18C Chute. Arrr! Blimey! Rocketman was still makin' me chute for me t' pick up in t' middle o' March, so I decided t' order some more parts for a 6.00'' Chute Cannon at PML. Ya scallywag! Fedex be goin' t' do have some more work. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Blimey!

T' Aft Bulkhead (above-left) o' t' Booster Section with t' T-Nuts and the Aero Pack Quick Change Motor Mount. Arrr! Blimey! Note t' rings over t' T-Nuts t' keep the Epoxy Resin out o' t' Nuts when addin' this over t' Centerin' Rin' for reinforcement when it is installed.

While waitin' on t' last parts I finished t' Booster and Coupler - Avionics Section and after a lot o' sandin' I sprayed t' Pterodactyl with a nice finish o' Red and Yellow. Ya scallywag! I also cut new decals as t' PML decal had red lettering, and I needed t' letters t' be white.

T' final construction week I paced through me garage, matey, I finished some other rockets and made two field cases for t' rockets. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! At t' end o' t' week, me bucko, nine days before ALRS 1, t' PML parts arrived and I had three days left t' finish the Pterodactyl. Ahoy! I also had t' visit Ky Michaelson t' next week t' pick up the Main Chute.

So I started with makin' t' Bulkhead Plate for t' Main chute and the Centerin' Rings for t' Main Chute Canon (above-right). Arrr! I took three Bulkheads and made eccentric 6.00'' holes in them t' fit t' Main Chute 6.00'' Chute Canon in. T' main Bulk Plate I built up usin' a 7.5'' Bulkplate and one o' the Eccentric Rings. Ahoy! In t' eccentric hole I placed a 6.00'' Bulkplate for extra thickness and through these two plates I fitted two U-Bolts for t' Main Chute Harness connection. Ya scallywag! Avast! Later durin' t' final fittin' it came out that t' Bolts were too far in t' Bulkheads so I glued a Broad line along t' 6.00'' Chute Canon and strengthened it with Keelhaul®©™. Avast! Also I made a hole through t' two Bulkplates and fitted a PT-1.525 tube o' 25 mm long t' act as an Epoxy rin' for reinforcement. Aye aye! After this done I made a Bulkhead for t' SafeEject EX from a 5.5'' Bulkplate, me hearties, connection t' t' Main Chute Bulkhead be done by 6 M4 T-Nuts.

This done t' 6.00'' tube be cut t' 700 mm and glued into t' Main Chute Bulkhead. T' first Liner be glued on t' Main Chute Bulkhead and Epoxy Resin be poured between t' Liner and t' Main Chute Tube, matey, and onto t' Main Chute Bulkhead for extra strength. After this done an Eccentric Rin' be placed on t' first Liner and glued with 5 minute Epoxy. Aye aye! A second Liner was inserted and glued using Epoxy Resin. Betwixt t' Liner and t' Main Chute Tube another amount o' Epoxy Resin be poured in for extra strength. Avast! Then t' last Eccentric Rin' be fitted with 2 T-Nuts for attachment o' t' SafeEject and a U-Bolt for t' Drogue Harness. Avast, me proud beauty! Also t' 4 wires for t' activation o' t' SafeEject were run between the Liners and t' Main Chute Tube. Blimey! T' last Eccentric Rin' was Glued on and set t' dry. Ya scallywag! Begad! After this done a layer o' Epoxy Resin was poured into t' top Eccentric Ring, matey, betwixt t' Liner and t' Main Chute Tube for extra strength. Gluin' two Bulkplates together and fittin' it with an Eyebolt made t' lid of the Main Chute Tube.

All t' wires were fitted with Deans Connectors and t' decals were added on the Booster. Avast! Blimey! Also t' BlackSky Aluminum Rail Guides were installed and the Chute Harnesses were made for t' Main and t' Drogue Chute. Aye aye! T' Aero Pack 75 mm Quick Change Motor Retainer be installed as a last construction action.

After this done everythin' was test fitted and t' whole Rocket was assembled for t' first time. Well, blow me down! I tested all t' wires and t' setup for t' RDAS and AltAcc and checked t' CG and t' Weight o' t' Rocket without t' motor casing. Avast! This I checked with t' RockSim data and t' get t' CG right. I found out I would nay need t' Weight Section for adjustment o' t' CH, t' Rocket checked out fine betwixt 1 t' 2 for CG / CP. I marked t' CP on t' Rocket and found it be time t' pack everythin' for t' trip t' Switzerland.

T' following text goes over t' drawin' and explains in detail t' construction of Pterodactyl ''the Beastie''

Chute Section

SUCCESSFUL LEVEL 3 FLIGHT!

