My third in t' series o' "paper building" of some o' t' free rockets throughout t' Internet (See my "Free" Paper-Rocket Comparison Page). Arrr! Blimey! This one is nay associated with a company that also sells rockets (like FlisKits Midnight Express™ or Model Minutes TricArrow). Ahoy! Blimey! I downloaded t' Pre-printed Pattern Sheet in MS Word format from t' New Mexico Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education site. Well, blow me down! I printed it on 110lb Card Stock (Georgia Pacific brand purchased from WalMart). Blimey! I also downloaded and printed t' instruction set.

T' rocket patterns were all contained on two pages and thar was a single page o' instructions. Ahoy! T' instructions were brief and t' t' point with no illustrations. Ya scallywag! They outlined t' needed materials and steps for construction. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Another point, me bucko, is based off t' CAP Rocket, thar is Red-White-and-Blue version, a "D" motor version, a 2-stage, an egg-loft version and a version with a fin variation.

You need t' provide a recovery system includin' a shock cord and streamer. Avast! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! You will also need clay nose weight. Avast, me proud beauty! CAP recommends 10-12" o' flat 1/8" elastic and 3" x 24" o' very light brightly-colored nylon material for t' parachute.

CAP also recommends that you have a scissors, Elmer's glue, me bucko, 3 spent motors (for shapin' t' body tube), arrr, a launch rod or small Phillips screw driver (for shapin' t' launch lug), a tooth pick (for shaping the nose cone), ya bilge rat, ruler, and scotch tape.

CONSTRUCTION:

Some o' t' main points o' construction are outlined below. Aye aye! Blimey! I cut each o' t' rocket pieces out o' t' pattern sheets and followed each step in t' instructions. T' toughest section was t' nose cone.

T' nose cone is interestin' because it doesn't have an internal shoulder, ya bilge rat, it has an external shoulder. Ya scallywag! In other words, instead o' t' shoulder slidin' inside o' t' rocket body, it slides over the outside, me bucko, like a cap (no pun intended). Well, blow me down! Begad! T' trouble I had with t' nose cone was that t' bottom cone be nay quite as wide as t' collar piece. Avast! T' glue tabs allowed this t' work and then I filled t' gaps with glue.

T' fins were built up with two pieces. Well, blow me down! T' inside fin stiffener is folded in a manner that established t' trailin' edges o' the fins. Begad! Blimey! This method creates a sharp (airfoiled) leadin' edge and also give the fins some thickness and sturdiness.

T' body tube is rolled and has more than just a glue tab. It is rolled so that it is about 3 spirals overall. This made the tube fairly rigid. Begad! Begad! I didn't have that much trouble rollin' t' tube. Aye aye! I rolled it tighter than it was supposed t' be and held it for a while. Begad! I let it loose t' where it should connect and checked t' see if a motor would fit. Ahoy! Well, matey, blow me down! It was tight with 110lb paper, me hearties, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but did. Well, blow me down! I then held one side with me pinky in the tube and applied glue t' t' raised edge, smeared it with me finger and pressed it down t' length o' t' tube. Begad! Arrr! I then flipped it and pressed that edge onto the table covered with newspaper. Aye aye! I then rolled it on t' newspaper over that joint. Avast! Aye aye! Bearin' in mind that I kept t' inside o' t' tube still a bit tighter. Once dried I used me pinky on both sides and twisted opposite t' expand the inside o' t' tube.

There is a thrust rin' and a launch lug that are included in t' pattern sheets.

I used 32 inches o' 1/32" Keelhaul®©™® for me shock cord. Ya scallywag! Well, arrr, blow me down! It be attached usin' t' 3-fold paper method (outlined in the instructions) t' t' body tube. Arrr! It was glued into t' tip o' t' nose cone per t' instructions. Begad! Then after that was dry I added Plast-i-Clay Modeling Clay for t' nose weight. I added enough t' fill it up t' glue tabs. The instructions were a bit confusin' because in t' "Materials Needed" section it said you need 1 cubic inch o' clay, while in the "Construction" section it said use 1 cubic cm. Aye aye! Aye aye! I emails t' CAP folks and they are fixin' that. Ahoy! So fill it up t' t' glue tabs. Ya scallywag! My Center o' Gravity (balance point) be 6" from t' tip o' t' nose cone.

I added a 24" x 3/4" Nomex® Streamer. Begad! Blimey! Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I cut this from a roll o' Nomex® that I had purchased from t' now defunct Rogue Aerospace many years ago.

Overall, ya bilge rat, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this rocket 4 points. Avast! It is fairly straight forward and t' instructions were clear enough t' get a builder through it.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

CAP indicates that this rocket is designed for A, arrr, B, arrr, shiver me timbers, and C motors. Ya scallywag! My finished rocket weighed 0.9 ounces. Aye aye! I decided t' use an A8-3 and B6-6 for flyin' it.

My first flight was on an A8-3. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' motor is friction fit into t' motor mount until it hits t' thrust ring. Aye aye! I didn't have to use any tape as t' tightness o' me tube was good t' hold t' motor. I added a couple o' balls o' waddin' and rolled t' streamer. Begad! Everythin' was ready.

It be quit windy but I decided t' go for it. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' A8-3 be a pretty good match and t' ejection was at (or just before) apogee. There seemed t' be some tail wiggle on t' way up, but it be straight overall. Aye aye! Blimey! Recovery be fine, although t' wind really carried it. Aye aye! Blimey! No damage.

My next flight be a repeat o' t' first on an A8-3, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, but on a calmer day. It too showed a little bit o' tail wiggle going up. Begad! Ejection was just before apogee and recovered it just fine.

T' next flight was on a B6-6. Aye aye! This time the "little bit o' tail wiggle" turned into a lot o' tail wiggle with larger circular motions. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! It really looked bad, shiver me timbers, although t' flight be straight up. Avast, me proud beauty! T' ejection seemed t' happen perfectly at apogee.

T' rocket is showin' no wear. Ahoy! Everythin' is sound with t' exception o' me shockcord and streamer. T' thread twisted a lot and t' streamer attachment is tore slightly.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, shiver me timbers, I would rate this rocket 4 ½ points. T' flight o' t' CAP Rocket is good but this wiggle could be a problem. Begad! Blimey! Yes, yes, matey, is it t' design or t' builder? Conceptually it could be t' builder and t' placement o' t' fins and such. Begad! Blimey! It is kind o' like the Estes Blue Ninja that for me always has a slight wobble, Someone else noticed it too, shiver me timbers, me hearties, so it could be t' rocket. Ya scallywag! Blimey! We'll never know for t' CAP rocket, unless someone else builds it.

I give t' rocket an OVERALL ratin' o' 4 ½ points. Hey, it is a "free" rocket and has some expendability t' a two-stage and egg-lofter. It provides other unique techniques for paper rocket building. Give it a try!