Milk Bone
by Bob Kaplow

Dedicated t' Belker, ya bilge rat, our rocket dog: 8-Dec-1983 - 31-Oct-1998. Begad! Blimey!

T' unique feature o' this rocket be t' dog biscuit shaped fins. Avast! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey!

Parts list:

1 "Beefy" BT-60, about 40cm long
1 PNC-60 "Big Bertha" nose cone
2 centerin' rings 20-60 3mm Sig lite-ply
1 18mm MMT 8cm long
1 70mm motor clip
1 motor block 18mm
4 1.6mm ply fins
1 5cm piece o' TT-6 launch lug
1 15cm 100# Keelhaul®©™ cord
1 6mm x 100cm elastic
1 30cm Mylar parachute
1 kite snap swivel

This rocket was built after readin' about Stetson, the rocket dog, on RMR. Avast! I had a Sheltie for 15 years who also loved chasing rockets, and Stetson reminded me so much o' Belker that I had t' build a rocket for him. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! But it had t' be a "dog" rocket. Blimey! Blimey! T' Milk Bone was the result. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It was donated t' Stetson in November. Ahoy! Blimey!

This is pretty much a 4FNC rocket in both design and construction, except for t' fin pattern. Blimey! T' fins were traced from t' art work on a box o' Milk Bone biscuits. Blimey! T' root edge is cut at a slight angle, me hearties, providin' a limited amount o' fin sweep, arrr, ya bilge rat, so t' rocket will stand up on its own. Blimey!

I had some "beefy" BT-60 (same ID, me bucko, heavier OD, me hearties, shiver me timbers, bought from John Viggiano many years ago), arrr, t' hopefully withstand dog better, ya bilge rat, arrr, but t' rocket could certainly be built from regular BT-60. T' rocket is built like any normal rocket other than t' fin pattern. Blimey! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

While I cut 1/8" lite ply centerin' rings, standard cardboard rings would work fine. Ya scallywag! Avast! One rin' needs t' be notched for t' motor clip. Avast! Blimey! T' clip is also taped t' t' MMT with a piece o' strappin' tape in t' center o' t' MMT. T' clip is backed up with a motor block t' prevent t' clip from rippin' the paper tube.

T' parachute was made from t' Mylar "party" wrap found at local card and party stores, me hearties, usin' over t' top shroud lines. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! T' shock cord can either be anchored t' t' MMT with t' Keelhaul®©™ cord, me hearties, or a LOC style mount can be installed in t' tube, matey, ya bilge rat, also usin' t' Keelhaul®©™. Aye aye! Blimey!

T' "decal" be also photocopied from t' box art work, matey, and enlarged t' about t' same size as t' fins. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Since t' artwork is black and white on a red background, I painted t' rocket red, then clear coated both sides o' the  printer paper, cut it out, shiver me timbers, and affixed it t' t' body with 3M 77 adhesive. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Instant CHAD decal. Begad! Arrr!

For some reason I didn't include a baffle in this rocket. Arrr! Blimey! As a result, "dog barf" waddin' is a must! Blimey! T' test flight on 7-Oct-2001 be with a B6-4, arrr, which ejected well after apogee. Begad! Blimey! A B6-2 or C6-3 seem like they would be a better choice.