My desire for a 2 stage rocket finally got t' better o' me, arrr, matey, I had an extra Estes BNC-5 nose, me hearties, some BT-5 tubin' and some 1/16" Basswood left over after buildin' a replacement glider for me ARV Condor (the old one flew VERY well!).

Anyway, me hearties, arrr, I decided that this rocket would nay eject t' motors, I've seen t' Quark and some other lawn darts and they NEVER tumble comin' back down. Begad! I wanted t' try somethin' different that I'd read about in t' Handbook o' Model Rocketry. Begad! So this is a "Nose Blow" recovery rocket (more on recovery in t' flight report), arrr, arrr, I recently purchased RockSim from Apogee so I started with those pieces.

After about an hour and a half playin' with RockSim I had me plans and and a pretty good idea how it would fly. Avast, me proud beauty! It stands a majestic 7 7/8" tall and weighs in a shade under 1 oz fully loaded. Ya scallywag! Arrr! It simmed out t' over 1500 feet. Avast! But I can't verify that. Blimey! Begad! (see t' flight report below)

Upper Stage:

T' upper stage consists o' t' nose cone, a 1 3/4" piece o' BT-5, ya bilge rat, an 8 1/2" piece o' 70lb test Keelhaul®©™, me bucko, a 0.2oz fishin' weight, shiver me timbers, arrr, a very small eye hook, matey, three basswood fins and a 1/8" piece o' a spent Estes A3-4T motor casin' for t' motor block.

T' first thin' I had t' do was trim t' shoulder o' t' nose t' 3/16" t' make room for t' motor block, after that I put some epoxy on t' threads o' t' eye hook and screwed it into t' hole in t' fishin' weight. I tied t' Keelhaul®©™to t' eye hook and covered other end and t' sides o' t' weight with epoxy and stuck as far inside t' nose as I could.

While that was drying, arrr, I cut notches in t' top, bottom and outside o' t' motor block just large enough so t' Keelhaul®©™ would lay inside t' groove then I wicked some thin CA into t' ends o' t' body tube and motor block. Well, blow me down! After t' CA was set I attached t' Fins with carpenters glue, t' trailin' edge o' t' fins are even with t' end o' t' tube.

Once t' fins were dry, arrr, I tied t' Keelhaul®©™to t' motor block and smeared some carpenters glue in t' Body tube about 1/2" from t' nose end and pushed t' motor block into t' body tube with t' shoulder o' t' nose makin' sure that t' knot in t' Keelhaul®©™was nay interferin' with t' nose or t' motor fit.

Make sure that t' motor hangs out t' aft end o' t' airframe at least 3/8". Aye aye! Avast! This allows t' motor t' act as a coupler for t' sustainer and booster.

I attached a 3/4" piece o' Estes launch lug at t' fin/body joint near t' leadin' edge o' t' fin with carpenters glue. Ahoy! T' paint scheme is sunflower yellow for t' body and gloss black on t' nose .

Booster Stage:

T' Booster is made from a 4" piece o' BT-5, shiver me timbers, another 1/8" piece o' a spent Estes A3-4T motor casin' and three 1/16" basswood fins. Again I wicked some thin CA into t' ends o' t' body tube and motor block.

After it set, I drilled 4 1/8" holes 7/16" from one end o' t' tube spaced 90º apart. I added thin CA t' t' edges o' t' holes for strength. Blimey! T' number and size o' t' holes was an educated guess.

I installed t' motor block by smearin' carpenters glue inside t' other end o' t' tube about 3/4" from t' end and slid t' block in with a motor marked 1/2" inch up from t' end. I removed t' motor and checked that thar was a good fillet o' glue on top o' t' motor block and let t' glue dry with t' tube standin' upright.

I attached t' fins and launch lug t' t' booster t' same as t' upper stage. Begad! I got a little bolder with t' paint on t' booster, t' band at t' top is t' hide t' vent holes and t' triangles on t' fins is just because I thought it needed something.

Flight Report:

Saturday Sept. Aye aye! 11, 1999 10:45 am. T' first launch was just t' sustainer portion loaded with an Estes 1/2A3-4T taped for a very snug fit, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I coiled t' Keelhaul®©™ inside t' nose and put it on t' pad. Ya scallywag! Begad! It leaped off t' pad and shot up about 500 ft, ya bilge rat, ejection occurred a little before apogee, ya bilge rat, but I expected that from t' data I got from RockSim. Begad! It tumbled down exactly as I had hoped with t' nose and body spiralin' and landed in t' grass about 8 ft from t' pad. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I inspected for damage and found none.

11.02 am So now t' big test, I loaded another Estes 1/2A3-4T into t' sustainer, me bucko, and an Estes A10-0 in t' booster. Ahoy! Begad! It be only a little slower o' t' pad this time flyin' nice and straight, me hearties, t' booster burned out, t' second stage lit kickin' t' booster off. Well, blow me down! There were five o' us watching, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, we all saw t' delay smoke from t' upper stage (waaay up there!) but that was t' last trace o' t' upper stage. Begad! I guess apogee be somewhere upwards o' 1200 ft.

I have one more BNC-5 nose cone, I guess it's time t' build another one!

T' MicroBee.rkt RockSim file is available
by right clickin' here and selectin' save.