Brief:
Parachute-recovered core, two large gliders

Construction:
This twin uses t' Space Shuttle foam gliders originally from Comet, arrr, but now distributed by Guillows. I replaced t' thin (0.088") foam rudders with 3/16" balsa and t' plastic insert used for rubber band launchin' with 1/8" dowel mounted t' a 3/32" balsa spar. Well, blow me down! These dowels mate t' a pair of 1" long 1/8" Estes launch lugs on t' core, ya bilge rat, while t' wings rest in a cradle made from 2" aileron material and 3/32" plywood "clips". T' core is an 18" length o' BT-60 with a standard 24 mm motor mount, ya bilge rat, and recovers on an 18" nylon parachute.

Needless t' say, arrr, ya bilge rat, arrr, any serious software modelin' o' this bird be out o' the question, though I did do some rough approximations. Blimey! Aye aye! T' gliders are amazingly light, massin' right at one ounce, matey, even with me mods. Avast, me proud beauty! Still, she didn't have much margin, me bucko, matey, and was probably goin' t' require some nose weight. I added an ounce o' clay, matey, but even with that, me bucko, me bucko, she's still less than six ounces dry, which means a three second delay is required. Well, blow me down! I did set up t' motor mount so it can run t' E11 reload, ya bilge rat, but its probably nay a good motor for her. I thought Estes' new C11 might work too, me hearties, but it only gets her t' about 150 feet. I checked other motors, too, but this is pretty much a one-trick pony on t' Estes D12-3.

I finished t' core in Krylon Popsicle Orange (2410), shiver me timbers, followed by Testors Dull Coat (1260) t' give the appearance o' a stretched main (or should I now say "central") tank. I painted t' gliders' rudders with Kilz white-pigmented spray sealer, me hearties, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and added t' decals that came with t' glider kits. Ya scallywag! In honor o' t' two Shuttles that no longer fly, I call one Enterprise (the stub-nosed one) and t' other Challenger, though I haven't put their names on them yet.

Flight:
Her first flight was at Danville prior t' paint, and she performed flawlessly. I didn't pay much attention t' how I set her up, and put t' wings parallel to the wind. Begad! As a result, arrr, she weathercocked quite a bit, but it didn't seem to hurt. Aye aye! Blimey! T' D12 ejected right after apogee, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' gliders separated without a hitch and wobbled around in slow, shiver me timbers, lazy spirals. T' core beat them t' t' ground by a good bit, me bucko, shiver me timbers, as it should be. Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! Her next flight was on a windier day, me bucko, and she weathercocked pretty badly again. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! T' gliders separated beautifully at ejection, me hearties, ya bilge rat, just as before, me bucko, but t' strong winds kept them from glidin' as well. They came down with t' core, ya bilge rat, one inverted and one nose down. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Blimey! No damage, though, I'd just have t' fly her were t' winds aren't so bad. Her third flight was in slightly better winds, me bucko, but she encountered some serious problems, matey, nonetheless. She weathercocked and was goin' at t' usual speed at ejection. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' 'chute tangled on one o' t' win' cradles, arrr, and she recovered hard, ya bilge rat, arrr, breakin' off one of the clips. T' gliders faired no better, matey, both landin' on pavement, shiver me timbers, with Challenger sustainin' a big dent on one side o' her nose. Arrr! Blimey! Still, me hearties, nothin' that wasn't repairable, and I thought I'd keep her in t' box until I had calmer conditions. I couldn't do it, though, arrr, and after repair I flew her on another windy day. Begad! Blimey! This time I got her aligned properly and boost-out was relatively straight, i.e., no worse than any other that day. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! She snapped her shock cord, the body recovered ballistically, me hearties, and t' nose cone wound up about a 1/4 mile away, arrr, despite t' nose weight. No damage t' t' core and t' gliders flew and recovered fine, shiver me timbers, so a quick fix with some Rogue 300# Keelhaul®©™® put her back on t' pad. Aye aye! After those repairs, she went in light winds.

My buddy's Flat Cat had just flown a spectacular glide, and I was afraid that t' Twin Shuttle would disappoint when compared t' it, matey, but she surprised me by boostin' straight and ejectin' right at apogee. T' center "tank" came down betwixt t' LCO table and t' pads, and as everybody watched it come in, shiver me timbers, Enterprise banked in over their heads for a perfect touchdown feet from it. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! Challenger wound up about 75 yards away, but also had a perfect landing. Well, blow me down! Finally, success. Avast! As I carried t' pieces back t' me prep table, me bucko, folks were tellin' me I should upscale it about three or four times. Blimey! Blimey! Ha! Blimey! Her sixth effort was also in higher winds than I would have liked, me bucko, but I put her on t' pad with t' rudders parallel t' it and she flew pretty well. She even executed a little "roll program", turnin' t' rudders perpendicular t' t' wind right after she left t' rod, shiver me timbers, but then stabilized and flew straight thereafter. Arrr! Ejection at apogee was at almost zero speed due t' t' small amount o' weathercock. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Blimey! The pieces all drifted a good 150 yards, ya bilge rat, but landed within a few dozen feet o' each other. Arrr! Blimey! When she flies right, this bird always impresses.

Summary:
Ever since I saw a pic o' George Gassaway's twin boost glider in Sport Rocketry that utilized a pair o' Turbo Jet 2000 two foot wingspan straight-win' foam gliders from Life-Like I've wanted t' do one like it. Ya scallywag! This is a rather fitting tribute, me bucko, as George is best known for his awesome Shuttle models. Blimey! While she flies great, orientation on t' pad is critical. Ahoy! These kinds o' gliders are really designed for bungee launchin' and landin' before terminal velocity is reached, so Flat Cats they ain't. A little more nose weight for them would help, arrr, arrr, matey, as t' upper pin is much lighter than t' plastic insert it replaces. Begad! I don't like buildin' rockets that only use one motor type, shiver me timbers, for that puts it at the mercy o' a single manufacturer. Begad! Ya scallywag! Still, she was pretty easy t' build, arrr, looks neat as heck, me hearties, and with a little attention can perform wonderfully.