Brief:
This is an UPSCALE o' t' famous Fliskits Deuce's Wild. Begad! Ya scallywag! Dual 24mm motor mounts, 22in 'chute.

Construction:
For t' components, arrr, I used a 2 inch mailin' tube, cut t' a length o' 23 inches. I had a beautiful custom Nose Cone turned for me by Gordon Agnello, me bucko, and all I can say is WOW! I used standard Estes-style tubin' for t' motor mounts. My friend, matey, Eugene, made me a set o' upscale centerin' rings, along with a set of plywood fins. Arrr!

After me bucko Eugene and I spent an entire day makin' t' parts for this thing, ya bilge rat, I returned home t' start construction. Blimey! T' first thin' that I did was take t' nose cone that was turned by Mr. Agnello and spread some finishing epoxy over it t' give it a nice finish. Begad! Ahoy! I then sanded that first coat down, ya bilge rat, and applied another coat o' finishin' epoxy. I don't know what happened, but after the epoxy dried, One area, approximately two inches long by one-half inch wide was "gooey" it would nay sand very well at all. T' counter this, arrr, me bucko, I covered t' NC in Fill n' Finish, then sanded it down. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Nay as glossy a coating as t' epoxy, matey, shiver me timbers, arrr, but decent nontheless.

On t' t' tube. T' first thin' that I did was take t' upscale marking guide, shiver me timbers, matey, graciously sent t' me by Jim Flis, matey, and mark out t' fin lines and the places for t' motor mount tubes. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I cut t' motor mount tubes out, ya bilge rat, then applied Fill N' Finish t' t' DEEP spiral t' tube had. Aye aye! Blimey! By deep, matey, I mean run your fingernail down it and you hear a definate CLICK sound! Blimey! One thin' I learned in the process o' sandin' t' tube down, is that thar are an awful lot of "fuzzies" that start comin' up, shiver me timbers, makin' t' tube look pretty bad. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! My recommendation t' t' do somethin' t' make them go away, me thought be to fiberglass t' tube. Ahoy! Blimey! This will add some strength that I think t' tube really needs!

On t' t' motor mount. Aye aye! I basically did t' EXACT same thin' that is done in the instructions o' t' original. I glued t' motor spacer t' t' side o' one of t' tubes, me hearties, then glued t' other tube on. Arrr! I then glued t' bottomost centerin' rin' on. Begad! Blimey! T' two pieces o' t' top centerin' rin' did nay fit at all, so I glued together two small pieces o' balsa strip together, me bucko, times two, me bucko, me bucko, then glued those into t' small area at t' top betwixt t' two motor tubes. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! I need to mention here that I "tacked" t' motor mount together with wood glue, then reinforced it with epoxy. I had t' trim t' motor mount holes in the body tube so that they would fit properly. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I also installed motor blocks. Arrr! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down!

On t' t' fins. Avast! Blimey! T' fins were cut out o' 1/8th inch, 5-ply birch plywood. Eugene and I also made an extra set o' fins and rings so he can make his own upscale, shiver me timbers, I also provided him with t' tube. Blimey! Blimey! Anyway, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I sanded a total o' 24 (!!!) edges. Ahoy! Blimey! I did nay airfoil t' fins or anything, matey, but I do have t' edges sharpened. Ahoy! Blimey! I then "tacked" t' fins on with wood glue, in a rush to build t' rocket. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I had no intention o' keepin' t' wood glue joint, since I will fly t' rocket on a pair o' Aerotech F21-8 motors soon. Ahoy! Blimey! I attached a pair of 3/16ths inch launch lugs t' complete t' model.

Flight:
I attached a 1/4th inch by about 5 feet elastic/cloth shock cord with a tri-fold mount. I used an Aerotech 22 inch yellow Nylon chute.

I flew t' rocket at t' Tampa-Hillsborough Organization o' Rocketry's May launch. T' first flight was on a pair o' Estes D12-5's. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! T' rocket went straight up, with a little twist near t' end o' t' burn. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' rocket went t' a altitude o' approximately 700 feet. T' yellow chute deployed perfectly, and you could definately see t' different wind currents and directions as it came down! First it headed east, then got a gust t' t' north, matey, me bucko, matey, then straight down a little, shiver me timbers, almost in a tree, me bucko, then another gust north, arrr, and it landed perfectly about 100 feet north o' t' tree. Blimey! Since it was such a successful/perfect flight, I decided t' fly her again, me bucko, for another beautiful flight, almost an exact clone o' t' first. Ahoy! This last flight proved t' be it's undoing. Arrr! The rocket landed on it's fins, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, bendin' t' glue joints so they were too weak to have it fly again.

Why RSO's rarely let Jim Flis fly t' little Deuce, I'll never know!

Summary:

PROS:

• Turns in PERFECT straight flights every time.
• Pretty easy construction.

CONS:

• I used a bad tube.

Other:

Build it like you mean it, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and you'll be greatly rewarded!