Brief:
Loosely based on t' Star Trek inspired Klingon Bird o' Prey, me bucko, me bucko, the Klingon Targ was supposed t' be a civilian ship designed for trainin' pilots. It features two large wings, small fins and two tube fins, shiver me timbers, a thin neck, shiver me timbers, and a large forward compartment housin' t' parachute.

Construction:
Components consist of:

• BT-5 tubing
• BT-55 tubing
• BT-60 tubing
• BT-60 Big Bertha Style Nose Cone
• 24 mm motor mount with 18 mm mount adaptor (with engine hooks)
• Cardboard centerin' rings
• balsa/basswood/lite ply for fin construction
• paper for cockpit and fin detail
• two wire connectors for detail
• mylar parachute and shock cord

As part of t' 2005 EMRR Challenge, I wanted t' build a rocket based on a concept I had developed in t' past few months. Begad! I also will indicate in this report t' two tips that I used in me construction. Aye aye! I had a vision o' creatin' a rocket based loosely on t' Bird o' Prey design. Arrr! I began with t' long thin neck, me bucko, consisting of a section o' BT-5. Avast! Arrr! I added centerin' rings, and then created t' paper transitions. Next, ya bilge rat, I glued t' BT-60 tubin' on t' top o' t' BT-5 and glued the BT-55 on t' bottom. Ahoy! I marked t' BT-55 for fin alignment and then began workin' on t' motor mount.

One o' t' tips that I decided t' use was t' suggestion t' use the yellow spacer tubes t' build a baffle system for t' rocket. I punched a few holes in t' yellow spacer, glued this directly on top o' t' motor mount, me hearties, and then glued a balsa bulkhead t' t' top o' t' yellow spacers so that t' hot gases would be forced around t' bulkhead, me hearties, t' then be pushed up t' BT-5 neck. Avast! I had my doubts that this technique would work, matey, but later flight tests revealed absolutely no damage whatsoever t' t' mylar parachute. I removed t' shoulder from t' nose cone so that thar would be room in t' nose compartment for the mylar parachute and t' shock cord. Begad! In addition t' this, since I be usin' a baffle, I used t' tri-fold method for attachin' t' shock cord t' t' upper body tube o' t' rocket.

Finishing:
I designed t' rocket in RockSim, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and thus used t' fin templates t' help me trace t' patterns on t' light ply and balsa I had for t' fins. Begad! T' second tip I used was t' use thinned yellow glue or white glue t' seal t' fins. I first attached t' fins to the body before worryin' about sealin' them. Again, I was skeptical about this technique as I prefer Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish. Ahoy! Blimey! T' method works fine, but I found it t' require far more than just 2 applications. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! More like 5 or 6 applications seem t' work t' fill all t' grain I had in me fins.

I also added some detail t' t' rocket includin' a cockpit, some raised detail on the fins, me bucko, me hearties, and two phaser cannons on either side o' t' main wings. Ahoy! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! After I had filled in all t' grooves and sealed t' fins, I gave t' rocket a few shots of Krylon primer, arrr, sandin' in between.

After I be satisfied with t' priming, I gave it a good single coat o' a kind o' strange minty green o' Krylon I had in storage for probably 5 years. Well, blow me down!

Next, I added more detail by way o' a Sharpie pens (black and silver) and decals, shiver me timbers, me hearties, usin' some created by myself on white adhesive labels and others from a decal sheet from me old Aerotech Warthog.

Flight:
Since I used RockSim t' design and build t' rocket, I had data that told me the rocket was stable on a D12. Ahoy! I decided t' do a swin' test t' see if this was so. Begad! Begad! I found that t' swin' test was nay conclusive for t' D12, but did indicate that a C6 would be a suitable motor for a stable flight. Unfortunately, shiver me timbers, while performin' me swin' test, an inordinate amount o' stress was placed on t' BT-5 neck o' t' Klingon Targ, ya bilge rat, causin' it t' fold over. I printed up a sheet o' paper similar in color t' me paint scheme and ended up wrappin' this around t' neck with yellow glue.

T' next day was a beautiful day, arrr, shiver me timbers, and I decided t' launch t' rocket. Ya scallywag! Arrr! First flight was on a C6 and then I graduated t' a C11 flight. Blimey! I wrapped t' mylar parachute carefully, placed a little waddin' in t' BT-5 neck, matey, nay bein' too certain t' baffle was goin' t' work. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I wrapped a sheet around t' parachute as well.

T' C6-5 got t' Targ into t' air, but thar be a little squirrelly in flight after motor burn out. Ahoy! Begad! T' delay be very long and ejection occurred way past apogee, me bucko, as t' rocket was nosin' t' t' ground. Avast! Ahoy! Parachute deployed perfectly and I was ready for flight two.

On flight two, I decided t' try t' C6-3 before tryin' t' C11. Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I prepped t' rocket was before and launched it again. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! T' flight seemed t' be much better than the first, shiver me timbers, but t' rocket had more o' an arc flight t' it this time, probably due to t' odd gusts o' wind that were blowin' durin' t' launch. Aye aye! Blimey! Unfortunately, when t' ejection charge arrived, t' parachute did nay fully deploy, causing the rocket t' do a kind o' tumble recovery. Aye aye! Blimey! It landed on grass, shiver me timbers, but thar was definite damage includin' a broken fin (repairable) and a major bend/tear at the neck just below t' BT-60 portion o' t' rocket. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' rocket is nay flyable as is and is currently retired. I need t' rethink t' BT-5 since it failed on me twice. Also, arrr, ya bilge rat, I be nay too pleased with t' rocket's flight being squirrelly. Well, blow me down! Blimey! With that in mind, me bucko, me bucko, t' design and t' rocket really need t' go back to t' drawin' board.

I would definitely nay launch this rocket on a B motor. Ahoy! Arrr! Blimey! I think t' C11 and D12 would put in a good performance, but I won't be able t' tell on me current rocket.

Summary:
PROs: Unusual design. Ya scallywag! Baffle system is great. On two flights, me bucko, t' parachute shows nay signs whatsoever o' damage or scorching

CONs: T' BT-5 neck needs some rethinking. Begad! Blimey! It became t' point o' failure two different times. Ahoy! Blimey! Either I enlarge t' BT-5 neck t' a BT-20, or I need to reinforce t' neck with a sheet o' fiberglass, which is nay me style.