Brief:
An all-plastic tubefin for 29mm motors. Aye aye! This tiny (15" tall) and extreme-stubby tubefin was inspired by a plastic container o' Crystal Light instant iced tea packets I be lookin' at one day. Sittin' next t' it on t' pantry was a 2.6" Estes Executioner me kids gave me for Fathers Day last year. Arrr! I kept lookin' back and forth at that 2.6" Estes nose cone and t' plastic Crystal Light container. Well, arrr, blow me down! "Naaah, arrr, it couldn't be t' same size". Well, matey, blow me down! I tried it - absolutely a perfect fit! Without drawin' up plans, I built t' Tea-Bird from Crystal Light containers as fast as I could cut them up. Arrr! Aye aye! I was interested in t' aerodynamics o' extremely short tubefin rockets, so this be a perfect, matey, me hearties, low-cost test vehicle.

Construction:
Tea-Bird (I don't have t' explain t' name, right?) is me fourth tubefin built entirely out o' plastic. Aye aye! T' first two (Fahrenheit 62/5 and F.I.S.H., see EMRR articles) were constructed out o' 34mm PVC plumbin' conduit. Begad! T' third, ya bilge rat, matey, matey, "CORONAry" was made from a plastic cigar tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Why all-plastic"? Waterproof - I fly from a field on a small island. Aye aye! But its also cheap and strong. Begad! Blimey! I used t' 6" iced tea container as t' body tube by simply sawin' off t' bottom. Two more containers were cut into 3 equal 2" pieces t' use for t' 6 tube fins. Begad! T' complete t' "all-plastic" theme, matey, I hogged t' centerin' rings out o' t' plastic caps and sawed off bottoms o' t' plastic containers and laminated them together in triple thickness; in retrospect, this was more trouble than it was worth and 1/8" LOC ply rings would have been fine. Arrr! Nose cone was borrowed from that Estes Executioner kit I mentioned. Ya scallywag! I used 5-min. Ya scallywag! Well, me bucko, blow me down! epoxy thoughout, arrr, and before gluin' anything, me bucko, I washed all t' parts in warm soapy water and gave them a wipe with some old rotgut vodka I use t' clean plastic parts; this is t' remove plasticizer and manufacturin' residue. Begad! Also before gluing, t' very shiny, smooth surface was roughed with sandpaper t' improve t' epoxy joints.

Construction was garden-variety tubefin self-jiggin' method. Begad! Avast! First two tube fins were glued onto opposite sides while t' body tube rested on a flat surface (In case me wife reads this: "No Dear, it wasn't t' dinin' room table"). Blimey! Avast! I clamped everythin' betwixt two soup cans t' give tight glue joints. Ya scallywag! Then two more glued onto t' top o' this assembly, followed by flippin' it over (after epoxy set) and gluin' on t' remainin' two. Avast! Perfect alignment every time with this method - why I like scratch-buildin' tubefins. Centerin' rings were glued 1" from t' top and 1/2" from t' bottom o' a 4 5/8" piece o' 29mm LOC tubin' and t' whole motor tube assembly was epoxied into t' body tube in t' usual way. Aye aye! Launch lug consisted o' a 2" piece o' BIC pen barrel glued in line with one o' t' triangular spaces betwixt tube fins, matey, with its center 1 1/2" above t' tubefincan (this spot is used as t' CG limit, balance must be in front of). Avast! Rocket is designed ot fly off 3/16" Maxi-Wire®. Avast! Recovery system attachment be with a knot passed through a hole in t' hull 2" from t' top o' t' tube, me hearties, with t' knot covered by a piece o' a Garcia-Vega cigar tube.

Paintin' was with Tamiya rattle-can orange. Avast! Well, blow me down! I should mention that it is CRITICAL t' paint this rocket, me bucko, me hearties, me bucko, and keep it away from direct sun light except when flying; t' "green-conscious" Crystal Light company makes these plastic containers out o' HDPE polymer, matey, ya bilge rat, which prolonged sunlight exposure turns into a nice white enviro-safe powder!

