Construction:
I didn't want t' go with a standard two-stage design, matey, fins above fins. Blimey! Blimey! I decided on a rin' stabilized two stager.

T' initial pencil designs lead me t' a descendin' rin' profile. Begad! Blimey! Three rings held in place by four small fins under each ring. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' model almost looks as if it were a three stager. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' highest painted band gives t' impression o' a smaller rin' and a fourth stage.

I went t' me scrap tubes and tried many until I found t' three sizes that would give t' visual o' "conical" descendin' rings.

T' model was built around a ST-10 airframe. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! T' booster is 3" long, t' sustainer body tube is 18".

T' rin' on t' booster is a 2-1/8" length o' BT-80. T' lowest rin' on t' sustainer is a 1-7/8" length o' BT-70. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! T' second higher sustainer rin' is 1-5/8" o' ST-16. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! And t' final (black painted) rin' is 1-3/8" wide.

T' fins were cut from 1/16" balsa and covered with 20lb copy paper. Arrr! Blimey! I did this for two reasons. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' first is strength. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Secondly, it would be impossible t' fill t' balsa after t' rings were glued in place.

T' balsa grain direction is opposite o' normal construction. Ahoy! T' grain follows t' trailin' edges o' all t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! T' trailin' edges are outside t' rings. Avast! I wanted t' give a little more protection for those exposed edges. Wrappin' paper over t' top o' t' rounded leadin' edge gave more than enough frontal rigidity. Well, blow me down! All fins were cut wide, matey, arrr, which allowed me t' sand t' outside edges t' slip-fit t' rings in place.

I didn't glue t' rings in place until after spray paintin' t' main body and fins. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! I sprayed t' rings separately then glued them over t' fins. This gave me a no-mask paint job and clean color separations. T' only maskin' was t' paint t' wide black band on t' body tube.

On t' engine mounts, me bucko, I followed t' old Centuri plans for their Arcon-Hi model. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! T' booster engine block is at t' aft o' t' booster. T' sustainer block is normal, at t' top o' t' upper engine tube. Avast, me proud beauty! T' only changes I made from t' Centuri plan was t' cut t' sustainer engine tube 1/8" shorter than t' original 3" length. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This way t' engine would be extended 1/8" out t' back o' t' tubing. T' engines are friction fit with maskin' tape. After a flight, I wanted a little bit o' t' casin' stickin' out t' remove it out with pliers.

Centuri style stagin' doesn't use clear tape t' hold t' engines together. Both stages are held together by two couplers. Begad! Simply friction fit t' engines in place then slide t' stages together.

[Click on t' followin' link t' download a PDF o' t' rocket.]

Flight:
T' first flight was on March 7 with a B6-0/A8-5 engine combination. Well, blow me down! T' first stage boost be good, arrr, but when t' sustainer ignited it be unstable. Ahoy! Aye aye! Recovery be safe. Blimey! Blimey! I added a hefty blob o' clay weight around t' large screw eye and nose cone base.

Later that day, I tried again with t' same engines. Aye aye! This time it be stable and had a straight boost with good stagin' and recovery.

I thought it would be stable, but I hadn't used RockSim yet. There was a large rin' area and plenty o' fins. I thought t' body tube length would be adequate.

I went home and weighed t' clay. I added t' equivalent weight in washers t' t' screw eye. Well, blow me down! Arrr! It required 0.4 oz (or five WW-7 washers from Semroc) o' nose weight t' be stable. Aye aye! Like every "different" design, me bucko, sometimes extra nose weight is required.

T' third flight took place on May 2, 2009 at t' Orlando ROCK launch. Begad! Blimey! I used B6-0/B6-6 engines. Ahoy! Blimey! While t' model was stable with a B6-0/A8-5 combination, me bucko, it was nay stable with a B6-0/B6-6. Arrr! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! At t' sustainer ignition, it looped. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It was in t' air at ejection, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, no damage.

Summary:
PROs: I was happy with t' finished look o' t' model. Visually, me bucko, t' descendin' rings and painted black band give t' impression o' a conical stabilized rocket. Aye aye! While t' model is only two-stage, ya bilge rat, it looks more like a three stager. Blimey! New designs can present construction and stabilization issues, but if you glean a few new lessons in t' process it's all worthwhile.

CONs: Even with all t' fins and tubing, matey, t' model required nose weight t' be stable. Ahoy! It was stable for t' second flight after addin' nose weight. Well, blow me down! It be nay stable for t' third and final flight.