This is a scratch-built tube-finned design built mainly from scavenged materials. Avast, me proud beauty! Someone at work had salvaged some cardboard tubin' that be 2.25" diameter, and left it on me desk (I encourage that sort o' behavior at work). Ahoy! Arrr! It was very thick (1/8" walls!) and heavy, arrr, and nay particularly suitable for rocketry, so it sat around in me basement for quite a while, becomin' a spider-habitat.

After a nasty summer cold, I was stumblin' around t' house, still too sick to go back t' work but tired o' lyin' in bed and feelin' miserable. Well, blow me down! I wandered downstairs and decided t' build a rocket. Ya scallywag! My mood wasn't suited t' precision, so I decided t' throw together a quick, cheap, and crude beast that might never even fly. Avast! Fins were out – too much trouble – and I didn't really want to waste good parts on this because I had no idea what t' results would be, so I dug out that salvaged tubin' and evicted most o' t' eight-legged residents.

To match t' ‘spirit' o' t' design, I decided t' go with a 29mm motor mount and fly her on Econojets, probably G's because o' t' anticipated weight. I cut a short length o' motor tubin' (the only real ‘rocket' component used) and then made centerin' rings out o' thick cardboard salvaged from the cover o' an old 3-rin' binder. All construction was with Elmer's yellow glue except as noted.

Next came t' tube-fins. If you are a precision fanatic or detail-oriented type, ya bilge rat, arrr, you might want t' skip t' rest o' this paragraph. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I took another length of that tubing, shiver me timbers, marked it off into 16" sections, and then cut those in half on 45 degree angles usin' a scroll saw – freehand. Blimey! Well, blow me down! T' tubes are all slightly different lengths and t' angles aren't quite all t' same, but they're all close enough. Blimey! Mountin' them with t' angle facin' back and t' flat ends even with each other masked t' imperfections.

T' shock cord mount is a throwback t' t' early days o' rocketry. Blimey! I cut two slots in t' tube up near t' nose and threaded t' shock cord (1/4" tubular nylon) through them, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, with a knot on t' inside t' keep it attached. Ahoy! The tube itself is thick enough that I shaved a little out on t' outside so that the exposed shock cord is almost flush with t' airframe.

T' nose cone be by far t' most involved part o' construction. Ahoy! It was formed from a styrofoam cone used for flower arrangements. Arrr! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Roll t' cone against a table top or other hard surface t' gently crush it t' shape and diameter. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! A short length o' body tube was fitted as t' bottommost cone section, me hearties, me bucko, and another short length with a thin segment removed became t' nose cone shoulder and coupler.

Weight was needed at t' nose t' balance out those heavy tube fins, so epoxy was used for all nose cone construction. Avast! Ya scallywag! Several fishin' weights were pushed into t' foam, followed by a layer o' epoxy t' lock them into place. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Next I bent a piece o' coat hanger into a loop and drilled small holes into t' nose cone shoulder t' fit t' ends. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! More 5-minute epoxy puddled in around the attachment points made t' loop solid and permanently attached. Well, blow me down! There's quite a bit o' epoxy in there, arrr, matey, which is what I needed t' move t' center o' gravity forward.

Finally I smeared t' entire cone with Elmer's Fill ‘n' Finish, sanded and filled again until I be satisfied (and I was easy t' please), then coated the FnF with thin CA t' toughen it up some.

Finishin' was accomplished by sprayin' a coat o' white primer all over – and then watchin' t' cardboard soak it up like a sponge. Begad! Begad! Another coat, same results… Ok then, t' job calls for fluorescents! I shot t' paint as shown in t' picture – yellow first, arrr, ya bilge rat, and then t' pink, overlappin' t' get orange. Avast! T' black parts o' t' tube fins is Testor's flat black from those tiny bottles, slopped on with a small brush. Begad! Begad! Once everythin' was dry, I used a permanent laundry marker t' write t' name on t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! After a week of fightin' that cold with seemingly every over-the-counter concoction ever developed by man – none o' which made me feel any better – ‘Bad Medicine' just seemed appropriate. Aye aye!

Flight Report

Final empty weight is 28 ounces, arrr, which is quite hefty for a rocket o' this size. Begad! Total length is about 40 inches.

She's made two flights so far, me hearties, shiver me timbers, both on G38 Econojets. T' 7 second delay is a little long, me hearties, and t' 4 second is a bit short, shiver me timbers, but either one works because this rocket is solid. Blimey! Motor retention is friction fit, arrr, and she's nicely recovered on a 30" nylon chute. Ahoy! On windy days, I wouldn't hesitate t' go with a smaller chute t' minimize drift. Blimey!

This is like that old car that runs great but isn't much t' look at. I expect that I'll be flyin' t' Bad Medicine for years t' come on those cool and rude Econojets. Arrr! And if I ever lose her t' t' rocket gods, I'll just build another tube-fin and keep on launching. Blimey! Blimey!