Brief:
After readin' about t' unique fin design o' t' Mercury Transport in an Apogee Components newsletter, arrr, I thought this would be a great project and somethin' to get me teeth into, ya bilge rat, t' become a better rocket builder. Usin' the original EMRR design brief I worked out that I could find or build all t' parts needed. Aye aye! My previous rocket projects had included some basic transitions and also used RockSim files t' upscale or downscale a design. Ahoy! Blimey! So t' Mercury Transport took this all one step further. Ya scallywag! My project is very much 'McGuiver' style - only one component o' me Mercury Transport is designed for rocketry - the rocket motor! Blimey!

Construction:

• EMRR Mercury Transport RockSim file
• (8) 6 X 70 X 45mm balsa pieces for nosecone
• 1 sheet o' 2.4mm balsa
• 200 X 4.2mm OD cardboard (pilfered from a roll o' kitchen paper)
• 317.5 X 2.5mm OD cardboard (pilfered from a roll o' black garbage bags)
• 3 cardboard centerin' rings and 2 transitions made from shoebox cardboard (Transitions were calculated usin' EMRR's Shroud Calculator)
• (4) 24 X 10 X 60mm balsa wood for engine mount
• 16cm o' 1mm Copper wire for engine hook plus around 3 cm for nosecone to shock cord connection (Taken from an electrical transformer)
• 80 X 70mm cardboard for motor mount tube
• 1 black garbage bag
• 550mm elastic from sewin' shop
• Selleys Tradesman's choice Aquadhere (Polyaliphatic wood glue)
• Wattyl Woodstop water based wood putty
• White Knight undercoat, colour and gloss paints.

I started t' design by peelin' back several layers o' cardboard from the inner body tube (it was much too thick), ya bilge rat, then cuttin' t' body tubes t' length. Next, matey, matey, EMRR's Shroud calculator came in handy for designin' two shrouds, which were around 12mm long. These were cut from shoebox cardboard, and glued and clamped. These were then slid down onto t' inner tube, with t' cones facing outwards.

Next I cut out two centerin' rings from t' said shoebox, and these were also placed onto t' inner tube and glued. Avast! Blimey! (Transitions were slid into the centre t' keep them out o' t' way)

T' outer body tubes were then glued t' t' centerin' rings and carefully aligned t' make sure they were parallel. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty!

While this was left t' dry, ya bilge rat, I started cuttin' out t' fins and strakes, usin' t' same two piece design as t' original Mercury Transport.

T' transitions were slid into place and glued. Then t' upper and lower body tubes were masked, me bucko, and t' centre tube and transitions were filled and painted yellow.

While this was drying, me hearties, I started work on t' nosecone. T' NC can be made from any scrap balsa thats lyin' around. Aye aye! Begad! Its a good idea t' choose a glue which can be sanded easily. Begad! I glued all t' pieces together and placed some books on top and left it overnight.

T' next day, usin' a Dremel I carved out t' NC slowly, me bucko, first makin' the shoulder t' fit t' upper body tube. Begad! After t' NC is sanded into shape, you can add a coat or two o' epoxy. Arrr! Arrr! This adds strength and helps t' NC resist dents from prangs.

T' motor mount tube was next. Begad! Blimey! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! Thin cardboard often has a 'grain' it bends better in one direction than t' other. Blimey! Blimey! With this in mind, I cut out a rectangle o' cardboard so t' 7cm length could be curled.

This can be soaked in water t' help bending, shiver me timbers, arrr, then its just a matter of runnin' a line o' glue along t' edge, wrappin' it around a spent motor, shiver me timbers, and applyin' pressure t' t' joint until dry.

While its drying, I cut out 4 small pieces o' Balsa and these are used t' centre t' MMT in t' outer body tube. Arrr! Blimey! These are spaced evenly around t' MMT and glued, shiver me timbers, then a thin centerin' rin' is cut out t' block exhaust gases (See picture). Well, blow me down! A length of copper wire is then cut. A spent engine is loaded into t' MMT, ya bilge rat, until it protrudes about 10mm. Begad! Blimey! T' wire is pushed through t' MMT t' act as a motor block, and then its bent downwards t' make two hooks t' retain t' motor (See picture). Begad! Blimey! This is then installed into t' lower tube and glued in place.

Before attachin' t' fins and strakes, I masked up t' inner body tube. Then the nosecone and body were primed and painted, matey, and finally a parachute was made from black garbage bag material and high tensile string. Arrr! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Packagin' tape was used t' hold t' strin' onto t' parachute. Lead weight be then added until the rocket passed t' swin' test. Avast, me proud beauty! Lastly, t' rocket was painted and the maskin' removed.

Flight:
First flight was with a B6-4 for a nice slow flight, but because o' t' weight, the 4 second delay was too long, me hearties, and t' parachute hardly opened before it hit the ground. Begad! It received slight damage t' t' upper body tube, but nothing major.

Second flight was with a C6-3, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and I decided t' remove some o' t' NC weight, which wasn't a good idea! Flight be unstable and nay much higher than before. Arrr! Avast!

Third flight went much better, ya bilge rat, but still it needs more altitude or a shorter delay.

Summary:
Overall this was a great project t' build. Blimey! It helped me with transition buildin' and also maskin' and finishin' techniques. Blimey! Weight was t' biggest issue, ya bilge rat, arrr, caused by too much glue on t' centerin' rings, matey, and also heavy cardboard tubes. Aye aye! Begad! A D12 booster stage should help this in t' future though.