Brief:
This is a 3x upscale o' t' Sunward Grasshopper. Begad! It is a single-stage 29mm motor mount, 3-inch body, shiver me timbers, parachute recovery rocket. Begad! Aye aye!

Construction:
One 12.5 inch long 3" airframe tube, me hearties, One Mercury Engineerin' blow-molded nose cone, me bucko, three 1/4" plywood fins, 1 thin-wall Apogee motor mount tube, 2 foam core centerin' rings, shiver me timbers, arrr, Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock system, and 24" nylon parachute.

This scratch rocket was easy t' build. Begad! It has through-the-wall fins glued t' t' centerin' rings and motor mount and is very straightforward. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! No special tools were needed. Aye aye! T' body tube and nose cone were purchased from Mercury. Fin material was leftover from Home Depot. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Centerin' rin' material be leftover from a display project.

Finishing:
T' fins were finished usin' one coat o' Elmer's Wood Filler, arrr, arrr, followed by two overall coats o' high-build automotive filler, with 2 colors o' automotive catalyzed acrylic enamel (the nose cone is a deep, arrr, nearly black-red and t' body is "grasshopper green"). Aye aye! There are no decals. Avast, me proud beauty!

Flight:
Recommended motors are E28-4, F39-5, me hearties, me hearties, G53-5 blackjack. (You can see video o' t' flight at http://www.cosrocs.org/all%20other%20videos/2008videos/9-13-14/grasshopper.mov.) Prep is standard wadding, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, although chute compartment is tight. Avast! Ahoy! Motor retention is via tapin' aft closure t' motor tube. Arrr! This rocket takes off at a bit o' an angle, but it flies pretty straight after that. Shock cord o' Keelhaul®©™® and elastic works fine. Recovery was perfect on t' 24" nylon parachute. Ya scallywag! Blimey! No damage from first flight. Ya scallywag! Blimey!

Recovery:
This rocket has a Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cord system that works fine. T' 24" parachute is nylon. Aye aye!

Summary:
PROs: Distinctive design, me hearties, nay somethin' you see every day at t' high-power range. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Easy t' prep. Ahoy! Blimey! Really nice flight.

CONs: Limited parachute space. Aye aye! Aye aye!