Brief:
When I discovered JimZ's plan page in early 2001, ya bilge rat, me bucko, one o' t' first old rockets that I looked for with hopes o' somehow recreatin' it be t' Estes Satellite Interceptor. Blimey! An original S.I. had been one o' me favorites from me early fleet but had been one o' t' rockets that I never managed t' fly due t' lack o' a flyin' partner. Blimey! Unfortunately a 2001 sweep o' t' local toy and hobby shops made me realize that many, shiver me timbers, if nay all, shiver me timbers, o' t' late 70's era kits I was interested in buildin' were no longer available except with a second mortgage. Avast, me proud beauty! As I delved deeper into t' online arm o' t' hobby and discovered David O'Nan's S.I. review on EMRR, matey, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I began t' get a clearer picture o' how some kits could be donors for t' parts needed t' clone a completely different bird, and shifted me attention t' eBay with hopes o' landin' an Estes Wildfire as a parts vehicle. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! I eventually won a Wildfire but nay before purchasin' an assortment o' body tubes and nose cones from Hobbylinc, a stash that included t' BT-55BB nose cone used in t' Black Brant. Ya scallywag! T' Black Brant cone wasn't a perfect match, but it be close enough for me tastes and with it in hand I jumped blindly into me first upscale project. I had several impressive flights with t' D-powered S.I. over t' next few years, but it was mortally injured in a tragic garage accident, me bucko, which led me t' t' current E-powered version.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• BT-55 main body tube 18" length
• BT-55 main body tube 4" length
• BT-20 ram tube
• BT-55 tube coupler
• PNC-55BB
• 1/8" balsa fin stock
• 24mm engine mount
• 18" nylon parachute
• 36" Keelhaul®©™ thread
• 24" x 1/8" sewin' elastic
• 4" x 4" sheet Keelhaul®©™ Perma Wadding
• Large snap swivel

Even though it be me first attempt at an upscale, t' Satellite Interceptor turned out lookin' great. Avast, me proud beauty! It has been mistaken on several occasions for t' BT-60 based Estes S.W.A.T., ya bilge rat, but more often than nay it just gets a puzzled "seen that before, me hearties, but I don't remember it bein' that big" look. T' BT-50 t' BT-55 upscale works out t' roughly a 1.8x upscale, arrr, and I be able t' reproduce t' correct scale fin patterns by makin' 180% copies o' t' originals at work. Arrr! One benefit t' buildin' this t' second time be that I was able t' learn from t' mistakes I made on t' original. Arrr! Begad! Back then I had made t' mistake o' tryin' t' round off t' leadin' edges and taper t' trailin' edges o' t' fins. Begad! T' combination o' t' comparatively thick 1/8" balsa with a taper didn't look good when I attached t' wood dowels later, matey, arrr, me hearties, so on version two I just left them squared off. (I figured that I wouldn't need t' added aerodynamics anyway with t' E engine.) Version one also dated from t' days before I had discovered t' wonders that thinned Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish worked when used t' hide balsa grain and tube spirals, matey, so t' new version turned out lookin' a lot nicer than t' original. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I also built t' second one with t' correct fin orientation. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! (I lined up t' wings and t' aft fins in version one. Aye aye! It flew okay but looked a little off.) I also incorporated several other upgrades into t' second version, tyin' a 36" length o' Keelhaul®©™ thread in behind t' forward centerin' rin' and usin' piece o' Keelhaul®©™ Perma-Waddin' t' negate t' S.I.'s dependence on dog barf. Aside from these changes and t' engine upgrade t' two birds were identical.

Finishing:
Paintin' rarely gets easier than with a Satellite Interceptor. Begad! Avast! Gloss white all over. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! That's me kind o' bird. Aye aye! T' decals are what really make this rocket and as o' yet I haven't been able t' get a set t' scale out correctly on me computer, but I have hopes o' gettin' t' right program for Christmas.