Flight:
First flight be on an Estes D12-3, me hearties, me bucko, matey, uisng a LOC 24-29mm adapter. Aye aye! Perfect boost t' about 300', followed by perfect recovery on its 24" Top Flight "Lite" chute. It amazes me what a small space these "Lite" chutes fit in to, matey, but lots o' dog barf (or a Nomex shield) is essential or they melt from touchin' any ejection gas. Well, blow me down! 2nd and 3rd flights were t' about t' 900-1000' me SIM predicted on AT F21-6 and F23-4 motors; perfect again, despite a good bit o' wind. Ya scallywag! By t' next weekend at Fiesta Island, I had gotten pretty cocky with me new toy, me bucko, me bucko, so I took advantage o' calm conditions t' load in an F50-9 (SIM said 1241' at CD estimate o' 0.75) and also taped a "parasite" micro altimeter pod t' t' hull so I could get altitude and Cd data. Begad! Oh-boy. Ahoy! Big mistake! Tea-Bird ripped off t' pad like a bullet, shedded one o' its tube fins and cocked over into horizontal flight, F50-9 still at full power. Ahoy! It headed out over Mission Bay like an air-to-air missile, glidin' in a shallow trajectory toward t' water. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Witnesses on t' shore pointed out t' landin' spot in t' bay, notin' t' parachute popped out about 20 feet above t' water. Arrr! Begad! Tea-Bird floated nicely, with plenty o' air trapped in t' hull and cone. Aye aye! I watched it drift out o' sight downwind as it bobbed toward t' opposite shore. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Got in me car and drove t' where it seemed t' be heading. Well, me hearties, blow me down! No sign o' Tea-Bird. Did it sink? Then I noticed a small crowd gathered near t' Hilton Hotel beach. I ran over there, and sure enough, shiver me timbers, Tea-Bird beached with its chute like a big, orange jellyfish! What's more, t' Perfectflite MicroAlt was beepin' out "peeppeeppeeppeep..." t' 486' (height before it cocked t' horizontal)! I was lucky somebody didn't call Homeland Security! Amazingly, matey, me bucko, arrr, when I opened t' altimeter pod, shiver me timbers, out came a flood o' water, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, followed by a very wet altimeter, still chirping. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! These things are amazing! I pulled t' battery, rinsed MicroAlt with some bottled water, ya bilge rat, and it is still works great today! No More F50s. Avast, me proud beauty! T' maximum rated power for Tea-Bird be t' F20-F21-F23-F24-F25 series. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I have since flown it on E30-4 motors, matey, and that is a great combination, too; gives about 600', me bucko, very wind-resistant.

Summary:

PRO: Cheap and fast t' build from free parts (well, arrr, you do need t' buy t' cone, shiver me timbers, matey, t' 2.6 LOC cone can be used). Avast! Begad! Power limited t' 29mm F20-F25, ya bilge rat, and 24mm motor tube can be used too, although F21s are nay too available now. Very wind resistant, arrr, and o' course, W-A-T-E-R-P-R-O-O-F!
CON: Risk o' crackin' t' plastic tubefins if flown off hard desert playa or t' like. I do have t' keep remindin' myself t' store Tea-Bird in a paper bag at t' field t' minimize sunlight damage.

Other:
I have enjoyed Tea-Bird so much that I have built a 4"x25" version for 38mm motors up t' I287SS (which flies superbly), matey, and a monster 5.5"x36" version for 54mm motors up t' K445 (to fly at June 2008 ROCStock). I am usin' them t' compare performance o' large, "stubby" 6-tube vs. Avast, me proud beauty! 7-tube tubefin designs; some surprisin' results so far, contruction articles will eventually be submitted t' EMRR. Ahoy! These will wrap up me 5 year tubefin research project (mostly published recently in SPORT ROCKETRY and ROCKETS).