Brief:
T' "A Salt Vehicle" be built for t' EMRR Challenge 2007, t' be a rocket made entirely from trash and finished in a unique style. This rocket is a tiny saucer, 1.5in tall, me hearties, me hearties, 3in diameter, ya bilge rat, and weighin' 0.5oz. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! It was made from a standard container o' salt and was finished by coverin' all surfaces in salt.

Construction:
T' components needed were: 1 salt container, me bucko, ya bilge rat, 1 soda straw, arrr, glue, spray mist adhesive, matey, and salt.

To begin, I used an empty salt container and t' free 13mm "delta" saucer plans from Art Applewhite. Arrr! Avast! I cut a rectangular portion o' cardboard from t' bottom o' t' container and wrapped it around a spent 13mm casing, gluin' around t' seam. Ahoy! With some scraps o' cardboard from t' first step, me bucko, I fashioned an engine block and glued it in place.

For t' saucer body, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I used only t' top portion o' t' Applewhite plans. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Due t' the curvature in t' salt container, shiver me timbers, me saucer disk didn't retain a nice conical shape, so I cut out three triangles, serendipitously mimickin' t' nuclear radiation symbol. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! These were glued t' t' motor tube, rememberin' t' cant them as for t' Applewhite saucer. Arrr! Since thar was no bottom saucer disk or support struts, I made extra thick glue fillets. Ya scallywag! A launch lug was made from a soda straw, me hearties, slit and resize appropriately.

Finishing:
All t' holes were plugged with wadded paper tissue. Arrr! Ahoy! I layered some salt in a shoe box. Then I sprayed Stick It Mist Spray Adhesive all over t' saucer, shiver me timbers, placed it in t' shoe box, and poured more salt over t' top, me bucko, buryin' t' craft. After a dryin' period, me hearties, I removed t' saucer and repeated t' whole procedure twice more. Well, blow me down! I ended with an overspray of the adhesive. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! When finished, t' saucer be so fuzzy that I rubbed off some o' t' larger clumps t' get an even finish.

Flight and Recovery:
All three launches were on 1/2A3-2T motors. Well, blow me down! Boost wasn't pretty--some spin and lots o' wobble. There be clearly some tendency toward instability in at least one flight. A stratosphere-bustin' altitude o' 50-60 feet be achieved. From there, arrr, tumble recovery onto t' grass was nay a problem. I should mention that I have also built a 13mm Delta Saucer stock, ya bilge rat, and it flies flawlessly (plus you can launch it from a small back yard!)

Summary:
This be sort o' a silly little project, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but I did learn one important thin' for some future build. T' salt container comes with one o' those little metal, retractable spouts. Aye aye! A much niftier version o' t' Applewhite saucer (or some other small rocket) could be made by buildin' t' rocket completely accordin' t' t' standard directions, then insertin' t' spout as a retractable saucer hatch from which miniature aliens might emerge. Arrr! Arrr! T' spout is just t' right size and would look really cool, especially on t' mini-saucer.