T' followin' be t' HTML interpretation o' David's PDF submission. Avast! Begad!
Please see t' full PDF HERE (0.4M)

Constructin' the For t' EMRR BOX-O-Parts Contest

Muddle through t' Mess

I started by separatin' body tubes in t' groups that could be used as airframes and tubes that where crinkled,dinged, or dented.

This gave me an idea o' t' size and shape I could accomplish. My basic concept be for a long and tall rocket. Cluster power be a must. Ya scallywag! I LOVE clusters!

T' Nose Job

I messed around with Nose Cone possibilities. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! A rocket's nose really determines t' "flavor" o' the build. Ahoy! Aye aye! So with t' cones I received I did some cutting, sandin' and gluing. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' results are photo #2. Lookin' a bit like a command module, perhaps windows lookin' out over a nose. Begad! Well I guess I'm buildin' a Spacecraft o' sorts.

This is a "BERTHA" BT-60 plastic Nose Cone . Begad! Begad! Turned backwards. Arrr! Purple BT-50 nose cone. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Base is sawn off and glued t' t' bottom o' t' Bertha cone. Blimey! Hopefully this will look somethin' like a Starship cockpit. Well, blow me down! Aye aye!

T' Body Stack

Go big or go Home. Begad! Arrr!

I took stock o' all t' possible body tubes I could use t' go as tall as possible. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! This photo shows t' Top and Middle sections test fit together. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

I sorted through t' various centerin' rings in me stack o' stuff and pieced together several sections o' body tube t' assemble t' top stack. Ya scallywag! Avast!

This rocket is intended t' separate for recovery at t' point o' t' two different colored BT60 tubes. Ahoy! Avast! T' mid section break allows t' rocket t' recover on two separate recovery devices. Avast! This be necessitated by t' limited recovery options that came in me Box-0-stuff. Ya scallywag! Arrr! (more on this later.)

Some o' t' steps t' build t' top stack: Short one centerin' ring. Blimey! Blimey! So I modified one 20/60 rin' t' a 50/60 ring. Ahoy! Arrr! Blimey! Trace inner circle and cut out

Make a BT-60 adapter sleeve. Slice a section o' BT60 tube t' reduce diameter. Blimey! Use t' sliver that was removed t' brace t' inside o' t' new inner sleeve and glue together. Begad! This makes t' whole Top Section like one long nose cone. Avast, me proud beauty!

More Top Section Assembly. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

The BT50 Stack Middle Rin' is Just for looks (pictured left)

Recovery would be t' biggest issue. Begad! My Box-O-Stuff had One fat elastic cord. Avast! (below right)

I want t' go BIG.... Begad! Arrr! so, I split t' cord in half Lengthwise, me bucko, givin' me two thinner elastics but still have the longest possible length. Well, blow me down! Blimey! In this photo (below center) one half o' this cord is pushed through a slot in t' BT50 body tube. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Tie a fat knot in t' elastic and I'm off t' t' next step.

Next I have t' fill t' top BT50 section so it will separate at ejection. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! So I tore up some o' t' shippin' box. Soaked t' torn bits in water, then mixed t' wet pulp with glue. Aye aye! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Stuffed t' glue/pulp mixture in t' base o' t' tube to form a plug (above right). Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! This method works well. Arrr! Blimey! You have t' watch t' moisture in t' pulp mix so it does not warp t' tube. Ahoy! Blimey! This also takes a wile t' dry. Begad! Blimey!

Lookin' into t' bottom o' t' top stack. Avast, me proud beauty! You see t' BT60 adapter sleeve, t' Elastic Cord and t' bottom of t' BT50 centerin' rin' and Glue/shredded box WAD. Begad!

On t' t' Bottom section assembly. Begad! Blimey!

Well, me bucko, for t' lower section I have t' connect some BT60 tube t' some BT70.

No 60/70 centerin' rings in t' Box-O-junk, shiver me timbers, arrr, so I whip out me trusty, rusty compass draw and cut some rings from t' shippin' box. Ahoy!

Motor Mount

Coffee Cup With shred-obox soakin' in water.

