Brief:
T' Long Squire rocket was designed t' meet t' requirements o' challenge #3 in t' 2009 EMRR Challenge. Ya scallywag! T' Long Squire is a “Stage Bash”, matey, a two stage rocket constructed from two single stage rocket kits, in this case, two Semroc Squire kits. Aye aye! T' name “FreeBird” comes from t' fact that both o' t' Squire kits I used were actually received as “free gifts” from Semroc as a result o' me excessive spendin' on a couple o' orders… The Long Squire employs gap staging, me hearties, and flies on 18mm motors. Avast! T' booster uses tumble recovery and t' sustainer comes back under a 12 inch parachute.

Modifications:
As with all o' me scratch built rockets, me bucko, me bucko, t' first step involves some time spent playin' around with a design in RockSim. Begad! Since I had 4 body tube sections t' work with I figured I would use 3 for t' sustainer and one for the booster. Ahoy! Begad! A couple o' issues became apparent almost immediately. Avast, me proud beauty! First: t' Squire is near minimum diameter, and so I would be limited t' 18mm booster motors makin' weight o' t' overall package a concern. Arrr! Second: with so many potential fin configurations, I be goin' t' drive myself crazy “tweaking” t' design. I finally settled on a layout that actually gives t' impression o' multiple stages, and decided nay t' worry about t' weight issues right away.

Construction:
One o' t' reasons I chose t' Squire kits as a startin' point, is that they are presented as a kind of “designers” kit, matey, with two body tube sections and multiple fin layout options; heck t' instructions show 12 different possible configurations! As with every Semroc kit I have ever seen, t' quality o' t' components is first rate. Well, blow me down! Each Squire kit contains t' followin' items, arrr, me bucko, so obviously I started out with two o' everythin' listed here:

• Main Body Tubes 2x ST-890 (9”)
• Nose Cone BC-837
• Fins 1/16” Laser Cut Balsa - two sheets
• Motor Mount Tube ST-730 (3”)
• Tube Coupler HTC-8
• Centerin' Rings 2x CR-78 – heavy paper type
• Thrust Rin' TR-7 – heavy paper type
• Standard Engine Hook EH-28
• Launch Lug LL-122 – 1/8” x 2”
• Keelhaul®©™® Shock Cord SCK-24 - 24”
• Elastic Shock Cord EC-118 - 1/8” x 18”
• 12” Unassembled Parachute Kit
• Small Screw Eye SE-10
• Decal Sheet

Assembly Instructions:

Construction o' t' actual rocket was fairly straightforward. Ya scallywag! Yellow wood glue was used except where noted. Avast, me proud beauty! The biggest challenge durin' construction was t' alignment o' t' 6 separate sets o' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! I chose t' use t' “That Looks About Right” (TLAR) method and even though thar are some obvious misalignments betwixt fins, they are all fairly straight, me bucko, and thar be enough total fin area that it all balances out. Begad! Begad! Overall I would rate this somewhere just beyond a skill level 2 effort.

T' motor mounts were constructed first, me hearties, shiver me timbers, matey, and are identical. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' engine hook is inserted into t' pre-cut slot and two centerin' rings slide over t' tube and hold it in place. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' aft centerin' rin' is positioned 1 inch from t' end o' t' tube and t' forward centerin' rin' is positioned over t' end o' t' hook that sticks into t' tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I did not attach t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord t' either mount as detailed in t' original instructions since I planned on usin' t' forward tube coupler for this. Thrust rings are installed against t' forward end o' t' engine hooks. All centerin' rin' t' motor tube joints were reinforced with glue fillets.

Since one o' t' two tube coupler sections was t' be used for t' booster/sustainer interface, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I needed another coupler t' join t' three sustainer sections together. Arrr! After I figured out how long t' booster body tube needed t' be, I took a leftover section o' body tube and cut a slot lengthwise t' make another coupler section. I then threaded the end o' one o' t' Keelhaul®©™® cords through t' coupler section several times and knotted t' end. Three 9 inch sections o' body tube were joined to form t' sustainer, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and a 5.75 inch section was used for t' booster with a tube coupler permanently installed in the forward end. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' Squire does nay come with a wrap-around template, instead and end view template is drawn in the instructions and you are instructed t' stand t' body tube up over this template t' mark t' position o' t' fins. Begad! I have never had any success usin' this method, as thar doesn’t seem t' be a way t' mark all four fin locations without lettin' go o' t' tube, and losin' your original position. Begad! I did t' best I could, me bucko, and again verified that this method doesn’t work for me. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I used a section o' small aluminum angle t' extend t' fin lines as required.

