T' followin' be t' HTML interpretation o' David's PDF submission. Aye aye!
Please see t' full PDF HERE (0.4M)

Constructin' the For t' EMRR BOX-O-Parts Contest

Muddle through t' Mess

I started by separatin' body tubes in t' groups that could be used as airframes and tubes that where crinkled,dinged, or dented.

This gave me an idea o' t' size and shape I could accomplish. Arrr! Avast! My basic concept be for a long and tall rocket. Cluster power was a must. I LOVE clusters!

T' Nose Job

I messed around with Nose Cone possibilities. Begad! Aye aye! A rocket's nose really determines t' "flavor" o' the build. Aye aye! So with t' cones I received I did some cutting, sandin' and gluing. Blimey! T' results are photo #2. Ya scallywag! Lookin' a bit like a command module, perhaps windows lookin' out over a nose. Arrr! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Well I guess I'm buildin' a Spacecraft o' sorts. Arrr!

This is a "BERTHA" BT-60 plastic Nose Cone . Blimey! Blimey! Turned backwards. Ya scallywag! Purple BT-50 nose cone. Ahoy! Base is sawn off and glued t' t' bottom o' t' Bertha cone. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Blimey! Hopefully this will look somethin' like a Starship cockpit. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey!

T' Body Stack

Go big or go Home. Arrr! Ahoy! Blimey!

I took stock o' all t' possible body tubes I could use t' go as tall as possible. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This photo shows t' Top and Middle sections test fit together. Avast!

I sorted through t' various centerin' rings in me stack o' stuff and pieced together several sections o' body tube t' assemble t' top stack.

This rocket is intended t' separate for recovery at t' point o' t' two different colored BT60 tubes. Aye aye! Begad! T' mid section break allows t' rocket t' recover on two separate recovery devices. Avast! This was necessitated by t' limited recovery options that came in me Box-0-stuff. Blimey! (more on this later.)

Some o' t' steps t' build t' top stack: Short one centerin' ring. So I modified one 20/60 rin' t' a 50/60 ring. Trace inner circle and cut out

Make a BT-60 adapter sleeve. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Slice a section o' BT60 tube t' reduce diameter. Begad! Use t' sliver that was removed t' brace t' inside o' t' new inner sleeve and glue together. Avast, me proud beauty! This makes t' whole Top Section like one long nose cone. Avast! Ya scallywag!

More Top Section Assembly.

The BT50 Stack Middle Rin' is Just for looks (pictured left)

Recovery would be t' biggest issue. Ahoy! My Box-O-Stuff had One fat elastic cord. Blimey! (below right)

I want t' go BIG.... Arrr! Ya scallywag! so, matey, I split t' cord in half Lengthwise, givin' me two thinner elastics but still have the longest possible length. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! In this photo (below center) one half o' this cord is pushed through a slot in t' BT50 body tube. Tie a fat knot in t' elastic and I'm off t' t' next step. Ya scallywag! Blimey!

Next I have t' fill t' top BT50 section so it will separate at ejection. Blimey! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! So I tore up some o' t' shippin' box. Soaked t' torn bits in water, then mixed t' wet pulp with glue. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Stuffed t' glue/pulp mixture in t' base o' t' tube to form a plug (above right). This method works well. You have t' watch t' moisture in t' pulp mix so it does not warp t' tube. This also takes a wile t' dry. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey!

Lookin' into t' bottom o' t' top stack. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! You see t' BT60 adapter sleeve, shiver me timbers, t' Elastic Cord and t' bottom of t' BT50 centerin' rin' and Glue/shredded box WAD. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey!

On t' t' Bottom section assembly.

Well, for t' lower section I have t' connect some BT60 tube t' some BT70.

No 60/70 centerin' rings in t' Box-O-junk, ya bilge rat, me hearties, so I whip out me trusty, me hearties, rusty compass draw and cut some rings from t' shippin' box. Arrr!

Motor Mount

Coffee Cup With shred-obox soakin' in water. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

My Box-o-goodness did nay contain any 18mm tube. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! So this one gets 24mm main motors (three o' them). Aye aye! Just for kicks I added three 13mm mounts along side. Test fit t' motor tubes. Ahoy! Then started shreddin' t' Shippin' box again. Arrr! I use the shreds,soaked in water t' soften them up, arrr, me hearties, then rin' them out and soak them in glue. Well, blow me down! Gluey shreds are then used to stuff t' voids betwixt t' Motor tubes and Main body tube. Begad!

