After some consideration o' a smaller kit for general purpose flyin' I chose t' LOC Precision Vulcanite kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Since I was goin' t' be flyin' it on higher powered motors also I ordered it with one extra centerin' rin' for t' motor mount. Well, blow me down! After gettin' t' kit I opened t' package and inventoried t' parts, all were thar and in good order. Well, blow me down! I had decided t' make some changes t' t' design for better strength and t' ability o' flyin' with an altimeter for two stage recovery on higher altitude flights.

T' construction be very straight forward and simple but I changed a couple o' steps for me modifications. Well, blow me down! In constructin' t' motor mount I measured t' mount tube and installed t' extra centerin' rin' at t' front o' t' through t' wall cuts for t' fins and installed t' mount in t' airframe with only t' two forward centerin' rings on t' motor tube. Blimey! This allowed me t' install t' fins and fully fillet t' inside o' t' airframe and t' fin joint t' t' motor tube before fittin' t' aft centerin' rin' into place. Well, blow me down! Avast! This way t' fins are joined t' t' inside o' t' rocket at t' motor tube, ya bilge rat, leadin' edge t' a centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, matey, trailin' edge t' a centerin' ring, me bucko, and t' body tube. Ahoy! T' fins are highly shaped and aerodynamic with both t' leadin' and trailin' edges havin' a good taper. Ahoy! After installation they were sealed with a coatin' o' thin epoxy t' seal t' ply's.

T' standard payload section became t' avionics bay and I added an 18-inch piece o' Giant Leap tubin' t' t' front for a forward parachute bay (the reason for t' Giant Leap tubin' was that I had an order goin' out t' them anyway). I changed t' way that t' recovery attached t' t' nose cone by drillin' holes into t' aft o' t' nose cone and threadin' t' hardware through t' cone instead o' usin' t' lug as this is almost a guarantee you will eventually loose your nose cone. Blimey! Ya scallywag! For t' avionics bay t' forward parachute section I used three #12 button head screws t' attach it with blind nuts epoxied into t' aft o' t' parachute section. Begad! Then I drilled three 1/4 inch holes at t' base o' t' avionics section t' allow for proper ventilation o' t' altimeter, shiver me timbers, t' holes are far enough t' t' aft t' be through both t' airframe and coupler, then are finished out with an epoxy coatin' t' smooth and strengthen t' area. Well, blow me down! T' altimeter is attached t' t' back o' t' parachute section usin' a mount I made myself so that it is quick changeable betwixt rockets, ya bilge rat, only two #12 button head screws and two wires. Avast, me proud beauty! I installed a rocker switch on t' back o' t' parachute section betwixt t' legs o' he altimeter mount and this is also installed on me other rockets.

I finished t' rocket in day-glow orange and yellow with t' forward parachute bay wrapped in black and white checkerboard monocoat. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! It proudly caries t' name o' Mr. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Spock and most o' t' regular Texas fliers recognize it immediately. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' inaugural flight was on an H128 and it flew great, arrr, me hearties, I did nay have t' avionics bay installed on this flight so it be nay t' full length. Avast! Blimey! Since then it has been flyin' on everythin' from a G35 t' an I195 and in all configurations o' motor or altimeter recovery. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' Highest altitude so far has been 4562 feet with an I211. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' next planned flight is goin' t' be on an I284 so that will be increased significantly. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' rocket flies straight and true in almost any conditions and recovers well with any o' t' chutes that I have used with it, me hearties, from a LOC 36 inch t' a B2 Skyangle three footer. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I have included flight logs for examination and with over twenty flights o' all kinds on t' rocket it is gettin' a little beat up but still flies like a champ.

