Brief:
1.59X upscale o' one o' t' original Estes Goonybirds, t' Super Sky Shriek is for t' most part an E-powered Estes Fat Boy with cool fins and an even cooler paint scheme.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• BT-80 main body tube 8.0"
• Estes PNC-80BB nose cone
• 2 centerin' rings
• 48" Keelhaul®©™ shock cord
• 48" sewin' elastic shock cord (1/8")

Technically thar were no instructions for t' SSS, me bucko, but part o' t' beauty o' t' rocket be that none were really needed. Begad! I built t' engine mount usin' some centerin' rings scrounged from an Estes Patriot kit that long ago became somethin' else, shiver me timbers, a length o' BT-50 for t' motor tube, arrr, and an E motor hook and engine block. Once this had dried I tied a length o' Keelhaul®©™ betwixt t' two centerin' rings, cut a slot in t' tip o' t' upper ring, slathered t' whole thin' with wood glue and mounted it in t' body tube. Ya scallywag! Avast! T' fin guide from t' original Sky Shriek upscaled a little small, me bucko, but I compensated for t' error and attached t' fins with LocTite gel CA and wood glue fillets. Ahoy! Blimey! I made another mistake here that I didn't catch until I was in t' hotel room on Friday night. Arrr! Begad! I forgot t' three strakes betwixt each pair o' fins...and t' launch lug but that's nothin' new. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Luckily I had brought buildin' materials with me includin' balsa and launch lugs so I be able t' cut three lengths o' balsa and prime them before goin' t' bed. At t' field t' next day I painted t' strakes and t' launch lug on t' new table that I bought at Wal-Mart then attached them with epoxy. Blimey! An hour later it was flight worthy.

Finishing:
Bein' that it is a two-color paint scheme, shiver me timbers, t' Super Sky Shriek should be an easy rocket t' paint. Blimey! It is, but thar are maskin' and placement issues that can be a pain. Ya scallywag! Havin' already replicated t' paint scheme in a 1:1 clone, arrr, matey, I thought I'd have no trouble with it's big brother. Begad! I thought wrong and I have no one t' blame but myself.

I printed out two versions o' t' mask for t' paint scheme, arrr, shiver me timbers, me hearties, one at 158%, matey, t' other at 159%. I should have gone with one at 160% because that seems t' be t' one that would have worked best on t' copier I used. Avast! T' 158% upscale was far too small and t' 159% was also iffy, but since I had already left work for me NSL vacation and was leavin' t' next morning, ya bilge rat, matey, I was stuck with it. Ahoy! I had previously sprayed t' whole top 2/3 o' t' rocket with Valspar Cherry Red gloss, arrr, but as I sometimes do, me bucko, me bucko, I forgot t' put on t' launch lug. Avast, me proud beauty! This is critical because t' launch lug is a major landmark for correctly placin' t' mask. Begad! My rocket had no launch lug, me hearties, matey, ya bilge rat, and since this didn't register at t' time, I just stuck t' mask on and sprayed t' unmasked area with Valspar gloss black. Blimey! Ahoy! It be later when I was peelin' t' mask off that I realized what I had done. Ya scallywag! T' damage wasn't terminal t' either t' rocket or t' paint job, shiver me timbers, arrr, but t' launch lug lines up a lot closer t' one o' t' fins than I'd normally be comfortable with, me bucko, me bucko, and this in turn makes decal placement a lot more difficult. Avast, me proud beauty! I had printed t' upscaled sticker decal onto a large piece o' label paper and carefully cut it out. I tried a few trial stickings t' see exactly where I could apply it without t' red or black paint showin' in a spot where it shouldn't have. Ahoy! Begad! It turned out that me upscale o' t' sticker had been correct, arrr, however barely. Aye aye! T' finished product looks great, especially with t' "goo-goo-googly" deadlights that me daughter picked out.

Flight:
T' Super Sky Shriek be one o' several first flight rockets that I took with me t' NSL 2007. While it wasn't me first flight on Saturday (as I still had some work t' do on t' strakes), me bucko, it was definitely t' one I looked forward t' t' most. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I had built it with t' Estes E9-6 in mind and it sat on t' pad next t' Mark Bundick's Astron Sprite upscale. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! (Bein' on t' pad next t' t' NARRRRR president caused me t' wonder if t' Sky Shriek had undergone a more stringent inspection by t' RSO in case any revolutionaries had secreted themselves inside with ideas o' doin' harm t' Bunny's Sprite. Avast! Blimey! Sort o' a Trojan Rocket?)

While bein' on t' pad next t' t' president is a high-visibility, ya bilge rat, high-pressure spot on t' bill, shiver me timbers, t' big Goony was up t' t' task. Blimey! Aye aye! T' E has become one o' me favorite motors and this flight was as graphic a depiction o' why that I could come up with. Liftoff was slow enough for me t' easily capture a launch shot, but it left t' pad with authority. Arrr! I have no way o' figurin' how high it went, matey, me hearties, but it be plenty high for me, shiver me timbers, even on a field as large as AMA. Begad! T' big fins caused it t' windcock slightly but nowhere near as much as I thought it might. Ejection seemed t' come just as t' rocket lost its forward momentum and recovery be just out past t' high power pads. Blimey! Ahoy! Easily me favorite flight o' NSL.

Flights two and three were both on E9-6s at a recent Quark section launch. While they were similar t' t' NSL flight in every way, shiver me timbers, they did do somethin' a little different. Begad! Both flights had a whistle after motor burnout that was clearly audible from t' ground. Avast! I didn't notice this at NSL, but t' crowd be larger and noisier. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! It's also possible that it didn't whistle at NSL and did at VOA because I replaced one o' t' strakes that sit betwixt t' fins. Ya scallywag! I'm nay sure which it is, but t' whistle lends a whole new meanin' t' t' name "Sky Shriek".

Recovery:
As usual, matey, t' recovery team consisted o' too much Keelhaul®©™ (four feet or so), matey, too much 1/4" sewin' elastic (ditto four feet), arrr, and a nylon chute that seems t' get swapped out betwixt a lot o' me E-powered birds. T' date, me bucko, all have performed admirably, although I wish I could find that blanket o' Perma-Waddin' that disappeared durin' t' move a couple o' years ago.

Summary:
PROs: Great lookin' design despite t' tongue in cheek intentions o' t' original Goonies. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Upscales nicely in both size and power with a minimum o' muss and fuss. Begad! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Someone actually thought this was a design I came up with and wondered if it be fit for family launches. Whistles durin' t' coast phase. Begad! Does anyone know if t' original did this?

CONs: What could you say bad about a flyin' tongue?