Brief:
T' Sapphire Queen luxury cruise Man-O-War be t' most elegant way t' explore the wonders o' our galaxy. Well, blow me down! Begad! Enjoy memorable accommodations and service in t' aft ring, or pamper yourself with every imaginable comfort in t' elite first class cabins on t' front ring. Begad! 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. Ahoy! Blimey! All guests have access t' our amazin' variety o' restaurants, me bucko, shops, gardens, shiver me timbers, library, and sports/recreation facilities onboard. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Your cruise will visit many o' the greatest sightseein' highlights known in t' galaxy, includin' t' amazing Martian canyons o' Valles Marineris, arrr, t' spectacular methane volcanoes of Titan, ya bilge rat, t' breathtakin' mercury falls o' Alpha Centauri's second planet, shiver me timbers, the sheer beauty o' t' Opaline Nebula, t' unimaginable riches o' t' golden asteroid belt near Barac, and t' sheer spectacle and power o' t' galactic core. Aye aye! These and countless other wonders await you on your 18-day cruise that is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Contact your travel agent today.

This scratch rocket is a futuristic single-stage design usin' Fliskits dual canted 18mm cluster engine mount. Ahoy! Aye aye! Four traditional fins are pierced by a rear ring. Avast, me proud beauty! There is also a front canard rin' with unusual support strut design. Recovery is by parachute ejectin' from t' aft compartment. Blimey! Well, blow me down! T' front compartment can be used for payload if desired.

Construction:
Fliskits sent t' engine mount quickly. Avast! T' instructions were clear, me bucko, matey, t' parts were very high quality, ya bilge rat, and assembly be easy. I was very pleased with Fliskits' product.

Constructin' t' rest o' t' rocket was fairly straightforward. Blimey! Blimey! T' fins were made from basswood and required very little work. Begad! Blimey! I always sand and seal as I go. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Cuttin' t' rin' slots in t' fins was difficult because o' t' tight round corners. A good shape was achieved with coarse sandpaper wrapped around a pencil or other round cylinder. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' canard rin' strut braces were fashioned by hand from scrap balsa and eight o' them are needed.

T' aft rin' was made from a section o' an oatmeal container. Blimey! T' stiffen this, I wallpapered t' interior with thick paper and white glue. Begad! Avast! Alignment of the aft rin' and its struts within t' fin slots must be done carefully to ensure a symmetric fit. T' fore rin' is even trickier since it has three axes of potential asymmetry. Begad! I glued t' two bottom struts, arrr, waited 5 minutes, and glued t' top two while t' first ones were still wet. Aye aye! Begad! 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, ya bilge rat, black, gold, shiver me timbers, yellow, matey, me hearties, and green details. Ya scallywag! Begad! I made stamps out o' felt, me bucko, addin' "handles" made from scrap balsa. 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. Well, blow me down! Then the mask was transferred t' t' rocket for painting. Fingerprints, shiver me timbers, mistakes, and a collapsin' paintin' jig necessitated various touch ups. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Two coats of clear gloss went over t' top. T' gloss made some o' t' detail paint run, matey, me bucko, so I had t' touch up and re-gloss. Well, blow me down! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Because o' all t' touch ups, arrr, t' final finish appears a bit amateurish o' you look carefully, shiver me timbers, 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, arrr, shiver me timbers, bringing the final weight o' t' rocket t' 5.5 oz without motors. Begad! T' wRASP software suggested C6-5 would be t' perfect engine, givin' a fast boost, reasonable altitude, shiver me timbers, and ejection right at apogee.

T' first launch be on two C6-5 motors, 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. Begad! Blimey! Boost be flawless--straight with no spin. T' design is clearly very stable.

Recovery:
Since t' initial thrust be partially expended on t' launch pad, arrr, maximum velocity and altitude were both lower than expected. Arrr! Aye aye! Thus t' ejection delay was too late, me hearties, givin' us a hair-raisin' post-apogee ejection. Recovery was otherwise fine, me bucko, ya bilge rat, with t' rocket landin' unblemished about 50 feet downwind in the dirt in a baseball diamond.

Inspection after t' launch was also interesting. Aye aye! Ahoy! 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. Ahoy! Well, arrr, blow me down! My kids loved these craters most o' all. Begad! We're lookin' forward t' a higher launch next time on C6-5's with a better release from t' rod.

Summary:
This be a fun and easy scratch build. I'm lookin' forward t' more successful launches.