Brief:
When I saw a pool noodle with a 2.5" hole down t' middle, I immediately saw a rocket. Blimey! A tube finned rocket. Boink recovery. What a way t' start the Spring! I named t' rocket Noodle Toober t' pay homage t' MDRA member Dave Webber's Toober, arrr, matey, which has logged 200 high power flights.

Construction:
T' components/materials include:

• Pool noodle: ~60" x 3.5" with a 2.5" center hole
• Apogee 24mm tube
• Foamboard (centerin' rings, bulkhead)
• Soft packin' foam (nose cone)
• 1/4" dowel
• Wrappin' paper tube (inside tubes and payload section's shoulder)
• Easter egg and kitty litter (ballast)
• Keelhaul®©™® twine
• 3/8" elastic
• Bamboo skewers
• Gorilla glue
• Gorilla tape
• Carpenters glue

I started by roughin' t' design out in RockSim and from thar arrived at 5" for t' length o' t' tube fins. Avast, me proud beauty! I cut t' fins usin' a custom sized guide made from a section o' scrap 4" tubing. T' dense foam cut well with a regular old hacksaw. Blimey! Aye aye! I wanted mid-separation so I also cut t' remaining ~28" chunk in half.

I pondered all sorts o' fin attachment methods, t' best o' which may have been some 1" nylon doohickeys from t' Home Depot hardware section, however, I decided on an el cheapo method. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I glued t' tube fins together in pairs using Gorilla Glue then glued t' pairs t' t' main tube all at t' same time. Arrr! Blimey! This required four hands and some small bungee cords. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! As I was peelin' off t' loose blobs o' glue, I decided some extra support was needed, so I ran bamboo skewers through each glued transition, shiver me timbers, both at t' top and bottom o' t' tube fins. These pegs were cut flush and I now have plenty o' epoxy stirrers.

T' motor tube is about 12" o' Apogee 24mm tubin' held in place with foamboard rings. Carpenter's glue be used for t' tube-rin' interface and Gorilla glue for t' ring-noodle interface.

I made custom sized liner tubes for t' area betwixt t' top rin' and the top o' t' aft noodle section, matey, t' top 4 inches o' t' payload noodle, and for the payload section's shoulder. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! I also added a foamboard bulkhead t' keep the chute from blowin' up into t' payload. You see, this description is nay in time sequence--I had already found that it got too heavy for boink recovery. Avast, me proud beauty! I also hadn't left enough room for a chute, so t' bulkhead is recessed a couple of inches into t' fabricated shoulder. Blimey! Blimey! Oh well, stuff happens in real time design.

I turned t' cone on me drill press from a piece o' 4" thick soft foam. Well, blow me down! I installed a dowel in t' foam usin' Gorilla Glue. Blimey! Ya scallywag! This was hard t' work with bein' so soft, but I got it turned. Ahoy! When I went t' install it, matey, I found 2 problems. Well, blow me down! First, ya bilge rat, it is round and t' noodle is slightly ovate. Well, me hearties, blow me down! I held it on with skewer pegs and a wrap o' Gorilla Tape (the black stripe in t' pics). Problem #2 is that t' cone tapered from t' get-go, me bucko, and it would have been better t' leave it full diameter for a couple o' inches. Arrr! No big deal, me bucko, just somethin' learned with 20/20 hindsight.

When thinkin' boink recovery, arrr, I didn't account for t' nose weight required to make t' rocket stable. Avast! Aye aye! A suitably sized plastic Easter egg, arrr, some kitty litter, and some more Gorilla Tape did t' trick. Begad! This o' course went in before the cone be finally taped on.

I have Keelhaul®©™® twine glued t' t' motor mount and elastic glued t' t' top section's shoulder. A small chute will be picked from t' range box at flight time.

Finishing:
Finishing? We don't need t' steenkin' finishing!

Flight:
I decided t' fly t' Noodle Toober on a F39 reload, me hearties, ya bilge rat, which should have enough punch t' get it going. Since I didn't provide for positive retention, matey, I made a quick and dirty clip out o' a coat hanger t' augment t' standard friction fitting. Begad! I have had success with this method before. Ahoy! T' wire clip fits around the nozzle and through t' slots in t' closure. Well, blow me down! Legs extend down t' side of the motor mount. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' clip is slipped on and wrapped with maskin' tape. I opted for an 18" chute and used both dog barf and a chute protector.

Since I bought me 24mm RMS case, me bucko, I have been usin' t' Copperheads that come with t' reloads. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! So far, me experience has been much better than ~5 years ago when I quit usin' them. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' flight be quick and low. Well, blow me down! T' draggy Noodle Toober stopped smartly after burn out.

Recovery:
Ejection was late but t' recovery was successful. Ya scallywag! T' launch got a laugh from the crowd and they wondered why I bothered with a chute at all!

Summary:
This is just another goofy rocket that is good for a few grins. It is a poor performer since it's so draggy. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! If anyone builds one, arrr, I recommend a 29mm motor mount.