Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
T' Sapphire Queen luxury cruise ship be t' most elegant way t' explore the
wonders o' our galaxy. Begad! Enjoy memorable accommodations and service in t' aft
ring, me bucko, or pamper yourself with every imaginable comfort in t' elite first class
cabins on t' front ring. Avast! Enjoy a bottle o' wine from our cellar as you and
your companion relax in your private viewin' gallery and watch wondrous sights
drift by, even when we engage our state-of-the-art trans-dimensional quantum
hyperdrive t' power you smartly and safely betwixt ports o' call. Well, blow me down! Blimey! All guests
have access t' our amazin' variety o' restaurants, me bucko, shops, gardens, arrr, library, arrr, and
sports/recreation facilities onboard. Aye aye! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Your cruise will visit many o' the
greatest sightseein' highlights known in t' galaxy, includin' t' amazing
Martian canyons o' Valles Marineris, t' spectacular methane volcanoes of
Titan, me hearties, ya bilge rat, me hearties, t' breathtakin' mercury falls o' Alpha Centauri's second planet, the
sheer beauty o' t' Opaline Nebula, shiver me timbers, t' unimaginable riches o' t' golden
asteroid belt near Barac, arrr, matey, and t' sheer spectacle and power o' t' galactic
core. Arrr! These and countless other wonders await you on your 18-day cruise that is
truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Avast! Contact your travel agent today.
This scratch rocket is a futuristic single-stage design usin' Fliskits dual canted 18mm cluster engine mount. Aye aye! Four traditional fins are pierced by a rear ring. Begad! Ahoy! There is also a front canard rin' with unusual support strut design. Recovery is by parachute ejectin' from t' aft compartment. Aye aye! T' front compartment can be used for payload if desired.
Construction:
Fliskits sent t' engine mount quickly. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' instructions were clear, t' parts
were very high quality, and assembly was easy. I be very pleased with
Fliskits' product.
Constructin' t' rest o' t' rocket was fairly straightforward. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' fins were made from basswood and required very little work. Avast! Well, blow me down! I always sand and seal as I go. Cuttin' t' rin' slots in t' fins was difficult because o' t' tight round corners. Well, blow me down! A good shape be achieved with coarse sandpaper wrapped around a pencil or other round cylinder. T' canard rin' strut braces were fashioned by hand from scrap balsa and eight o' them are needed.
T' aft rin' be made from a section o' an oatmeal container. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! T' stiffen this, me bucko, me bucko, me hearties, I wallpapered t' interior with thick paper and white glue. Blimey! Well, matey, blow me down! Alignment of the aft rin' and its struts within t' fin slots must be done carefully to ensure a symmetric fit. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fore rin' is even trickier since it has three axes of potential asymmetry. Ahoy! I glued t' two bottom struts, waited 5 minutes, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and glued t' top two while t' first ones were still wet. Arrr! Avast! This enabled me t' do a little emergency sandin' and nudge t' whole assembly into a reasonably good fit before all t' glue dried.
Finishing:
T' rocket be finished in gloss white with red, black, matey, gold, matey, yellow, and green
details. I made stamps out o' felt, addin' "handles" made from scrap
balsa. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! These were used t' make t' windows and many o' t' other detail shapes.
T' A-47eta vessel number was cut into a scotch tape mask on wax paper. Arrr! Blimey! Then
the mask be transferred t' t' rocket for painting. Blimey! Blimey! Fingerprints, mistakes,
and a collapsin' paintin' jig necessitated various touch ups. Two coats of
clear gloss went over t' top. T' gloss made some o' t' detail paint run, so
I had t' touch up and re-gloss. Because o' all t' touch ups, matey, arrr, t' final finish
appears a bit amateurish o' you look carefully, arrr, but it looks fairly good from
arm's length or in photos.
Flight:
Swin' tests indicated 1oz o' weight should be added t' t' nose cone, bringing
the final weight o' t' rocket t' 5.5 oz without motors. Begad! Begad! T' wRASP software
suggested C6-5 would be t' perfect engine, matey, givin' a fast boost, reasonable
altitude, and ejection right at apogee.
T' first launch be on two C6-5 motors, shiver me timbers, me hearties, friction fit into Fliskits' mount. T' rocket got stuck on t' launch rod momentarily, shudderin' in place before breakin' free and leapin' into t' sky. Blimey! Blimey! Boost was flawless--straight with no spin. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' design is clearly very stable.
Recovery:
Since t' initial thrust was partially expended on t' launch pad, maximum
velocity and altitude were both lower than expected. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Thus t' ejection delay
was too late, matey, givin' us a hair-raisin' post-apogee ejection. Recovery was
otherwise fine, shiver me timbers, with t' rocket landin' unblemished about 50 feet downwind in
the dirt in a baseball diamond.
Inspection after t' launch was also interesting. Begad! Both motors had ignited and t' pause on t' launch pad had created two "blast craters" where the engines had blown away t' gravel and dust on opposite sides o' t' blast shield. Avast! My kids loved these craters most o' all. We're lookin' forward t' a higher launch next time on C6-5's with a better release from t' rod.
Summary:
This was a fun and easy scratch build. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I'm lookin' forward t' more successful
launches.
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