Construction:
I didn't want t' go with a standard two-stage design, fins above fins. Aye aye! I decided on a rin' stabilized two stager.

T' initial pencil designs lead me t' a descendin' rin' profile. Avast, me proud beauty! Three rings held in place by four small fins under each ring. Avast! T' model almost looks as if it were a three stager. Blimey! 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. Begad! Blimey! T' booster is 3" long, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' second higher sustainer rin' is 1-5/8" o' ST-16. Ahoy! 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. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I did this for two reasons. Ahoy! Ahoy! 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. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' grain follows t' trailin' edges o' all t' fins. Well, blow me down! T' trailin' edges are outside t' rings. I wanted t' give a little more protection for those exposed edges. Aye aye! 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. Well, blow me down! I sprayed t' rings separately then glued them over t' fins. Avast! This gave me a no-mask paint job and shipshape color separations. T' only maskin' was t' paint t' wide black band on t' body tube.

On t' engine mounts, me hearties, I followed t' old Centuri plans for their Arcon-Hi model. Well, blow me down! T' booster engine block is at t' aft o' t' booster. T' sustainer block is normal, at t' top o' t' upper engine tube. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' only changes I made from t' Centuri plan was t' cut t' sustainer engine tube 1/8" shorter than t' original 3" length. This way t' engine would be extended 1/8" out t' back o' t' tubing. Avast, me proud beauty! T' engines are friction fit with maskin' tape. Begad! Begad! After a flight, me bucko, 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. Avast! Both stages are held together by two couplers. Begad! 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, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' first stage boost be good, ya bilge rat, but when t' sustainer ignited it was unstable. Recovery was safe. Begad! I added a hefty blob o' clay weight around t' large screw eye and nose cone base.

Later that day, me bucko, arrr, I tried again with t' same engines. Well, matey, blow me down! This time it be stable and had a straight boost with good stagin' and recovery.

I thought it would be stable, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but I hadn't used RockSim yet. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! 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. Well, blow me down! Begad! I added t' equivalent weight in washers t' t' screw eye. Ya scallywag! It required 0.4 oz (or five WW-7 washers from Semroc) o' nose weight t' be stable. Ya scallywag! Like every "different" design, arrr, sometimes extra nose weight is required.

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

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

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