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

Construction:
This time I decided t' use alignment rods in t' stage coupler t' keep t' rocket aligned. Aye aye! Arrr! 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. Ya scallywag! Because I was usin' a handheld power drill, I wasn't that accurate in drillin' holes through t' 2 sustainer centerin' rings and t' stagin' coupler. It still works, me bucko, ya bilge rat, matey, but it isn't pretty. Ya scallywag! Avast!

There are holes in both centerin' rings that are supposed t' be aligned. Arrr! Blimey! 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, shiver me timbers, I made t' fin can on both the sustainer and booster removable. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' sustainer fin can is held in place by small screws. T' booster fin can will eject and deploy t' booster chute. Avast, me proud beauty! T' whole project is about 83 inches tall, about 3.5 lbs empty, me bucko, me hearties, 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! It *certainly* won't be noticeable on t' pad.

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

T' field we used has a waiver o' 5000', but I wanted t' make sure I kept t' flight much lower than that. 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, arrr, PerfectFlite timer for sustainer motor. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' booster recovers under its own chute by motor ejection. Blimey! Blimey! Payload: BoosterVision GearCam taped t' t' side. Crude, me bucko, but effective. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey!

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