Brief:
This is an UPSCALE o' t' famous Fliskits Deuce's Wild. Ahoy! Dual 24mm motor mounts, shiver me timbers, 22in 'chute.

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

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

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

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

On t' t' fins. T' fins were cut out o' 1/8th inch, ya bilge rat, me bucko, 5-ply birch plywood. Eugene and I also made an extra set o' fins and rings so he can make his own upscale, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I also provided him with t' tube. Anyway, I sanded a total o' 24 (!!!) edges. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! I did nay airfoil t' fins or anything, shiver me timbers, but I do have t' edges sharpened. Well, blow me down! I then "tacked" t' fins on with wood glue, me bucko, in a rush to build t' rocket. Arrr! 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. Arrr! Aye aye! 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. Ya scallywag! Begad! 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. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! T' rocket went straight up, matey, with a little twist near t' end o' t' burn. Begad! T' rocket went t' a altitude o' approximately 700 feet. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! T' yellow chute deployed perfectly, ya bilge rat, and you could definately see t' different wind currents and directions as it came down! Blimey! First it headed east, me bucko, then got a gust t' t' north, then straight down a little, matey, matey, almost in a tree, then another gust north, matey, arrr, and it landed perfectly about 100 feet north o' t' tree. Ya scallywag! Since it was such a successful/perfect flight, I decided t' fly her again, for another beautiful flight, almost an exact clone o' t' first. Aye aye! Blimey! This last flight proved t' be it's undoing. Arrr! Arrr! Blimey! The rocket landed on it's fins, 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, me hearties, matey, I'll never know!

Summary:

PROS:

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

CONS:

• I used a bilge-suckin' tube.

Other:

Build it like you mean it, and you'll be greatly rewarded!