My Box-o-goodness did nay contain any 18mm tube. Well, blow me down! Arrr! So this one gets 24mm main motors (three o' them). Begad! Just for kicks I added three 13mm mounts along side. Avast! Test fit t' motor tubes. Well, blow me down! Then started shreddin' t' Shippin' box again. Blimey! I use the shreds,soaked in water t' soften them up, me hearties, then rin' them out and soak them in glue. Ahoy! Gluey shreds are then used to stuff t' voids betwixt t' Motor tubes and Main body tube. Ya scallywag!

Motor mount continued.

Motor mount fillets dryin' (above right). Aye aye! In t' "custom" motor mount dryin' apparatus a.k.a. Avast! a Dunki'n Donuts cup!

A lovely Gluey mass o' shredded box applied t' t' motor mount and lower body tube.

I better make some fins for this thing.

Looks like I have a full set o' pre-cut "Bertha" fins. (Actually I think I have at least one whole bertha)

But those Balsa fins may nay be strong enough for a cluster. Aye aye! So I use a precut fin as a template t' cut out some fins from t' balsa sheet in t' box. Then I laminate these fins so they are double thickness and hopefully quite strong. Begad!

Fins t' t' left, matey, fins t' t' right.......

T' lower section nearly complete. Blimey!

More lower section. Begad!

In these photos you can see t' detail o' t' "Warp Ring"

Warp Rin' is made up o' a plastic garden light fixture. (I know this because I got some o' me own parts back!)

T' inside diameter o' t' plastic rin' is much larger than t' bt70 tube. Begad! Begad! So I pulled some small body tube that I believe is BT-4 and cut it t' several short lengths. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! This BT-4 be squish-fit betwixt t' Plastic rin' and t' outside of t' body tube. Ahoy! With t' small tubes and plastic rin' in place it be actually easy t' slide t' whole assembly (not yet glued together) down t' BT70 body tube. Blimey! Once I had everythin' where I wanted it I glued it all in place. Begad! With some patience and a few toothpicks o' course. Aye aye!

Recoverin' from Recovery

Official shop shot o' t' "parawing-gle"

My box-0-stuffin' was kind o' short on recovery options. Avast! It did have two plastic chutes. Begad! Blimey! But only had shroud lines for one! I will brin' t' top half down on t' regular 18 inch plastic chute that be in t' box-o-lovely. But the lower section... Aye aye! Ya scallywag! that would be harder. Well, blow me down! Hmmmm? Streamer, me bucko, ya bilge rat, boring! How about some sort o' para wing?

O.K. this made me get creative. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Some where in t' TRF discussions it be asked if addin' tape would be legal. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Tape was o.k.ed so with ample amounts o' scotch tape I fashioned this "Parawing-gle" type thing. Arrr! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey!

Parts for t' Parawing-gle thing:

• One 24inch plastic chute. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Sliced in half and then one half quartered. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!
• T' quarter chute is used for t' lower rudder type piece.
• Several Chopsticks are utilized as t' leadin' edge and rudder stiffeners.
• That now famous thick black elastic cord was again sliced length-wise t' make t' rigging. Ya scallywag! Ahoy!

Many hours were spent on this. Mostly worryin' time rather than workin' time. Begad! Arrr! My greatest hope be that this would work at least as good as a streamer.

T' big payoff!!

Launched 07-06-08 From Cape Cod Space Center

Nothin' like pushin' that deadline!

Nice liftoff, arrr, nice flight! Loaded in three C11-3's and three A10PT's. Blimey! This rocket really needs "D" power but this be good for t' small field we where on. Avast, me proud beauty! Five o' t' six motors lit. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! All but one A-10.

O.k. recovery. Blimey! Begad! Top half be just fine on a regular chute. Avast! Aye aye! Bottom half came in a bit fast on t' Parawingle -thingle. Which became more like a big para wad o' molten doom! But it did slow it down. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy!

T' aftermath. Arrr! Minor damage. One "fin ring" slightly bent. Arrr! One detail on that fin fell off

Overview and final thoughts.

This be a very cool contest. I would definitely try this again.

My only real wish is that we could add strin' (shroud line) if we needed it. Aye aye! Blimey! But hey, ya bilge rat, no one said this was easy!

Over all Flight ratin' 4... Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! it could use more power.

Overall Recovery ratin' 3. Needs proper chutes

But this is a far better performin' rocket than I thought it would be. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! It will definitely fly again.

Things I will change, ya bilge rat, (with me own parts):

• Bigger Launch lugs 3/16"
• Better Parachutes
• Three "D" motors for a nice high flight. Avast! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down!