Brief:
NCR's SA-14 Archer be me favorite and me 1st 4" rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! I needed a new rocket t' build and I wanted t' try a scratch design usin' some 3" mailing tube found at Office Depot. My obvious choice was t' downscale me Archer. Ya scallywag! This particular design be designed t' fly on 29mm H motors. Well, blow me down! A special note about the original NCR Archer; I modified t' kit t' accept 54mm motors, me hearties, me bucko, and extended the kit by 10" for payload capabilities. My scratch design is based on these mods.

Construction:
Here is a run down o' me "Scratch" parts:

1. (2) 3.0" mailin' tubes from Office Depot
2. (4) G-10 fins, arrr, and (4) G-10 Strakes downscaled from t' original Archer.
3. 28.5mm motor tube originally from t' NCR archer kit. Will nay accept single use motors, arrr, but will accept t' Dr. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! Rockets 29/180-240 motor system. Begad! Blimey!
4. PML 3.0" nose cone is a perfect match for down scale.
5. (1) Loc Precision 3.0" coupler and bulkhead w/ eyebolt.
6. (3) 1/8" plywood centerin' rings 3.0" by 29mm.
7. 20' o' 1/2" tubular nylon.
8. (1) 36" rip stop nylon parachute.
9. (3) small quick links.

Buildin' this rocket was a breeze; T' (2) 3" mailin' tubes were cut to (1) 28" length and (1) 12" payload length. Blimey! T' 28" length was slotted for Thru T' Tube fin slots. Well, arrr, blow me down! (note: t' mailin' tubes come in 36" lengths). Blimey! Then t' tubes were fiberglassed with 2 layers o' 2oz. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! glass. The motor tube was mounted with t' 1st and second centerin' rings, t' 3rd ring was left out until all fins were mounted and reinforced. Ya scallywag! T' motor assembly was inserted into t' 28" booster and epoxied in place. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' fins were epoxied in and reinforced with inner and outer Fillets. T' t' 3rd centerin' rin' was drilled for 2 blind nuts (motor retention) and epoxied in place. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down!

T' 3" coupler was next. Avast, me proud beauty! (1) bulkhead was drilled for (4) 1/4" holes and epoxied into one end o' t' coupler. Begad! T' other bulkhead was also drilled w/ (4) 1/4" holes, and mounted with t' small eyebolt. Begad! This bulkhead was mounted in t' other end o' t' coupler so that t' (4) 1/4" holes were offset from t' holes in t' other bulkhead. Then t' coupler assembly was mounted into t' 28" booster tube. Aye aye! This allows for the "Zipperless" design for recovery. Avast! Aye aye!

T' payload tube was t' easiest t' do, me hearties, me bucko, because t' nosecone was inserted and was mounted down w/ 4 small screws.

T' strakes were t' toughest part o' construction. Ya scallywag! Surface mounted and reinforced w/ 30min. Well, blow me down! epoxy fillets. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' hard part was makin' sure that they remained in line, and perpendicular t' t' other strakes. There was a lot of "baby-sitting" each strake until t' 30min epoxy set up. Well, blow me down!

Finishin' be standard: Sand, sand, and sand, arrr, me bucko, and just when you think you got it right, arrr, sand some more. Arrr! T' Archer was primed and painted t' match the NCR version. Begad! Ya scallywag! One exception is I did nay downscale t' decals, arrr, usin' pinstripe tape I made t' finished product resemble t' NCR version.

Flight:
Preppin' this bird is nice; just attach t' shock cord as normal, except the parachute will assemble into t' payload tube, me hearties, so that at apogee your parachute will be pulled out from t' rocket instead o' ejected. Avast, me proud beauty! Also with t' Zipperless design thar are no worries about those long delays. Remember t' coupler was built w/ a home-brew baffle system so no waddin' needed either. Avast! This Archer was built w/ t' Aerotech H180 in mind, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but will fly nicely on any H reload. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Motor was retained w/ (2) screws and some brackets I found in me Flight box. Begad! Aye aye! This rocket flies as pretty as me 4" Archer, arrr, just on a smaller scale.

Summary:
No cons because this rocket is built t' me standards and me way.

Other:
Incidently this rocket made it's debut at t' NSL99 held in Ardmore, me bucko, Alabama. Homer Hickam be signin' autographs there, so me 3.0 SA-14 Archer has the Rocket Boy's signature on it...I was happy. Aye aye! Avast!