Brief:
Tall scratch mid power rocket.

Construction:
Materials: Magnum nose cone, 3 BT-60 tubes, shiver me timbers, 2 couplers, me hearties, 3/32" birch plywood, 29mm engine tube, 36" quarter-inch elastic shock cord, ya bilge rat, 21" mylar parachute.

Sometime ago I found a 2-pack o' Aerotech F23-7 Econojet single use motors for $12.95 on clearance at Hobby Lobby so I snapped 'em up. Avast! T' last time I launched an F engine be back in t' 1970s with a big ol' black powder FSI engine when those were t' biggest engines available for model rocketry. Begad! My how things have changed!

It was time t' increment up t' bigger engines and get up t' speed with current rocketry thinking, arrr, matey, so this model represents several firsts for me includin' me first RockSim design, ya bilge rat, first composite propellant engine use, first through-the-wall fin mount, and first rocket with plywood fins. Begad! Avast! I also used two buildin' and flyin' tips from t' EMRR database which were new t' me.

T' first iteration o' this rocket was bigger and taller than what's shown in t' photo. Ahoy! It had 18 inches o' BT-80 aft, a paper transition, and 3 sections of 18-inch BT-60 on top. Ahoy! Begad! With t' long nose cone and fin sweep it was over 6 feet tall. Avast, me proud beauty! Unfortunately t' first launch on 4/14/05 was a CATO on an E9-4. Ya scallywag! The entire fin section was toast along with a portion o' t' upper BT-60 section. Ahoy!

I wound up with 39.125 inches o' body tube topped off by t' long, shiver me timbers, sleek 8.375 inch plastic nose cone originally from an Estes Magnum. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! With t' fins sweepin' back a little less than half an inch, t' total length is 4 feet.

It's a pretty simple build. T' BT-60s were glued together with couplers, the fins were cut out with a razor saw, t' slots for t' fins were cut with a hobby knife, me bucko, me bucko, and t' engine tube/block/ribs/centerin' rin' unit be glued in place with Elmer's followed by t' fins. Arrr! I love havin' t' fins glued t' the engine tube and t' body tube. Avast! It results in a much more sturdy assembly. Avast! The 3/16" launch lug was offset .25" in case I want t' add a payload in the future. Ahoy! Ahoy!

Finishing:
After a couple coats o' high build Autozone primer, me hearties, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I finished it with Maserati gunmetal gray metallic automotive paint, arrr, some self-adhesive reflective holographic mylar, and a custom Lazertran waterslide decal/body wrap.

Flight:
Rocksim predicts almost 2300 feet on an F23 and both F flights certainly looked that high. Avast! Even though it's a tall rocket, it's got a small profile, arrr, so it's hard t' see at that altitude. Arrr! T' engine tube is long enough for G Econojets, but they don't make a long enough delay (it needs 9 seconds). Aye aye! I'll eventually try an E9-6, D12-5, me hearties, and even a C6-3.

Other than t' CATO, ya bilge rat, thar were no gotchas. Aye aye! Begad! Prep is easy, matey, engine is friction fit (even though it's composite and heats up a lot, ya bilge rat, it works fine), and thar's plenty o' room for t' parachute and wadding, so everythin' ejects well. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' second launch (with t' shorter configuration) was on an F engine on an open range south o' Ellicott, shiver me timbers, Colorado. Well, blow me down! You can see Pikes Peak in the background o' t' animated .GIF file. T' black smoke, altitude, and quickness off t' pad were most impressive. Arrr! As far away as it was, t' ejection charge was still a loud pop. A couple o' shroud lines broke but thar was no damage to the rocket. Ya scallywag! Third launch be at C.R.A.S.H. Well, blow me down! on 5/21/05. Ya scallywag! It had a barely discernable corkscrew, but t' mylar chute held up and it be a perfect flight.

Recovery:
I used 1/4" elastic shock cord with paper mount, which works fine. Ahoy! First functional flight be with a 18 inch parachute and t' second flight was with a 20 inch mylar chute, shiver me timbers, which was too big.

Summary:
This is a sleek, pointy, small-finned rocket that has people concerned about its stability until it disappears off t' pad.

Other:
T' two EMRR tips used: paint t' tip o' t' nosecone usin' a paper centerin' rin' as a mask and split t' end o' a Copperhead igniter with a flame t' use mini clips. Both techniques work great.