T' American Spirit started life as a LOC Ultimate. Arrr! I received
it as a Christmas gift in 1997, buildin' it that winter, shiver me timbers, arrr, and launched it once
in Denver, arrr, matey, PA with a G80-4T. Mr. Aye aye! Aye aye! Reed, one o' t' Technology teachers in my
High school borrowed it for his families Memorial Day picnic, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and flew it on a
G80. Well, blow me down! Then me Ultimate made t' journey t' me new home in New Hampshire. Begad! Aye aye!
April 19th, arrr, 1999, t' Ultimate once again saw t' light o' Day, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me hearties, launchin' on
yet another G80 in Amesbury, Mass, matey, shiver me timbers, at me first CMASS launch. Aye aye! At t' same
launch, matey, me hearties, someone sold me a RMS 29/180 and 240 set for a real good price, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and
Steven Boy sold me a H97. Arrr! I loaded it into me Ultimate, me bucko, and gained me level 1.
T' Ultimate launched again with a G75, and then had its final flight
two
F25-9Ws and a single G75-10J. Begad! Ya scallywag! Beautiful flight, but suffered a sep. Begad! The
payload section drifted away, never t' be seen again. Well, blow me down! T' booster section came
in ballistic, smashin' t' tubin' up t' t' forward centerin' ring,
and knockin' a couple o' t' fins off. Avast!
After the
events o' 9-11, I decided that I wanted t' build a patriotic rocket. Avast! Havin' no
money t' buy a new large rocket, I decided t' repair use what be left o' the
fin can o' t' Ultimate, ya bilge rat, and created a new rocket, which I called t' American
Spirit. Arrr! I took t' fin can, me bucko, and removed t' remainin' attached fins, and sanded
down all t' epoxy. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! Then I cut off t' damage tubin' above t' forward launch
lug, shiver me timbers, which left about three inches o' damaged tubin' beyond t' forward
centerin' ring. Avast! Begad!
Since t' original fins were still in good shape, arrr, me bucko, I reattached them, me hearties, and did
the usual epoxy and bondo fillets t' give a good finish. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Then I epoxied a tube
coupler into t' airframe above t' centerin' ring, and then attached a two
foot section o' LOC 4 dia tube t' it. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I then took a razor blade, me bucko, arrr, and cut
off t' remainin' raised areas o' t' damaged body tube. Avast! Blimey! Then I filled the
valleys created with epoxy and bondo. Aye aye! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I used t' remainin' 4 tubin' to
create t' payload bay, which was attached via a standard tube coupler. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! For the
nosecone, matey, arrr, I use t' NCR cone from me expired Archer. I also used t' parachute
from me Archer for its recovery system.
Paintin' t' American Spirit was a challenge. I wanted t' do an American
Flag theme. Begad! So I decided t' do t' stripes down t' body, me hearties, and put t' stars on
the payload section. Arrr! T' make things simple with t' nose and tail, matey, I decided to
paint those gold. Well, me bucko, blow me down! First step be t' paint t' entire rocket white. Blimey! Then I used
maskin' tape t' mask t' stripes, thinkin' o' a white and red stripe between
each fin (6 fins, arrr, that equals 12 stripes). Ya scallywag! For t' starts, me bucko, I printed out a
bunch o' stars on label paper, cut them out by hand, shiver me timbers, and painstakingly position
them on t' payload tube. Avast, me proud beauty! I lined up t' top o' t' arms with one
of t' fins, ya bilge rat, arrr, so thar are 6 rows o' stars, alternatin' betwixt three and four
stars per row. Avast! There are 21 stars total. Blimey! T' booster be then sprayed with red
paint, matey, and t' payload section with blue. Begad! Then t' fin can, me bucko, and nose was
painted Gold. Begad! Shortly after this, shiver me timbers, I learned that Gold Paint does nay take to
well t' clear coat. Ahoy! Begad! Oh well
First flight o' t' American Spirit took place on t' dark
and cold day o' April 19th, 2002. Begad! Blimey! I planned t' fly it on a H220-10T
perfect day for a Blue Thunder motor. Arrr! Then I noticed that both me bucko Ryan
Sebastian and I had E23-8T loads. Begad! Ya scallywag! Wanna put them in t' American Spirit? Why
Not? So we did. We could nay see t' flames o' t' E23's, me bucko, but it was cool to
hear t' E23's thrustin' for a whole second after t' WHAM o' t' H220s
burn.
Second flight be on July 27th, 2002. Blimey! Blimey! Loaded t' bear with more power. Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ryan
Sebastian and I once again collaborated together t' put this beast up on more
then one motor. Ya scallywag! Blimey! In t' center, an H128-10W. Begad! Blimey! On t' outboards, matey, me hearties, two
G64-10Ws. Aye aye! Blimey! Three Magnelites were used t' get t' rocket going, me hearties, arrr, and it was
an AWESOME flight. Lots o' fire, lots o' smoke, me hearties, me bucko, and lots o' noise. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! It is also
very interestin' t' see t' reduction o' t' fire and smoke once t' shorter
burnin' H128 ran out o' fuel.
Some minor repairs were required after t' last flight; one o' t' fins
stabbed t' payload section. Aye aye! Blimey! This was easily repaired by puttin' some masking
tape underneath t' wound, shiver me timbers, and fillin' t' puncture with epoxy. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Also, since the
payload bay be gettin' a little surgery done t' it, me hearties, I decided t' drill the
holes and cut t' panels in t' aft end so it can accept me 4 electronics
bay t' incorporate dual deployment into this rocket. Begad! Blimey! T' 4 electronics
bay has a $65 Transolve PK altimeter, ya bilge rat, and it has performed flawlessly in my
EZI-65 and MEGABLAST L2 rocket. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey!
Next flight took place on April 19th, me hearties, arrr, 2003. Well, blow me down! A
central G35-7W surrounded by three G35-7W motors were instantly ignited by
Magnelite igniters, matey, and t' resultin' liftoff be very spectacular. I plugged
the ejection wells o' t' G motors, matey, so recovery be provided by t' altimeter.
Once again, it function flawlessly.
T' most recent flight o' t' American Spirit took place durin' NSL 2003 in
Clarks Summit, arrr, ya bilge rat, PA. She be loaded t' bare seven G35-7W motors. Avast, me proud beauty! T' largest
cluster I have ever done. All seven motors ignited instantly with Magnelite
igniters, and t' Transolve altimeter did its job. Well, arrr, blow me down! However, me bucko, t' main chute got
tangled, me hearties, and it landed with a thud in t' tall grass. Ya scallywag! Fortunately, thar was no
damage. Arrr! T' video o' this flight made it on t' NSL 2003 DVD.
I do plan t' fly t' American Spirit again in t' future, shiver me timbers, but as you can
imagine, clusterin' composite motors can become pricey. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Maybe one o' these
days, me bucko, when I have more loot t' burn, I will build a beefed up version, ya bilge rat, and
launch it on a cluster o' seven I200s. Blimey! Imagine t' size o' flame that
cluster would produce! That will be equivalent t' a K1400! Almost a full K!
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