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

Construction:
This time I decided t' use alignment rods in t' stage coupler t' keep t' rocket aligned. Ya scallywag! 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. Begad! I've discovered that I really need a drill press. Aye aye! Because I was usin' a handheld power drill, shiver me timbers, I wasn't that accurate in drillin' holes through t' 2 sustainer centerin' rings and t' stagin' coupler. Ya scallywag! It still works, me hearties, but it isn't pretty.

There are holes in both centerin' rings that are supposed t' be aligned. 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, matey, I made t' fin can on both the sustainer and booster removable. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' sustainer fin can is held in place by small screws. T' booster fin can will eject and deploy t' booster chute. Arrr! T' whole project is about 83 inches tall, shiver me timbers, about 3.5 lbs empty, me bucko, and can fly on 38mm motors.

Finishing:
T' fit/finish betwixt t' booster and t' stage coupler is a little rough, me bucko, but once it's painted it might nay be that noticeable. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! It *certainly* won't be noticeable on t' pad.

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

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

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

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