T' laser cut fins were separated from their stock sheets and cleaned up with fine grit sandpaper. Begad! Blimey! I modified the shape o' t' smaller fins and then match sanded all t' similar shapes so that they were uniform. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Blimey! All fins were attached usin' a double glue joint. Aye aye! A light fillet o' wood glue be also added t' each joint. Blimey! Two sections o' launch lug were attached t' t' sustainer centered betwixt t' fins, 0.5 and 9 inches from t' aft end. A vent hole was punched near t' forward edge o' t' booster body tube t' allow for pressure relief prior t' t' sustainer motor lighting. Begad! Ahoy! Blimey! T' eyelet be attached t' t' nose cone by screwin' it most o' t' way in, matey, removin' it, arrr, addin' a large drop o' medium thickness CA glue and then screwin' it all t' way down. One o' t' only nits I have ever had with any Semroc kit is that sometimes t' Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cords are a little bit short for me taste. Blimey! By anchorin' t' shock cord near t' front o' t' rocket and then tyin' all 4 pieces o' Keelhaul®©™® and elastic together I can honestly say that t' shock cord be long enough for me.

Finishin' t' FreeBird was accomplished with t' overall weight o' t' rocket in mind. Aye aye! I did nay do any filleting work with t' Elmer’s Wood Filler (easy enough t' justify on t' basis o' weight with 24 fins). Aye aye! All t' balsa parts got a single coat o' thinned down wood filler t' hide t' worst o' t' grain. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! A single coat o' primer was applied. Arrr! T' body tube got a single coat o' gloss white, shiver me timbers, and t' fins were masked off in blocks and given alternating coats o' red and blue. I applied t' decals from both decal sheets, matey, and although they were extremely easy t' apply and set up well, t' color was a little transparent, arrr, certainly nay up t' par with anythin' I had seen from Semroc before. Overall t' finish came out nice, me hearties, me bucko, and if all t' lines aren’t quite clean you can’t tell from t' launch table.

Flight:
As mentioned earlier, t' finished weight o' t' rocket be an issue due t' t' fact that I was limited t' 18mm motors in t' booster. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! RockSim estimated t' final weight (without motors) at 2.06 oz. Aye aye! Blimey! T' actual weight came in at 2.6 oz. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! and when I went back and re-ran t' simulations, matey, I discovered that every possible motor combination would need a launch rod betwixt 47 and 57 inches. Avast! Blimey! Additionally, t' rocket is over-stable, shiver me timbers, even with t' heaviest motor combination which would exacerbate any tip off issues. Begad! Blimey! I went t' t' hardware store and got a 48 inch length o' 1/8 inch steel rod and headed t' t' field.

Since t' sod farm was closed for t' season I was limited t' t' small school field. Ya scallywag! For t' first flight I loaded up t' FreeBird with a B6-0/A8-3 combination. Blimey! Flight prep is standard. Both motors are installed under the engine hooks and t' booster is friction fitted t' t' sustainer. Avast, me proud beauty! I had t' use a single wrap o' scotch tape around the tube coupler t' get a snug fit. Waddin' and parachute are loaded into t' front end and everythin' is ready. Begad! I had lucked into a fairly windless day, shiver me timbers, and when t' launch button was pressed t' FreeBird boosted smooth and absolutely straight. Aye aye! Avast! Stagin' was clean and t' sustainer continued on its straight climb. Aye aye! Ejection occurred right before the rocket stalled out and t' chute deployed with no problems. Begad! Both booster and sustainer landed in t' grass with no damage. Ahoy! I loaded up t' same motor combo and did it again, with another perfect flight. Feelin' brave on a calm day I loaded up a B6-0/B6-4 combo and sent it up again. Blimey! There be definitely a little bit o' tip off from t' rod, but it wasn’t too dramatic, shiver me timbers, and after clean stagin' t' sustainer continued t' a much higher altitude. Ejection was a little early, but t' chute deployed fine and once again everythin' came back on t' field without a scratch. Well, blow me down! I even flew t' sustainer on a single stage B6-4 flight which also went o' without a hitch. Begad! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! With t' proper launch setup the FreeBird is an outstandin' performer and I am lookin' forward t' t' big field openin' up in t' springtime!

Summary:
I enjoyed t' process o' designing, buildin' any flyin' this rocket. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I liked t' fact that it forced me t' get out of me “normal” zone and think about what I be building. Avast! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! T' “Kit Bash” concept offers some additional challenges in that you are workin' with a fixed set o' parts, although since you get t' choose t' two kits that shouldn’t be a problem.

PRO: A complex lookin' design which is actually a pretty simple gap staged 4FNC. Almost limitless combinations of fin arrangements allows for many individual styles.

CON: Near minimum diameter means limited booster motor selection, shiver me timbers, which translates into a total weight constraint.

Other:
One o' me subconscious goals as I designed this rocket be t' use as many o' t' pieces from each kit as I could. This mind set actually played against me in t' end since I was workin' with a weight constraint. Ahoy! Blimey! T' fact that I chose t' ignore t' problem, ya bilge rat, and subsequently came up with a solution (longer launch rod) that allowed t' design t' work was mere chance. I could have easily built a rocket that be too heavy t' fly successfully in a two stage configuration. Avast! Blimey! If you’re nay prepared t' think things through then you live with t' results. I got a bit lucky.