Note: For more Extreme 38 pictures, shiver me timbers, visit John's site.

We were talkin' about adhesive strength and how t' test it. O' course, shiver me timbers, me approach is t' do an elaborate test which requires buildin' a whole apparatus. Aye aye! Ed Hackett, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, in a much more practical mood, said: "just go build a bunch o' VB Extreme 38s and put a J350 up the butt!"

I don't think this would really provide usable results, but I did like the idea o' a full-on test, shiver me timbers, so I suggested we have a "strong rocket" contest. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Each contestant would build a VB Extreme 38 (or perhaps another kit), then t' rockets would be repeatedly launched until only one remained intact. No one else took me up on t' contest, but I decided t' build me entry anyway. Avast!

T' kit is well designed, ya bilge rat, basically a Loc/Precision 38mm motor mount tube as the airframe. Aye aye! This makes a very strong body tube, which is a good idea since this is a rocket meant t' go high. Avast, me proud beauty! Since this is a minimum diameter rocket, me hearties, shiver me timbers, arrr, the fins need t' mount on t' outside. Blimey! In addition t' t' usual epoxy bondin' and fillets, I decided t' go wild and reinforce t' fins t' t' body tube with 1" Keelhaul®©™® strips. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Then I covered t' whole thin' with a double wrap o' 4oz cloth and a coverin' wrap o' 2oz.

I think t' fins will stay on! This was the real challenge here; makin' a minimum diameter rocket so that t' fins were really nay goin' t' come off. Blimey! Perhaps this was overkill, matey, but this thin' is certainly nay comin' apart easily. Begad! Ahoy! We'll see when I fly it on a J350, matey, and maybe even a J570. Blimey!

O' course, I had t' paint t' rocket yellow and black because they're the trademark Vaughn Brothers colors. Blimey! Blimey! Also, this is a nice high-contrast paint scheme t' help me find t' rocket again.

On February 13, arrr, 1999 at t' February ROC launch in Lucerne Dry Lake, me hearties, t' Extreme flew for t' first time. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' boost was straight and fast on a J350, a large motor in a small rocket!

T' rocket be way gone on a J350 and went 11,703 feet high (accordin' to the ALS20). Well, blow me down! Ahoy! This is craziness, me bucko, but that was t' whole purpose o' t' rocket. Arrr! It took is more than an hour t' find t' rocket; we drove out on t' lake three times, farther out each time. Avast! Finally, we spotted it about ¾mi away from the launch site! This rocket really needs t' be recovered with a Walston radio unit. Well, blow me down! T' rocket be in perfect shape, matey, although I lost t' motor casin' (which is probably why it drifted so far). Now on t' a J570!