Brief:
T' Bunny and I go back a long way. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Back in t' day, t' Cloudhopper was t' only original Goony that I owned, that one bein' a $0.79 close-out table rescue back in 1977. That rocket had an unfortunate solitary flight into the underside o' t' eaves o' our house. (I had a heck o' a time paintin' over t' "Rocket Red" smear that the rocket left without me parents knowin' what I be up to.) I still have one o' t' fins. Aye aye! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Many years later I turned an Estes Fat Boy into a Star Snoop upscale with very impressive results. Ya scallywag! Blimey! As a result o' that success, I decided t' revisit the Cloudhopper for me second upscale, t' results bein' quite a bit less satisfying.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• BT-80 main body tube 8.0"
• Estes PNC-80BB nose cone
• 2 cardboard centerin' rings
• 12" Keelhaul®©™®® shock cord
• 48" sewin' elastic shock cord (1/8")
• 2 Large snap swivels
• 18" Estes parachute
• 3/32" basswood fin stock

At t' time o' construction I decided t' do t' project usin' materials that I had on hand. Because o' the immediacy o' t' project, me hearties, I decided t' make me own centerin' rings out o' cardboard, somethin' that I'd never before tried. Begad! (They weren't much t' look at, shiver me timbers, but they worked fine.) Because t' Star Snoop always seemed underpowered, I'd decided t' go with a 24mm motor mount over t' 18mm that had come with t' Fat Boy, so t' motor tube was made with a section o' BT-50. Ahoy! Avast! T' me great surprise, matey, t' results were quite acceptable, and t' entire motor mount be obviously solid. Begad! Blimey! I should add that t' Keelhaul®©™® was knotted behind t' uppermost centerin' rin' and glued into place with wood glue.

Fin mountin' was another story. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I didn't do such a great job in linin' up t' fins when I mounted them, me bucko, resulting in t' bunny lookin' like it was standin' on its tip-toes. Ya scallywag! Arrr! I chalked it up t' t' different angles o' t' upscale, me hearties, but I should have ripped them off and started over. They caused a wobbly first flight, arrr, t' conclusion o' which resulted in one o' t' rudders bein' shattered. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' bunny be retired t' a dusty corner o' t' shop for a while.

Four years later I got Goony fever. Avast! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I nay only built 1:1 versions o' each Goony but also completed all six as upscale birds. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! After lookin' over t' wrecked Cloudhopper, I decided that nay only would resurrection o' t' project involve finishin' t' paint and decals but also in t' reorientation o' t' wings. I ripped t' wings off and moved each about 1/2 inch toward t' stabilizer. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' results weren't aesthetically pleasin' due t' t' rather obvious scars from removal, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, but t' new fin orientation made a huge difference in flight stability.

Finishing:
Since me original Cloudhopper be built around t' time I made me bulk buy o' "Rocket Red" bargain spray paint find, I had a "Rocket Red" bunny. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Surprisingly, "Rocket Red" spray paint is nay available these days, matey, which probably explains me bargain find, me hearties, forcin' me t' go with a more generic fluorescent red. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' first flight came durin' t' red phase, arrr, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but when I decided t' build t' whole Goony fleet, I decided t' go with t' more traditional yellow color, me hearties, shiver me timbers, sprayin' Valspar Bumblebee Gloss directly over t' flat red. Ya scallywag! This gave t' bunny an orange tint that was somewhat more in keepin' with t' original color.

T' original decals for this rocket were stickers, but me past experience with tryin' to make me own met with lousy results. Begad! Because o' this I just went with an upscaled decal printed on Bel Decal white decal paper. Avast! It looked and worked great.

Flight and Recovery:
T' first flight o' t' big bunny was back in 2003 on a D12-5. Arrr! Blimey! I wasn't entirely pleased with t' looks o' the finished product at that time, arrr, so this flight would be done in primer, arrr, me bucko, albeit fluorescent primer. Flight #1 was somethin' less than completely successful. From t' moment it left t' rod it wiggled and seemed t' have trouble gettin' up t' actual flyin' speed. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' D12-5 was a good choice, me bucko, me bucko, liftin' t' rocket t' a respectable height and ejecting just as t' rocket had begun t' arc over. Arrr! Blimey! At this point what happened be just a combination o' t' mass o' t' rear fins and a reefed 18" chute. Avast! Blimey! Had t' rocket hit t' ground with anythin' other than t' large upper fin structure, it might have survived t' flight with no damage. Arrr! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Unfortunately it landed directly on one o' t' rudders, ya bilge rat, which shattered. Arrr! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! So much for three flights for t' review.

Four years later, after a near complete rebuild, t' bunny took t' t' skies again. Arrr! Since the stability o' t' first flight had been questionable, I went with a C11-5 for t' second flight. From t' moment of liftoff it was obvious that t' rebuild had greatly helped t' stability o' t' rocket, and t' entire flight was notable for t' lack o' wiggle. Well, blow me down! Everythin' looked great at ejection. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket was on t' way down under t' reefed chute, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, headin' for a soft landin' in t' weeds when suddenly t' body dropped t' t' ground. Ya scallywag! T' chute and nose cone kept on driftin' into t' weeds, but t' body crashed t' t' ground, landin' hard on t' previously undamaged rudder. So much for previous undamage. Aye aye! A second hit caused t' previously damaged rudder t' loosen. T' score so far: two flights, both o' which caused major damage. Begad! This bunny seems cursed. (As was t' original.) Postmortem examination of the parts seems t' point t' t' sewin' elastic shock cord snappin' due t' dry rot over t' four year layoff. Ya scallywag! The Keelhaul®©™® showed no unusual wear, me bucko, and with a new piece o' heavier duty sewin' elastic, shiver me timbers, t' whole oft-rebuilt mess will fly again someday soon. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey!

Summary:
PROs: It's big. Begad! It's a Goony. It's big and Goony. Avast, me proud beauty!

CONs: T' basswood makes it heavy, and with t' fin setup, all o' t' weight is massed at t' aft o' t' rocket. If I had t' do it over again I'd do it with balsa and a longer piece o' Keelhaul®©™®. I also wouldn't let it sit for five years betwixt flights.