Construction:
I didn't want t' go with a standard two-stage design, me bucko, fins above fins. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I decided on a rin' stabilized two stager.

T' initial pencil designs lead me t' a descendin' rin' profile. Well, blow me down! Three rings held in place by four small fins under each ring. Begad! Blimey! T' model almost looks as if it were a three stager. Aye aye! T' highest painted band gives t' impression o' a smaller rin' and a fourth stage.

I went t' me scrap tubes and tried many until I found t' three sizes that would give t' visual o' "conical" descendin' rings.

T' model was built around a ST-10 airframe. Avast! T' booster is 3" long, me hearties, t' sustainer body tube is 18".

T' rin' on t' booster is a 2-1/8" length o' BT-80. T' lowest rin' on t' sustainer is a 1-7/8" length o' BT-70. Blimey! Arrr! T' second higher sustainer rin' is 1-5/8" o' ST-16. Blimey! And t' final (black painted) rin' is 1-3/8" wide.

T' fins were cut from 1/16" balsa and covered with 20lb copy paper. Avast! Blimey! I did this for two reasons. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' first is strength. Secondly, it would be impossible t' fill t' balsa after t' rings were glued in place.

T' balsa grain direction is opposite o' normal construction. Ahoy! T' grain follows t' trailin' edges o' all t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' trailin' edges are outside t' rings. Aye aye! I wanted t' give a little more protection for those exposed edges. Blimey! Begad! Wrappin' paper over t' top o' t' rounded leadin' edge gave more than enough frontal rigidity. All fins were cut wide, which allowed me t' sand t' outside edges t' slip-fit t' rings in place.

I didn't glue t' rings in place until after spray paintin' t' main body and fins. Ahoy! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! I sprayed t' rings separately then glued them over t' fins. Well, blow me down! This gave me a no-mask paint job and shipshape color separations. Avast! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' only maskin' be t' paint t' wide black band on t' body tube.

On t' engine mounts, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I followed t' old Centuri plans for their Arcon-Hi model. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' booster engine block is at t' aft o' t' booster. Aye aye! Blimey! T' sustainer block is normal, at t' top o' t' upper engine tube. Begad! Well, me bucko, blow me down! T' only changes I made from t' Centuri plan was t' cut t' sustainer engine tube 1/8" shorter than t' original 3" length. Avast! This way t' engine would be extended 1/8" out t' back o' t' tubing. Arrr! T' engines are friction fit with maskin' tape. After a flight, arrr, I wanted a little bit o' t' casin' stickin' out t' remove it out with pliers.

Centuri style stagin' doesn't use clear tape t' hold t' engines together. Ya scallywag! Begad! Both stages are held together by two couplers. Blimey! Blimey! Simply friction fit t' engines in place then slide t' stages together.

[Click on t' followin' link t' download a PDF o' t' rocket.]

Flight:
T' first flight was on March 7 with a B6-0/A8-5 engine combination. Avast! Blimey! T' first stage boost was good, but when t' sustainer ignited it be unstable. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Recovery be safe. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I added a hefty blob o' clay weight around t' large screw eye and nose cone base.

Later that day, I tried again with t' same engines. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! This time it was stable and had a straight boost with good stagin' and recovery.

I thought it would be stable, arrr, but I hadn't used RockSim yet. Avast! Well, matey, blow me down! There be a large rin' area and plenty o' fins. I thought t' body tube length would be adequate.

I went home and weighed t' clay. I added t' equivalent weight in washers t' t' screw eye. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! It required 0.4 oz (or five WW-7 washers from Semroc) o' nose weight t' be stable. Avast, me proud beauty! Like every "different" design, ya bilge rat, sometimes extra nose weight is required.

T' third flight took place on May 2, arrr, me hearties, 2009 at t' Orlando ROCK launch. Well, blow me down! I used B6-0/B6-6 engines. Blimey! Ya scallywag! While t' model be stable with a B6-0/A8-5 combination, me bucko, it was nay stable with a B6-0/B6-6. Ahoy! At t' sustainer ignition, me hearties, it looped. It was in t' air at ejection, me hearties, no damage.

Summary:
PROs: I was happy with t' finished look o' t' model. Blimey! Visually, me bucko, t' descendin' rings and painted black band give t' impression o' a conical stabilized rocket. Avast! While t' model is only two-stage, matey, it looks more like a three stager. Ya scallywag! New designs can present construction and stabilization issues, matey, but if you glean a few new lessons in t' process it's all worthwhile.

CONs: Even with all t' fins and tubing, me hearties, t' model required nose weight t' be stable. It be stable for t' second flight after addin' nose weight. It be nay stable for t' third and final flight.