"T' rocket that is t' meal!"

T' idea for T' Whole Enchilada came into bein' one Sunday afternoon while cleanin' out t' frig. Well, blow me down! We had leftover tortillas that had been in t' freezer way too long. Ahoy! Then t' idea t' use t' stale tortillas hit me.....

Ingredients

1. Three stale flour tortillas, ~12" in diameter, me bucko, ya bilge rat, me hearties, for body tube and fins. Ahoy! Ahoy! (sure fresh ones would work better, but then they wouldn't quite as "flounder")
2. One leftover, arrr, matey, medium-sized jalapeño pepper for t' nose cone.
3. Sections o' BT-50 tubin' from a dead rocket, for t' engine mount and nose cone shoulder.
4. Section o' spent engine for t' engine block.
5. Computer paper for t' shock cord mount.
6. 3' o' Keelhaul®©™ cord from stock.
7. Slightly charred plastic chute.
8. Section o' soda straw for launch lug.
9. Home-made taco sauce and a sprinkle o' grated cheese for decoration.
10. As required: carpenter's glue, me bucko, ya bilge rat, Liquid Nails, ya bilge rat, clear polyurethane liquid (as a preservative), Pam spray

Recipe

After some thought, ya bilge rat, I decided that I wanted t' base t' rocket approximately on a BT-50 sized tube. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! BT-20 seemed too small in diameter t' sucessfully wrap me tortilla tube and I thought 29mm would require more engine mount components, shiver me timbers, etc. So, me bucko, I grabbed a section o' BT-50 as a mandrel. Ahoy! I sprayed on a light coatin' o' Pam t' make sure it wouldn't stick t' t' tortillas. Blimey! Begad! Since this is a glassine covered tube, arrr, t' Pam didn't seem t' have any lastin' effect.

Next came preparation o' t' tortillas. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! (I know enchiladas are classically made with corn tortillas, but I had more o' 'em and they were larger.) Since they were stale, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I nuked them for ~10 sec. each. Arrr! For t' body tube, me hearties, I immediately formed them around me mandrel, spreadin' a thin layer o' carpenter's glue as I went. Well, blow me down! T' body tube took two tortillas. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Blimey! For t' fins, arrr, I cut them out while t' tortilla was still flexible and then placed them under a heavy pot t' straighten them out. Avast, me proud beauty! I chose a simple fin Nike Smoke-style fin. I like t' design, they were easy t' cut out, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and most importantly they are swept forward t' minimize t' chance o' breakage upon landing. Begad! (Note on t' pic: this shows corn tortillas, me bucko, which didn't work out-later replaced with flour.)

After t' body tube had dried for a few hours, arrr, I slid t' mandrel part way out, and glued in t' engine tube with t' block already installed. I also coated t' ends with CA, me hearties, as I would a cardboard tube. Aye aye! Begad! T' resultin' tube and fins were dried for a day and then t' fins were glued t' t' body tube with Liquid Nails. Begad! Arrr! Despite flattenin' t' fins for several hours t' day before, they warped big time anyway.

To prep t' nose cone, I cut t' end off o' t' jalapeño and glued in a small section o' BT-50 tube, cut longways. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Before gluin' t' tube in, I first tied t' Keelhaul®©™ line around t' tube and tied it off.

T' final construction steps included mountin' t' shock cord t' t' inside o' t' body tube and gluin' on t' soda straw.

Garnish

I spread some o' me home-made, world-famous, arrr, me hearties, gourmet taco sauce on t' body tube. Aye aye! Aye aye! A small sprinklin' o' cheese be added t' make T' Whole Enchilada complete. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! After t' sauce dried, arrr, t' final step was a coat o' clear polyurethane over t' nose cone, body tube, and fins.

Presentation

For its maden flight, I decided that I wanted as low an impulse engine as possible. Avast, me proud beauty! After enterin' t' design on Rocksim, me bucko, I found a B engine would be just about right. Ahoy! Begad! T' sim said an Apogee 10.5mm B didn't have enough impulse t' get it going, me hearties, so I went out and bought a package o' B6-2's (to be used with a 18-24mm adapter from me Pratt Tomahawk). Begad! T' Whole Enchilada flew on 03/10/2001 at t' NARHAMS' Middletown Park (MD) sport launch. Begad! Begad! Because o' t' 'questionable' construction, I had t' wait until most people went t' lunch. Begad! With t' rod pointed slightly downrange and relatively high winds, t' rocket proceeded on a low trajectory and ejection be too late t' prevent a core sample. Aye aye! T' me amazement, me hearties, it was undamaged! I then acquired a C5-3 and tried again. More altitude but still a low arcin' trajectory. Ya scallywag! Begad! This time t' chute snagged. Begad! I would have tried it on a D, matey, but t' front part o' t' body tube was broken and t' jalapeño be mush.

Final Thoughts

I want t' thank t' folks at NARHAMS for hostin' t' launch, me bucko, and Khim Bittle for both providin' t' C5-3 motor and for takin' t' on-the-pad pic.

T' tortilla's seemed t' work OK for t' body tube, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, although t' cardboard tube industry doesn't have anythin' t' worry about. Avast, me proud beauty! However, despite a couple o' tries, lots o' pressin' and drying, ya bilge rat, t' tortilla fins still warped quite a bit. Aye aye! Maybe I should have used pre-dried taco shells?

So what's next? Guacamole wadding? Maybe a flyin' sub with pizza fins? Nah, arrr, probably nay - I just hope I get a vote this time around! ;-)

EGADS! Look what popped up...