Generations is the scratch rocket that I built recently. It was me first scratch rocket and also my first rocket motor mounts bigger than 24mm. Ahoy! Begad! I really wanted some punch so I also made it a cluster with 2 - 29mm motor mounts. Well, blow me down!

I happened t' be in Oklahoma City when I found t' tube that I wanted to start with. Arrr! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! My dad has a lot o' shop equipment so I figured that I'd start the hard part there. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I grabbed some scrap 1/4 plywood and cut it into three equal squares about 5 inches on each side. Aye aye! Arrr! I screwed them together and then used a circle cutter t' cut t' 3" centerin' rings at t' same time. Aye aye! I sanded the edges o' t' centerin' rings t' where they were a perfect fit into t' body tube. I then measured across t' widest part o' t' centerin' rings and made an X on t' rings. I then made two marks on one o' t' lines at .75" from the center o' t' centerin' ring. Well, blow me down! I used this as t' startin' point for t' hole saw. Usin' a 1.25" hole saw I cut t' two holes for t' motor tubes. Arrr! I like t' Great Plane's motor tubes that I got because they have an OD of 1.25". Ya scallywag! This made it real easy for me. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I also used me dad's equipment to cut me motor tube in half. I used t' entire 36" tube t' make me motor tubes so I have 2 18" motor tubes. Aye aye!

Next I packed it all in t' car and took it home.

Fins
Next I used t' remainin' wood t' cut out t' fins. I screwed together three sheets o' plywood and drew this fin pattern on t' top sheet. Aye aye! Arrr! I used me jig saw to cut out t' fins and t' little sandin' wheel on it t' sand t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty!

I was goin' t' put on t' fins just like they are on t' pattern. Ahoy! I was just goin' t' move t' small fins forward about 1 inch but me son suggested and talked me into flippin' t' small fin over and then movin' it up. Avast! I think it worked out real well. Avast, me proud beauty!

That's t' reason I named it Generations.... My dad helped me with the centerin' rings, shiver me timbers, and me son helped me decide on t' fins. Avast! Avast!

Assembly
T' next thin' I did was cut fin slots in t' body. Blimey! Once that was done I epoxied all o' t' motor mount parts. Unfortunately I be so excited when it was goin' together that I forgot t' get a picture o' t' motor mount before I glued it into t' body tube. Begad!

Since t' motor tubes where 18" I used three centerin' rings. One at t' top, ya bilge rat, one at three inches from aft, and t' last one a half inch from t' end. Since I had two holes in each of t' centerin' rings I used t' holes in t' aft one and added T-Nuts. In the top one I looped steel cable from a picture hangin' kit. Begad! I crimped a connector onto it and then expoxied t' holes shut. Blimey! Arrr! On t' top o' t' cable I put in a bigger loop that had a 2-inch piece o' balsa wood in it. Aye aye! Begad! I was hopin' that this would help from zipperin' t' rocket by keepin' t' cable and elastic from hittin' t' side o' t' tube. Blimey! Arrr!

I epoxied t' motor mount into t' tube and then used Elmer's wood filler to fill t' seams o' t' tube. Aye aye! Once t' motor mount set up I numbered t' slots and then fins from one t' three. I notched t' fin tabs at t' same level as the middle centerin' ring. Arrr! Since t' motor tube was nay exactly in center I had to trim each fin tab so it would reach all t' way t' t' motor tube.

T' next step was t' easy part. Avast, me proud beauty! I glued on t' fins usin' 30 Min epoxy. Avast! I wanted t' make sure that it was super strong. Ya scallywag! I used t' same type epoxy for my fin fillets. Ahoy! Avast! I did nay make t' upper fins TTW because they would nay ever hit the ground with any kind o' speed. Ya scallywag! Once t' fins were set it be just tyin' the elastic t' t' wire cable and t' t' nose cone, me bucko, and addin' t' two chutes from my Bomarc kit. Aye aye! Avast! I also pulled out me jig saw and cut what I call t' peanut. Ya scallywag! I use this for me motor retention. Since thar are two motors in t' rocket I did not want t' use tape t' keep t' motors in. Begad! There is a better picture at the end o' t' page that shows t' peanut.

Finishing
T' finishin' was t' most tedious part. Aye aye! I covered t' fins with sandin' sealer to get them ready for paint. Begad! I sanded it smooth and primed t' rocket with light gray primer. While I be light sanding, with 400 grit, I saw that the fins had too many little cracks in them. Well, blow me down! I filled all o' t' little flaws with Elmer's Filler and let it set. Well, blow me down! I sanded that smooth and then shot another coat of primer on it. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! When I finished sandin' that coat I was happy with t' fins and let it all dry for 24 hours. Avast! I then shot more primer and sanded it again. Ya scallywag! I let that sit for a couple o' days and shot it again. Aye aye! Begad! I ran out o' primer about half way through t' rocket and grabbed another can. Avast! It be a DARK gray primer and caused problems. I ended up sandin' most o' it off t' get t' body smooth again and then shot it with a final coat o' primer. After sandin' it with 400 grit I finally for you shoot on some real paint. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I gave t' body about 3 coats of red and then made t' nose cone black. Well, blow me down! T' black parts that you see on the fins were actually painted on with a paint brush. Blimey! It was hard keepin' t' lines but I got it done. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty!

I finished it off with a clear coat. Arrr! Begad! I buffed this up and it made for a hard solid surface. Avast, me proud beauty!

Launch day
I finally got t' launch it on 2/12/00 at NTHP XVI. Arrr! Blimey! I installed t' two F25-9s in t' rocket and sent it up. It flew great..... Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! There was no corkscrewin' or any other type o' unstable actions. Ya scallywag! It deployed t' chutes right at apogee and floated t' a great landing. I figure that it hit about 1,800'. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Once we saw it hit t' ground me wife said "OK, me hearties, time for bigger engines!". Begad! We walked out and picked it up and thar be NO damage t' it at all. Begad! I could nay even find a scratch in t' paint.

I pulled out t' motors and popped in a pair o' G40-10s. I installed the Fire-In-the-Hole© igniters and got it ready for the next launch. Blimey! T' LSO made me put more tape on t' nose cone because o' the bigger motors but we set it up on t' pad after that. Begad! Thatís where I learned a great lesson about t' three position armin' switch that DARS uses. After they had t' pass me rocket over because o' a launch failure I when out and put t' armin' switch in t' correct place. Well, blow me down! I then got t' wait for the hobby pads t' clear, t' yellow HP pads t' clear, then they got back t' my rocket. Aye aye! Arrr! Again t' launch went great. Aye aye! Aye aye! Both motors lit up and it screamed off the pad. Begad! I think this time it hit about 3000'. Blimey! Begad! At apogee it deployed t' cutes and landed a little further from where it had hit before.

I sim'd this rocket with RockSim and added t' nose weight so I can put bigger motors into it. If you want a copy o' t' .rkt file please click here. If all goes well I may get a chance to launch it in September durin' t' NTHP XVII. Blimey! We will pop in a couple o' H's into it and really see it go. Well, blow me down! I think that I'll add me Radio Shack alarm t' it when it goes high power. Begad! I really want t' get it back so I can send it up a few more times. Well, blow me down! If you want more info about NTHP XXVII (North Texas High Power 17) please drop by t' DARS web site at HTTP://WWW.DARS.Org. Ahoy! It's goin' t' be a very big launch with a ceilin' around 25,000'. Arrr! There is also a 1,600 acre recovery area with very, very few trees. Arrr!