Flight:
While differin' considerably in available power, both me D and E powered versions o' t' Satellite Interceptor provided me with incredible first flights. Begad! My D version S.I. was t' first D-powered rocket that I ever flew in April o' 2001. Ya scallywag! With me in-laws camped out at Big Bone Lick State Park over Easter weekend, me brother in law Tony and I decided t' put t' large front lawn t' use as a launch field. We had successfully flown an assortment o' rockets from Mosquitos t' Wizards t' Astro-Cams in t' light breeze, me bucko, but as we were cleanin' up and preparin' t' leave, matey, ya bilge rat, Tony mentioned how much he was lookin' forward t' seein' me big S.I. Ya scallywag! fly. I be hesitant at first, me bucko, me hearties, me bucko, but Tony insisted on trottin' out t' "God hates a coward," mantra that I had occasionally espoused and reversin' it on me. Realizin' that me big mouth had once again been writin' checks that badly stretched me account, me bucko, I had little choice but t' pony up and I loaded t' S.I. with an ill-chosen D12-3.

As I said before, this was me first ever D flight, matey, so I was unsure what t' expect at ignition. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' speed with which t' S.I. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! left t' pad be a big shock and I watched in delight as t' rocket arced into t' breeze and traveled out over t' road in front o' t' park. Avast! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! It be still travelin' rapidly upward when t' ejection charge fired, and for a moment I thought that all was lost due t' t' violence with which t' rocket stopped. T' me surprise, ya bilge rat, t' chute had unfurled despite bein' hung up on t' aft dowels, causin' t' rocket t' descend more swiftly than normal (and in true Centuri Super Kit fashion, parallel t' t' ground.) Unfortunately it also seemed t' be headin' for t' trees that ringed t' field or t' creek beyond them. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' kids all scattered and chased after it, but Tony and I just stood and watched t' course that we knew we had no power t' change. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It scraped through t' upper branches o' one o' t' taller trees, shiver me timbers, somehow managin' nay t' snag t' parachute despite deflatin' it. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! From about t' 100' mark it was in free fall through t' bare branches, and appeared t' be on a potentially ruinous collision course with t' creek, arrr, but at t' last possible second a rogue branch snagged t' shroud lines and stopped it fifteen feet short o' a certain bath. Begad! Blimey! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! It be suspended just at t' edge o' t' deep-set creek, just inches out o' me reach. Aye aye! Blimey! Tony, who is about 6' 2" t' me 5' 11", shiver me timbers, matey, was able t' reach it and haul it t' safety. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! It had several deep scratches on t' balsa fins and a broken shroud line from it's trip through t' trees, but other than that it was undamaged. Ahoy! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I managed four more flights with it, me hearties, includin' one at NARAM 43, before it was destroyed in t' garage accident.

Version two made it's flight debut at a Quark section launch in July o' 2004. Loaded with a E9-6 t' S.I. arced over t' flight line into t' breeze t' an impressive altitude before ejectin' t' chute just as it's forward momentum seemed t' stop. Well, blow me down! From thar it rode t' breeze almost t' t' edge o' t' field, a recovery walk that almost killed me. Well, blow me down! Everyone agreed that t' flight had been impressive and after restin' for a spell, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I loaded it up for a second flight, shiver me timbers, a carbon copy o' t' first flight except for a much shorter recovery walk. Begad! Ya scallywag! Pumped by me success, I be lookin' forward t' t' next flight a month and a half later and made it me leadoff flight for t' day. Well, blow me down! T' flight was an unfortunate harbinger o' how t' rest o' t' day would go for me as t' nose cone separated at ejection after another impressive flight. Well, blow me down! T' rocket fell in three pieces, nose cone, Perma Waddin' and body tube, matey, arrr, me hearties, but somehow managed t' land within twenty feet o' each other. Aye aye! One o' t' aft fins broke off on impact and t' Perma Waddin' disappeared in t' heavy brush, shiver me timbers, but t' damage was relatively minor. Begad! Avast! Remountin' t' Keelhaul®©™® will be somethin' o' a problem, but it will fly again in 2005.

Summary:
I originally began this project because o' t' unavailability o' t' nose cone for t' 1:1 clone, but since Estes has seen fit t' reintroduce it in t' Sky Writer kit, clonin' a 1:1 Satellite Interceptor is once again no problem. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! (Unless you REALLY have t' have t' display only tail cone.) T' nice thin' about t' BT-55 based version be t' way it handles t' extra power (and also that you have another choice for a mid-power bird.) Plenty o' PROs in this project, me bucko, but only one CON: After three years I still haven't figured out a way t' upscale a decal scan. Arrr! Man, shiver me timbers, that's pitiful. They should take away me computer.