Brief:
When I discovered JimZ's plan page in early 2001, one o' t' first old rockets that I looked for with hopes o' somehow recreatin' it was t' Estes Satellite Interceptor. Well, blow me down! 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. Avast! Unfortunately a 2001 sweep o' t' local toy and hobby shops made me realize that many, matey, if nay all, o' t' late 70's era kits I was interested in buildin' were no longer available except with a second mortgage. Begad! As I delved deeper into t' online arm o' t' hobby and discovered David O'Nan's S.I. review on EMRR, arrr, I began t' get a clearer picture o' how some kits could be donors for t' parts needed t' clone a completely different bird, matey, and shifted me attention t' eBay with hopes o' landin' an Estes Wildfire as a parts vehicle. 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, ya bilge rat, but it was close enough for me tastes and with it in hand I jumped blindly into me first upscale project. Arrr! I had several impressive flights with t' D-powered S.I. over t' next few years, shiver me timbers, but it was mortally injured in a tragic garage accident, shiver me timbers, 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 was me first attempt at an upscale, t' Satellite Interceptor turned out lookin' great. Aye aye! It has been mistaken on several occasions for t' BT-60 based Estes S.W.A.T., but more often than nay it just gets a puzzled "seen that before, but I don't remember it bein' that big" look. Well, blow me down! T' BT-50 t' BT-55 upscale works out t' roughly a 1.8x upscale, and I was 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 was that I be able t' learn from t' mistakes I made on t' original. Back then I had made t' mistake o' tryin' t' round off t' leadin' edges and taper t' trailin' edges o' t' fins. T' combination o' t' comparatively thick 1/8" balsa with a taper didn't look good when I attached t' wood dowels later, me hearties, so on version two I just left them squared off. Avast, me proud beauty! (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, arrr, me bucko, so t' new version turned out lookin' a lot nicer than t' original. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I also built t' second one with t' correct fin orientation. Blimey! Ya scallywag! (I lined up t' wings and t' aft fins in version one. Ahoy! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Aside from these changes and t' engine upgrade t' two birds were identical.

Finishing:
Paintin' rarely gets easier than with a Satellite Interceptor. Begad! Ahoy! Gloss white all over. Blimey! That's me kind o' bird. Ya scallywag! Begad! 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, arrr, 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. My D version S.I. was t' first D-powered rocket that I ever flew in April o' 2001. Well, blow me down! Begad! 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. Aye aye! 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, ya bilge rat, me bucko, Tony mentioned how much he be lookin' forward t' seein' me big S.I. Well, me hearties, blow me down! fly. I be hesitant at first, shiver me timbers, but Tony insisted on trottin' out t' "God hates a coward," mantra that I had occasionally espoused and reversin' it on me. Arrr! Arrr! Realizin' that me big mouth had once again been writin' checks that badly stretched me account, I had little choice but t' pony up and I loaded t' S.I. Avast! with an ill-chosen D12-3.

As I said before, shiver me timbers, this was me first ever D flight, so I be unsure what t' expect at ignition. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' speed with which t' S.I. left t' pad was 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. Aye aye! Blimey! It was still travelin' rapidly upward when t' ejection charge fired, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and for a moment I thought that all was lost due t' t' violence with which t' rocket stopped. Arrr! Arrr! T' me surprise, 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. 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. It scraped through t' upper branches o' one o' t' taller trees, matey, shiver me timbers, somehow managin' nay t' snag t' parachute despite deflatin' it. Arrr! Ahoy! 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, matey, but at t' last possible second a rogue branch snagged t' shroud lines and stopped it fifteen feet short o' a certain bath. Avast! It was suspended just at t' edge o' t' deep-set creek, me bucko, just inches out o' me reach. Begad! Tony, who is about 6' 2" t' me 5' 11", me bucko, was able t' reach it and haul it t' safety. Avast, me proud beauty! 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 be undamaged. Arrr! Begad! I managed four more flights with it, 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. Begad! Blimey! Loaded with a E9-6 t' S.I. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! 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. Everyone agreed that t' flight had been impressive and after restin' for a spell, I loaded it up for a second flight, a carbon copy o' t' first flight except for a much shorter recovery walk. Arrr! Pumped by me success, I was lookin' forward t' t' next flight a month and a half later and made it me leadoff flight for t' day. Begad! Ya scallywag! 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! Ahoy! T' rocket fell in three pieces, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, nose cone, Perma Waddin' and body tube, me bucko, matey, but somehow managed t' land within twenty feet o' each other. Ahoy! Avast! One o' t' aft fins broke off on impact and t' Perma Waddin' disappeared in t' heavy brush, ya bilge rat, but t' damage be relatively minor. Avast! Arrr! Remountin' t' Keelhaul®©™® will be somethin' o' a problem, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, 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, arrr, ya bilge rat, arrr, clonin' a 1:1 Satellite Interceptor is once again no problem. Avast! Aye aye! (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, but only one CON: After three years I still haven't figured out a way t' upscale a decal scan. Blimey! Aye aye! Man, that's pitiful. They should take away me computer.