March 25, 2000
ALRS 1 Launch - Switzerland
Rocket - Modified PML Pterodactyl - "T' Beastie"
Weight - 66 lbs
Motor - Aerotech M1315
Altitude 4384 feet

When we (then ''future'' and now Tripoli t' Netherlands) arrived at ALRS 1 (the first big Launch Campaign o' HPR rockets in Europe), matey, Juerg Thuerin' the Swiss prefect, told us we had t' go for a launch that day, matey, because t' weather would turn on us t' next day. So we all unpacked and started prepping feverishly. Arrr! As I still had t' do me successful Level 2 flight with a prefect witnessin' it, I started with me redesigned Ignis Volans Gamma. Begad! After 90 minutes or so I be ready and launched t' Ignis Volans for a perfect flight and recovery. Well, blow me down! Juerg signed me o' and handed me t' M1315 reload for the Pterodactyl. Arrr! Now I had somethin' t' do....

First I'll tell somethin' more about ALRS 1. Tripoli Switzerland be the organizin' Prefecture and did a good job. Aye aye! About 30 t' 40 flyers from all over Europe had gathered near Neuchatel and were all preppin' their Rockets and lookin' forward t' a great day. Ahoy! Arrr! T' weather was excellent, me bucko, me hearties, blue skies and the sun shone on our necks t' whole day, matey, me bucko, as we noticed back in t' hotel due to sunburn. Arrr! Ahoy! ARGOS, t' Advanced Rocket Group o' Switzerland (Tripoli Swiss is part of this) had chosen a nice spot up in t' mountains o' Switzerland. There were 5 pads available, 2 low power, me bucko, arrr, 2 high power and a heavy high power pad. The whole day, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and t' next afternoon a total o' about 50 rockets were launched and recovered, although t' recovery didn't always go t' plan, it still be t' most difficult part o' t' flight. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! In t' evenin' thar be a nice flyers dinner with a raffle with prizes from t' sponsorin' Vendors. Avast, me proud beauty! In me opinion HPR is growin' fast here in Europe so we'll have some nice launches t' see forward too. A lot o' pictures from ALRS 1 can be found at www.stabilit.ch/argos/ and on this homepage

But now back t' t' Pterodactyl. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I had planned t' fly it with a RDAS as main Altimeter and an AltAcc as backup. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Juerg had sent me an AltAcc, matey, but it never arrived. Arrr! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! One week before t' launch he had sent me another one, but that one tough mailed by express, matey, hadn't made it also. Aye aye! Blimey! Weeks later t' second package arrived at me home and Juerg found out t' first one be returned t' his address....

So I had a problem with takin' care o' t' backup for t' RDAS. Avast, me proud beauty! Luckily Bert Koerts had a RDAS t' spare, arrr, so with some improvisation I was able t' use this as a backup altimeter. Flyin' with 2 RDAS computers proved t' be a good choice as no one had done this before, and so I was able t' compare t' both on results. Which proved t' RDAS is just t' best system thar be as you can see in t' graphs further on, especially with all t' extension boards that are bein' developed.
It took me nearly 3 hours t' rig everythin' into t' Rocket and durin' the prepping, Rolf Orell (the Prefect o' Tripoli Sweden) examined t' Pterodactyl ''the Beastie'', me hearties, went through me pre-flight file and asked allot o' questions why I had done this and that. Ya scallywag! Juerg Thuerin' had done this as TAP member during the buildin' and Rolf checked t' Pterodactyl out before t' flight, as TAP member.

Durin' t' preppin' allot o' people came by and asked allot o' questions, me bucko, I really had t' stick t' me checklist, nay t' forget anythin' and makin' no mistakes while prepping.

Finally the Pterodactyl ''the Beastie'' be ready for flight, matey, so with help from the Netherlands Team I moved t' Rocket t' t' Pad. Ahoy! Here I placed t' Pterodactyl together with t' Netherlands Team on t' Pad X-ray. Ya scallywag! I activated t' two RDAS computers, inserted t' igniter and took some last pictures. Ahoy! Begad! Then thar was a problem with t' Launch Box, one o' t' relays be burned in, so another Launch Box was set up and t' Pterodactyl was ready t' go.

T' silence run through me, I am always a bit stunned before a flight when it is somethin' I fly for t' first time. You have t' let it go then, it is out of your hands. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! One small mistake can ruin every flight in me opinion. Begad! Begad! T' LCO made a speech and t' countdown started. It seemed like eternity. Begad! I guess nobody really knew what t' expect except Juerg Thuerin' and Rolf Orell. Then the countdown wound down and t' igniter was activated, arrr, t' M1315 ignited with a blast and Pterodactyl ''the Beastie'' flew straight o' t' BlackSky Rail up into t' blue sky with a roar and under a oval o' fire, me bucko, t' flight was perfect and straight (You can download t' MPG on request from debro@inorbit.com). Arrr!

At apogee t' drogue deployed and ''the Beastie'' came fallin' down t' earth under cheers o' t' public. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! At 200 meters t' RocketMan main chute deployed and ''the Beastie'' made a nice landing. Wow what a flight that was.

After that everybody congratulated me and I was muted for a week. When I got t' video o' t' Launch everythin' came back, arrr, me bucko, so now I have a plan for LDRS 2001, but you will hear about that another time. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I will only say for now that the Rocket will be named Northern Light and it will be M powered at least.