Brief:
As a part o' t' Centuri "paper brigade" that included t' Point and t' X-24 Bug, me hearties, t' Vulcan always looked like an intriguin' rocket t' clone. Despite havin' printed out t' patterns I couldn't brin' myself t' start t' project. Ya scallywag! Somethin' about t' idea o' constructin' a rocket out o' pre-printed paper intimidated me t' no end, so t' sheets sat untouched in me files for several years before I realized that if I screwed up, I could print more and try again! Amazin' how long it sometimes takes t' simplest things t' filter through, me hearties, isn't it? (Or maybe it's just me...)

Construction:
T' instructions can be found here: http://www.dars.org/jimz/ka-10.htm and t' parts needed are:

• Two sheets o' heavy bond paper
• Semroc ST-8 body tube
• Semroc balsa nose cone
• 18mm engine hook
• 18mm engine block
• 24mm centerin' rin' for engine hook hold down
• 3/32" basswood bulkhead
• 30" Keelhaul®©™ shock cord
• 24" length o' 1/8" sewin' elastic

To start, arrr, let me say how pleasantly surprised I was with t' speed with which this project went once I got started. Although I had cut out all o' t' pieces several years earlier, matey, I hadn't folded or curled any o' them--the big reason bein' that I figured this would be t' most difficult part o' t' project. Begad! Blimey! Nay even close. Avast! Begad! Blimey! I began by curlin' t' large body section o' t' rocket by pullin' it out from under a metal ruler several times at an angle. Ya scallywag! This eventually gave somethin' o' a permanent curve t' t' paper, me hearties, which I made more pronounced by rollin' it inside another piece o' paper. Arrr! Blimey! When t' paper stayed curved almost into t' needed shape, ya bilge rat, I lined up t' tabs and began tapin' t' shroud on t' inside, always takin' care t' keep things as lined up as possible. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Old-fashioned cellophane tape or thin maskin' tape is useful in this part o' t' project because it allows you t' reposition things more easily than "Magic" tape. Aye aye! Blimey! Once I had t' shroud edges lined up satisfactorily, arrr, I laid down a line o' gel-type CA, shiver me timbers, then repeatedly worked me thumb over t' seam until t' CA grabbed with somethin' resemblin' permanence. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! Believe it or not, me hearties, this was t' most difficult part o' t' project. Ahoy! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! Once this was done I began attachin' t' folded fins usin' t' gel CA. Arrr! As shown in t' pictures, I only attached t' fins one tab at a time, which nay only gave t' glue time t' set up before t' fin had t' be touched t' attach t' next tab but also allowed me t' securely fasten t' launch lugs which provide strength t' t' fins as well as t' actual launch lug.

Once t' rocket's basic shape was defined with t' application o' t' fins, matey, scoops and cockpit, me hearties, I started on t' internals. Avast! I began this part o' t' project by cuttin' t' aft bulkhead out o' a scrap piece o' 3/32" basswood. When t' ragged edges were cleaned up and it be sanded t' shape, I glued t' printed bulkhead cover over t' assembly then began t' process o' cuttin' out t' hole for t' motor tube and engine hook. Ya scallywag! This was another step where a rough cut be made via t' knife then cleaned up with sandpaper later on. Begad! T' internals consisted o' a length o' Semroc ST-8 tubing, me bucko, an 18mm Estes engine hook, a CR-520 centerin' rin' that acts as an engine block, and a CR-2050 that acts as a engine hook hold-down. Aye aye! This is assembled in t' traditional manner with t' added touch o' a 30" length o' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord glued in with t' engine block. Once this was together, I slid t' bulkhead into place around t' aft o' t' engine tube, coated t' forward end o' t' tube with t' gel CA, and worked t' whole assembly into it's approximate place in t' paper shroud, ya bilge rat, me bucko, while carefully keepin' t' engine hook oriented in t' correct position relative t' t' bulkhead. Avast! When I was sure that t' glue at t' front end had set securely, me hearties, I glued t' aft bulkhead into position with regular white glue and build fillets around both t' place where bulkhead and shroud met as well as t' place where t' bulkhead and t' engine tube met. Blimey! With t' body o' t' rocket complete, me hearties, I turned me attention t' t' nose cone.