Motor mount continued.

Motor mount fillets dryin' (above right). Arrr! In t' "custom" motor mount dryin' apparatus a.k.a. Aye aye! a Dunki'n Donuts cup!

A lovely Gluey mass o' shredded box applied t' t' motor mount and lower body tube.

I better make some fins for this thing.

Looks like I have a full set o' pre-cut "Bertha" fins. Aye aye! (Actually I think I have at least one whole bertha)

But those Balsa fins may nay be strong enough for a cluster. So I use a precut fin as a template t' cut out some fins from t' balsa sheet in t' box. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Then I laminate these fins so they are double thickness and hopefully quite strong. Ya scallywag!

Fins t' t' left, fins t' t' right.......

T' lower section nearly complete. Ahoy!

More lower section. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

In these photos you can see t' detail o' t' "Warp Ring"

Warp Rin' is made up o' a plastic garden light fixture. Ya scallywag! Begad! (I know this because I got some o' me own parts back!)

T' inside diameter o' t' plastic rin' is much larger than t' bt70 tube. Begad! So I pulled some small body tube that I believe is BT-4 and cut it t' several short lengths. Ahoy! Begad! This BT-4 was squish-fit betwixt t' Plastic rin' and t' outside of t' body tube. Well, blow me down! With t' small tubes and plastic rin' in place it was actually easy t' slide t' whole assembly (not yet glued together) down t' BT70 body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Once I had everythin' where I wanted it I glued it all in place. Well, blow me down! With some patience and a few toothpicks o' course. Avast!

Recoverin' from Recovery

Official shop shot o' t' "parawing-gle"

My box-0-stuffin' be kind o' short on recovery options. Avast, me proud beauty! It did have two plastic chutes. Avast, me proud beauty! But only had shroud lines for one! I will brin' t' top half down on t' regular 18 inch plastic chute that be in t' box-o-lovely. But the lower section... Ahoy! Ya scallywag! that would be harder. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Hmmmm? Streamer, boring! How about some sort o' para wing?

O.K. Avast! this made me get creative. Well, blow me down! Begad! Some where in t' TRF discussions it be asked if addin' tape would be legal. Well, blow me down! Tape was o.k.ed so with ample amounts o' scotch tape I fashioned this "Parawing-gle" type thing. Arrr!

Parts for t' Parawing-gle thing:

• One 24inch plastic chute. Begad! Sliced in half and then one half quartered. Ya scallywag!
• T' quarter chute is used for t' lower rudder type piece. Begad!
• Several Chopsticks are utilized as t' leadin' edge and rudder stiffeners. Avast! Ya scallywag!
• That now famous thick black elastic cord be again sliced length-wise t' make t' rigging.

Many hours were spent on this. Mostly worryin' time rather than workin' time. My greatest hope was that this would work at least as good as a streamer. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

T' big payoff!!

Launched 07-06-08 From Cape Cod Space Center

Nothin' like pushin' that deadline!

Nice liftoff, nice flight! Loaded in three C11-3's and three A10PT's. Aye aye! This rocket really needs "D" power but this was good for t' small field we where on. Five o' t' six motors lit. Begad! Ya scallywag! All but one A-10. Blimey! Aye aye!

O.k. Begad! Ya scallywag! recovery. Begad! Top half was just fine on a regular chute. Begad! Bottom half came in a bit fast on t' Parawingle -thingle. Begad! Which became more like a big para wad o' molten doom! But it did slow it down. Aye aye!

T' aftermath. Ahoy! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Minor damage. One "fin ring" slightly bent. Ya scallywag! One detail on that fin fell off

Overview and final thoughts.

This was a very cool contest. I would definitely try this again. Begad! Begad!

My only real wish is that we could add strin' (shroud line) if we needed it. But hey, ya bilge rat, no one said this was easy!

Over all Flight ratin' 4... Avast, me proud beauty! it could use more power.

Overall Recovery ratin' 3. Arrr! Arrr! Needs proper chutes

But this is a far better performin' rocket than I thought it would be. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! It will definitely fly again. Avast, me proud beauty!

Things I will change, (with me own parts):

• Bigger Launch lugs 3/16"
• Better Parachutes
• Three "D" motors for a nice high flight. Arrr!