Brief:
For t' EMRR Stagin' Challenge, I decided t' build a two-stage rocket with composite motors. Ahoy! Since I had done a 2-stage before, matey, I figured it would be easy. Ahoy! WRONG... Begad! I decided t' do a 3-inch bird with dual deploy and a 19-inch booster with motor deployment. Arrr! Avast!

Construction:
This time I decided t' use alignment rods in t' stage coupler t' keep t' rocket aligned. Aye aye! I didn't have any 'sleeves' for t' rods t' slide through, so I went with spaced centerin' rings with holes t' guide t' rods. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I've discovered that I really need a drill press. Because I be usin' a handheld power drill, I wasn't that accurate in drillin' holes through t' 2 sustainer centerin' rings and t' stagin' coupler. Arrr! It still works, arrr, but it isn't pretty.

There are holes in both centerin' rings that are supposed t' be aligned. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! That didn't work out as smoothly as I had hoped.

T' motor mount is recessed into t' sustainer t' provide a connection for t' top half o' t' stage coupler. Since a 3" tube won't allow me t' get me hand in t' connect t' shock cord, me hearties, I made t' fin can on both the sustainer and booster removable. T' sustainer fin can is held in place by small screws. Arrr! Blimey! T' booster fin can will eject and deploy t' booster chute. Arrr! Blimey! T' whole project is about 83 inches tall, about 3.5 lbs empty, and can fly on 38mm motors.

Finishing:
T' fit/finish betwixt t' booster and t' stage coupler is a little rough, matey, but once it's painted it might nay be that noticeable. It *certainly* won't be noticeable on t' pad.

Flight:
Electronics will be a PerfectFlite timer for staging, matey, and a PerfectFlite MAWD for deployment. RockSim says it will get t' a little higher than 2000 feet with a CTI 153 stagin' t' a CTI G79ss.

For t' 2-stage challenge, shiver me timbers, I decided t' build one that used composite motors. Since I have done stagin' before, arrr, I didn't expect thar t' be a problem. Begad! Blimey! Boy, matey, shiver me timbers, was I wrong... T' main problem be t' size o' t' new project. T' previous 2-stager was almost a 4" tube. Well, blow me down! Blimey! That left room for t' timer betwixt t' sustainer fins, and a standard-type ebay. This one is a 3", me bucko, and thar's no room in t' fincan. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! So I put t' timer in t' ebay, and ran a connector wire down t' ignite t' sustainer motor. Aye aye! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I had t' splice t' wire so it would disconnect when t' apogee event fired. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' next issue I ran into be t' stage connector. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I decided t' use metal rods t' connect and align t' sustainer t' t' stage connector. I don't have a drill press, arrr, so me holes through t' centerin' rings are...less than exact. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Last issue was t' 3" bay be too small t' use switches t' power on everything, so I had t' run all t' wires through a hole in t' e-bay and twist them t' connect. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! That posed a problem t' first time I tried t' launch. Blimey! Blimey! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I test fit t' electronics when I built t' bay, ya bilge rat, but nothin' was connected. In t' field, I sadly discovered thar wasn't enough space for all the wires t' fit and route t' t' outside. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I had t' rebuild t' sled t' avoid that problem for t' next attempt. Aye aye! Blimey!

T' field we used has a waiver o' 5000', shiver me timbers, but I wanted t' make sure I kept t' flight much lower than that. Avast! RockSim 7 showed an altitude o' about 3800 feet on a CTI H143/G79ss combo.

Electronics: ARTS board for apogee/main deployment o' t' sustainer, PerfectFlite timer for sustainer motor. Avast! Begad! Blimey! T' booster recovers under its own chute by motor ejection. Payload: BoosterVision GearCam taped t' t' side. Crude, matey, but effective. Avast! Blimey! Blimey!

Launch day: I racked t' rocket, set up t' breakwire, matey, and twisted t' wires for power. Since I didn't have enough room t' push t' wires back into t' bay, I taped them t' t' outside. That be a mistake... T' launch was beautiful! Straight, and staged on cue. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' booster chute came out and it drifted down safely. Ya scallywag! T' sustainer had a good apogee event(drogueless), me hearties, but I lost sight o' it while followin' t' booster. Ahoy! Begad! There was no main deployment, and fellow club members pointed me in t' direction they saw it fall. Blimey! While walkin' out for recovery, me bucko, I tried t' figure out what went wrong. Too many sheer pins? Nay enough BP? When I got t' it, me hearties, I immediately knew what happened. Arrr! T' armin' wires were taped t' t' bottom o' t' sustainer. Ya scallywag! When t' apogee separation occured, it ripped t' wires out o' the altimeter, matey, me bucko, killin' power. Begad! AUGH! I powered up t' ARTS board later, shiver me timbers, and t' data showed 1700 ft accel, 1500 baro. Arrr! WAY short o' Rocksim's prediction, me hearties, so t' loss o' power probably scrambled t' data. Avast! But other than t' ebay being crunched, me bucko, and t' booster bein' scorched by t' sustainer motor, it didn't come out too bad. Blimey! I can replace t' ebay and fly it again.