• Prior t' 9-10-99 - (1) H128, arrr, me hearties, first flight. Begad! (1) H97, ya bilge rat, (3) G64, matey, ya bilge rat, and (4) G75 flights
• Installed a Cannonball Works RRC2 installed for flights after 9-10-99, rocket now 711/2 inches in length, matey, arrr, 3 pounds minimum flight weight with altimeter.
• 9-17-99 OSP -G75 with full two stage recovery, flew t' 873 feet with good deployment o' all recovery gear. Ahoy! Begad! Altimeter settin' at 300 feet for main deployment.
• 11-6-99 Bomber Field - H123 with full two stage recovery, flew t' 2119 feet with good deployment o' all recovery gear. Altimeter set at 500 feet for main deployment.
• 11-13-99 Scout launch - H97 with full two stage recovery, ya bilge rat, arrr, no altimeter readout with good deployment o' all recovery gear. Arrr! Altimeter set at 500 feet for main deployment.
• 1-1-00 Bomber Field - I357 with full two stage recovery, flew t' 3166ft with both a good apogee deployment and main deployment, main set at 800 ft after t' failure t' deploy correctly with Gold Rush. Begad! Ahoy! Immediate launch (fast igniter) and boost was very high G with a long coast t' altitude.
• 2-12-00 OSP -G35-7 with simple recovery as originally designed t' fly, just over 1000 feet est, arrr, altitude.
• 3-18-00 OSP - G75 with altimeter recovery. Arrr! Blimey! Check flight for t' returned RRC2 Cannonball Works altimeter. Flew t' 671 feet in high winds with good recovery. Bounced off t' hard-packed access road t' t' hill and kinked t' body tube at t' forward centerin' ring, repairable.
• 4-22-00 OSP -Flew on a G38-4 (new fast jack EconoJet) t' about 1000 feet with good recovery usin' t' 36" B2 Skyangle chute, looks good with t' chute rotatin' in t' air, me bucko, matey, will have t' try this on a high power flight.
• 5-6-00 Bomber Field - Flew on an I211 t' 4562 feet with altimeter recovery. Avast! Flawless flight with a 1/2 mile walk t' recover due t' high winds.
• 6-18-00 OSP - G75 with two stage recovery usin' t' 36" B2 chute. Begad! Good flight t' 775 feet with everythin' comin' out at once for recovery, nose cone nay tight enough. Good landin' close t' t' pad t' t' oohs and ahhs o' t' crowd. Well, me bucko, blow me down! 36" B2 chute good match for flying, ya bilge rat, me hearties, just a little tight t' pack.
• 7-8-00 McGregor Inaugural launch - Attempted t' fly on an I300 but t' motor CATO’d, blew t' aft closure out o' t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Postmortem by Aerotech determined t' thar was one grain o' white lightnin' propellant with three grains o' blue thunder. Aye aye! Blimey! Aerotech replaced t' damaged parts and t' reload, t' rocket will fly again after makin' another altimeter bay bulkhead and straightenin' out t' coupler a little, me bucko, minor damage considerin' t' impact o' t' case inside t' rocket after t' blowup.
• 9-2-00 Windom Texas - Flew on t' I300 motor t' 4428 feet reported altitude. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! Good straight fast boost t' a good altimeter recovery with no damage and a great flight. Aye aye! Blimey! Put rocket on scales before flight and was 4 pounds on t' dot, very high G takeoff.
• 9-18-00 McGregor - Flew on an I195, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, do nay think I will get any more black jack 38mm motors, me bucko, ya bilge rat, arrr, t' 4305 feet. Aye aye! Blimey! Had a perfect two stage deployment and recovery about 200 yards from t' pad. Aye aye! Blimey! Boost was good if boring, nay as many G's as expected and less performance than t' four grain motors proceedin' it. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Plan on an I284 next time.
• 2-1-01 P3 field - Flew on an H242, perfect flight t' 2266 feet with two stage recovery.
• 2-3-01 P3 field - Flew on an I284, great flight t' 5837 feet. Ahoy! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Very high G launch, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, 30-35, shiver me timbers, and a very straight flight, me bucko, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, used 4 seconds o' mach delay and may have needed it. Blimey! Blimey! Two stage recovery worked well and recovered inside o' t' field.
• 2-10-01 P3 field- Flew in an H242 t' 2153 feet reported. Good flight in windy conditions, arrr, t' altitude was about a hundred feet less than t' same motor in calm conditions. Arrr! Good motor for windy days and smaller fields.
• 2-24-01 P3 field - Flew on an I435 for a neck snappin' flight t' 5728 feet with a good recovery just on t' other side o' t' trees, me bucko, matey, t' rocket got a little muddy but otherwise be ok. With t' kind o' instant velocity available with this motor thar be no weathercockin' but at altitude it did move around a little due t' confused winds aloft. Arrr! Used trackin' chalk for t' first time and made findin' t' apogee easier (big red splotch in t' sky), arrr, matey, will use again even though it is a little messy.
• 4-14-01 at P3 field - Flew on an H242 t' 1987 feet with dual recovery and t' 36 inch B2 chute, good recovery close t' pads in a medium wind. Low altimeter readin' was probably due t' t' extra weight o' t' B2 chute.
• 4-28-01 at P3 field - Flew on a J350 for a high G flight t' 6790 feet with good recovery deployment. Aye aye! Winds caused about a half mile walk t' recovery. Blimey! Trackin' chalk used and very helpful with findin' apogee. Begad! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Lost sight on t' way down and found again when t' main chute came out.

Overall I would recommend this kit for anyone gettin' into high power rockets and have certified other individuals who have chosen it as their level 1 certification rocket, it rarely fails t' test. Begad! Blimey! T' most impressive flight that I have seen on a Vulcanite was at t' August McGregor, Texas launch when a stock Vucnite was flown on a J570, this figures out t' over 50 G's and t' rocket took it without a hitch, it just flew so high that we were unable t' find it t' recover it.

NOTE: Even though Rick has made a couple o' modifications, me hearties, he has flown t' rocket without t' extra payload, arrr, at its original length, me hearties, and has reported much success.

Update 11/01 -

Changed t' Acme conformal launch lugs for rail launching.

• 9-16-01 P3 field - Took t' J570 out t' fly on t' new I285 Redline t' 4319 feet and a good straight up flight with recovery 200 feet from t' pad. Ahoy! Trackin' chalk really helped with t' apogee event. Begad! This be t' first flight o' t' RRC2 after t' L3 where it indicated a false altitude, me hearties, matey, think it might be oversensitive with t' batteries now, ya bilge rat, would nay fly on a new Duracell Ultra but when Brett Noak offered a new Eveready Titanium it worked fine. Begad! Will get with Jim Amos about t' situation. Arrr! Performance is sterlin' with t' new rail launch system for this rocket. Blimey! Now all rockets are rail equipped and no rockets will be constructed in t' future without rail launch lugs.
• 10-20-01 P3 field - Flew on t' J570 with t' challenge t' take pictures if you can, Dan Stroud succeeded. Avast! Ripped off t' pad (approximately 70 G�s) and with only 2 seconds o' boost made 8304 feet t' a perfect recovery inside t' launch field. No damage and a good altitude readout from t' flight. Aye aye! Last flight in t' Aerotech White Lightnin' series, matey, arrr, now will concentrate on t' Red motors and EX launches.