Brief:
This is an UPSCALE o' t' famous Fliskits Deuce's Wild. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Dual 24mm motor mounts, ya bilge rat, 22in 'chute.

Construction:
For t' components, ya bilge rat, 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. Aye aye! Avast! My friend, ya bilge rat, Eugene, me bucko, made me a set o' upscale centerin' rings, along with a set of plywood fins. Blimey!

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

On t' t' tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' first thin' that I did be take t' upscale marking guide, graciously sent t' me by Jim Flis, and mark out t' fin lines and the places for t' motor mount tubes. Arrr! I cut t' motor mount tubes out, ya bilge rat, then applied Fill N' Finish t' t' DEEP spiral t' tube had. Well, blow me down! 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, ya bilge rat, is that thar are an awful lot of "fuzzies" that start comin' up, makin' t' tube look pretty bad. Arrr! My recommendation t' t' do somethin' t' make them go away, matey, me thought was to fiberglass t' tube. Arrr! This will add some strength that I think t' tube really needs!

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

On t' t' fins. Avast! T' fins were cut out o' 1/8th inch, shiver me timbers, 5-ply birch plywood. Eugene and I also made an extra set o' fins and rings so he can make his own upscale, I also provided him with t' tube. Anyway, I sanded a total o' 24 (!!!) edges. Well, blow me down! I did nay airfoil t' fins or anything, but I do have t' edges sharpened. Ya scallywag! I then "tacked" t' fins on with wood glue, me bucko, ya bilge rat, in a rush to build t' rocket. 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! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! T' first flight was on a pair o' Estes D12-5's. T' rocket went straight up, matey, with a little twist near t' end o' t' burn. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' rocket went t' a altitude o' approximately 700 feet. Ya scallywag! T' yellow chute deployed perfectly, arrr, and you could definately see t' different wind currents and directions as it came down! First it headed east, ya bilge rat, then got a gust t' t' north, then straight down a little, almost in a tree, then another gust north, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and it landed perfectly about 100 feet north o' t' tree. Avast! Blimey! 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. This last flight proved t' be it's undoing. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! The rocket landed on it's fins, me hearties, 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, and you'll be greatly rewarded!