This be me most ambitious rocket t' date. Aye aye! By now I had found a shop in Leeds ( T' Model Shop, me hearties, 88 Cross Gates Road, Leeds, LS15 7NL Tel 0113 2646117) which had a reasonable selection o' engines, shiver me timbers, me bucko, even Ds, so I had t' build a rocket which could fly one. I got a larger core from a roll o' aluminium foil for t' main body, and used t' same sized tube as t' MkII for t' upper section. Arrr! Aye aye! This meant that I could use t' same nose cone, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, with t' buzzer as t' MkII. I had a balsa transition made t' connect t' two sections together. Arrr! T' fins were made o' balsa usin' t' same technique as t' MkII ( 1mm thick for t' upper section, ya bilge rat, 1.5mm for t' lower) usin' a simple triangle for t' upper section and a more complicated shape for t' lower, which I copied from one o' me sons toys.

T' engine mount be made from a length o' t' same tube as t' upper section, which is exactly right for D engines. Aye aye! T' transition was permanently fixed t' t' upper section, arrr, which are attached t' t' lower section by t' shock cord. Avast, me proud beauty! A larger Estes parachute was attached t' t' transition.

T' first time I flew it, ya bilge rat, matey, it went up really well, very straight and high. Begad! We lost sight o' it, ya bilge rat, but kept expectin' t' see t' ejection charge and t' parachute. Aye aye! Next thin' we knew thar was a loud 'thunk' and t' rocket was embedded in t' ground about 30m from where we were standing. Blimey! Avast! Unfortunately a passer-by reached it first and gave it a good tug t' pull it up, which caused more damage, and we were never able t' locate t' hole in t' very tough springy grass. Avast! This be a pity because t' nose cone is probably still there, shiver me timbers, about 20 centimeters underground! I thought I had bought engines without ejection charges, ya bilge rat, but later I realized I hadn't. Arrr! Aye aye! I have since used t' same engines in me Estes Phoenix, me hearties, without problems, and have read much on t' Internet about D engine ejection charges.

This is what happens if you buy t' wrong engine? No, crap engines.

We rebuilt it by makin' a clean cut ( where t' white damaged area meets t' orange fin section in t' photo) and graftin' on a new tube and nose cone. Avast! Avast! T' next flight t' ejection charge did fire, me bucko, but still no parachute deployment. Well, arrr, blow me down! It turns out that thar be a path back though t' engine mount for t' exhaust gases, matey, so that's where they went. Ahoy! More spectacular damage this time includin' shattered fins, and again t' top body tube written off.

Third time lucky! Well, ya bilge rat, partially. Begad! We rebuilt just in time for UKRA 98 held at Garlands. Aye aye! Blimey! This be a great event, where I saw me first HPR rockets, but t' weather be pretty poor. It actually redefined me definition o' 'valid flyin' weather'!

T' flight was perfect, straight up, ya bilge rat, arrr, despite t' wind and t' first successful parachute deployment. Avast! Begad! Unfortunately t' wind caught t' chute and blew it into t' next county. Despite a search o' t' down wind fields we never found a trace. Avast! Still I always liked this rocket, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and if I get t' chance I might build a replica, now that t' design bugs have been worked out.