Since I had built t' Vulcan usin' Semroc tubing, it stood t' reason that I'd need a Semroc nose cone t' fit t' tube. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Luckily Carl had thrown one in when I ordered a couple o' each o' their body tubes a few months earlier, and even luckier for me, me bucko, it was pretty much an exact match for t' cone I needed. Begad! Blimey! Since I needed a fairly hefty amount o' nose weight, I searched t' tool box for several short, heavy screws. Blimey! I found two that fit t' perfectly and added an equally hefty screw eye for even more weight. Begad! With little t' compare it to, this would have t' do. Avast, me proud beauty! Finally, after sealin' t' nose cone, paintin' it gloss black, and addin' a Semroc parachute along with two additional feet o' sewin' elastic shock cord, arrr, I felt that t' Vulcan was ready t' fly.

Finishing:
Since everythin' was already printed on t' shroud, me hearties, finishin' it was a snap. Well, blow me down! After printing, I sprayed t' paper with a coat o' Krylon Acrylic Clear. T' only actual paintin' that needed t' be done was o' t' nose cone, shiver me timbers, as I described in t' previous step. That's me kind o' project!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' day I chose t' first fly t' Vulcan was a hot, sticky Sunday before Labor Day when everyone else in town was hangin' around on t' riverfront awaitin' t' fireworks. Well, blow me down! Anticipatin' some fireworks o' me own, me bucko, I lugged several newly cloned rockets and some old favorites t' a local baseball complex where I had played Little League a few years earlier. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! (Okay, shiver me timbers, more like 35 years earlier, me bucko, shiver me timbers, but who's counting?) One o' me fellow Quarkers and I had recently adopted it as an off-week-at-VOA flyin' field because o' it's fairly expansive landin' area and it's relatively centralized location t' our respective homes. We located our prep areas in t' shade o' two small trees near t' playground, me hearties, which did wonders for our ability t' log over twenty flights betwixt us despite t' heat. Ya scallywag! T' Vulcan was t' second o' me rockets on t' pad that day, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and I conservatively chose a 1/2A6-2 for t' flight. Blimey! Ya scallywag! (Okay, me bucko, maybe I be a little TOO conservative.) T' Vulcan cleared t' rod, but just barely. Arrr! Ahoy! T' flight topped out well short o' 100 feet, but t' 2 second ejection charge easily deployed t' parachute before things could get tense. Aye aye! T' flight had been short from t' altitude standpoint, but t' fact that it was stable was what I was most interested in. Blimey! I decided that baby steps were t' way t' go and for t' second flight decided on an A8-3. Well, blow me down! Unfortunately, flight #2 was a whole different experience compared t' flight #1. Begad! T' Vulcan began wobblin' badly as soon as it left t' rod, and t' wobble rapidly became more pronounced as t' engine continued t' burn. Things didn't get any better durin' t' coast phase as burnout had left t' rocket in a nose down position and t' hard dirt o' t' ball field be comin' up fast. Ahoy! Impact and ejection arrived far too close together, shiver me timbers, but t' Vulcan survived with only a bent fin in t' way o' damage.

A week later I tried again, only with bigger engines. Begad! Arrr! T' B6-4 flight wobbled somewhat but boosted t' a respectable height and recovered without damage. Aye aye! T' C6-5 flight wobbled a lot--to t' point that t' smoke trail had a distinct coil shape t' it but never reached t' point where it looked out o' control. (Well, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, nay COMPLETELY!) I'll try t' wedge some more nose weight into t' cone, but based on what some o' t' other fliers said that day, these flights were pretty much t' norm for this bird. Begad! Arrr! I'll keep trying.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs:

• EASY build. Blimey! Blimey! It's possible t' build and fly t' Vulcan overnight.
• Big attention getter at t' pads.
• NO PAINTING! NO SEALING!! NO SANDING!!!

CONs:

• Erratic flights (?)
• Difficult t' determine t' thickness o' t' paper stock t' be used.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5