Brief:
Inspired by Jay Goemmer's review o' his mildly upscaled, Estes-based Groove Tube, me hearties, I started thinkin' about a larger upscale for this classic Centuri bird. When I started back in t' hobby in 2001, I bought quite a bit o' BT-55 and BT-56 tubing, along with every like-sized nose cone I could get me hand on. I built several upscales based on these tube and cone combinations, ya bilge rat, but when that phase lost steam I still found myself with a pretty good collection o' BT-56 body tubes and nose cones. Ya scallywag! After readin' Jay's review, shiver me timbers, I dragged out t' abacus and began doin' t' math on a BT-56 Groove Tube upscale o' me own. Ahoy! Arrr! As usual, this be t' most difficult part o' t' project.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• 1 19.1" BT-56 main body tube
• 6 4.375" BT-56 tube fins
• 1 6" BT-50 engine tube
• 1 launch lug
• 1 PNC-56 nose cone
• 2 CR-5055 centerin' rings
• 1 CR-2050 engine block
• 36" o' 100# Keelhaul®©™ shock cord
• 36" o' 1/8" sewin' elastic shock cord
• Medium snap swivel
• Medium piece o' Perma-Wadding
• 18" parachute

There is very little about this project that is complicated, shiver me timbers, arrr, in fact, matey, me bucko, me hearties, t' closest I came t' anythin' difficult was in ensurin' that t' six tube fins were o' matchin' lengths. Arrr! Blimey! I used t' maskin' tape method o' cuttin' t' tubes, shiver me timbers, then cleaned up any ragged edges with a sandin' block. After t' edges o' t' tubes looked as clean as humanly possible, I soaked t' edges with thin CA t' give them some added strength and sprayed all o' t' body and fin tubes with a coat o' primer t' toughen them for t' future rounds o' sanding. And boy, did t' sandin' arrive! Blimey! This rocket is all tubes, which leaves a lot o' spirals t' cover, but t' fact that thar be no balsa t' fill makes up for this. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! Well, arrr, somewhat...

T' actual construction began with buildin' t' engine tube. Avast! With no E size engine hooks readily available, I decided t' go with a friction fit mount with an engine block, just as I had on me BT-55 based, arrr, E-powered Satellite Interceptor. Ahoy! In t' past I had been a bit wary o' this method, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but since incorporatin' it into some o' me larger clones it has proven t' be a thoroughly reliable retention method, even with t' beefed up Estes ejection charges o' late. Ahoy! A 36" length o' Keelhaul®©™ be tied and glued in with t' centerin' rings t' provide a stout anchor for t' shock cord assembly. Blimey! Another 36" length o' sewin' elastic provided t' remainder o' t' assembly. Avast, me proud beauty! On this rocket, once t' internals are done, all that is left be t' tube fins, arrr, which have their own special set o' problems, none o' them insurmountable. Avast, me proud beauty! I began this phase o' t' project by cuttin' one tube and designatin' it as me "official" template tube. By usin' this tube t' line up t' cuts for t' other "fins" I was able t' ensure that I be at least goin' t' be close enough on all t' others that some sandin' could even them out. Begad! This worked great and in t' end I wound up needin' t' do only some light sandin' on two o' t' "fins" t' brin' them down t' t' level o' t' other four. Each o' these tubes was filled and finished just like t' main body tube, only shorter.

Alignment o' t' tube fins is best done before attachin' them t' t' body. I followed Jay's advice and began by startin' with a pair instead o' tryin' t' glue them on individually. For purely aesthetic purposes, I found it best t' go somewhat light when gluin' t' tubes together, then makin' up for it by later puttin' a thick fillet on t' back side o' t' joint where it wouldn't be seen. Begad! Blimey! I also went heavier on t' wood glue when attachin' t' paired tube fins t' t' main body tube. Do this twice more and t' fit is surprisingly precise.

Finishing:
I had originally thought o' goin' with an orange/black/white paint scheme, but I was out o' orange, so red be called on t' pinch hit. Blimey! Begad! I painted t' entire rocket white usin' me favorite Valspar Gloss White, matey, then carefully masked off t' tube fin section with maskin' tape. Avast, me proud beauty! I shot this whole area with Valspar Gloss Red, me hearties, then used a Q-Tip t' paint t' inside o' one o' t' tube fins flat black. Well, blow me down! Begad! I be surprised t' find that I didn't like this look. I think this because o' t' scale o' t' model. Avast, me proud beauty! It might work better for t' smaller rockets, but t' tube innards are very exposed on a rocket o' this size. I resprayed t' fin section, takin' special care t' recover t' inside o' t' tube I had painted black, and also t' cover some o' t' spots that had received less than their share o' paint on t' first coat. Begad! I paid close attention t' t' spaces betwixt t' tubes, matey, and found that one joint had been less than perfect despite me careful attempts at avoidin' gaps. Aye aye! It's nay that noticeable, ya bilge rat, but until this point I had been VERY impressed with how this project turned out. Avast, me proud beauty! This brought me back t' earth.

T' nose cone be sprayed with Valspar Gloss Black, arrr, which served t' accentuate t' scratches left by t' sandin' o' t' mold lines. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! I resanded and filled t' scratches with some body putty left over from me stock car days, shiver me timbers, reprimed, matey, and shot t' cone black again. This time it came out perfect and t' red/white/black looked great when t' whole model was together--almost as if it had been planned that way. Jay had worked his magic on t' decal scan and had come up with an upscaled version o' t' original Groove Tube script in black. Begad! Blimey! I printed it onto a sheet o' Bel Decal paper and sprayed it lightly with several coats o' Krylon Clear Acrylic. Blimey! It looked great on t' decal paper and applied easily. Blimey! Blimey! It looked equally great on t' finished rocket. Aye aye! Blimey! (I've had pretty fair winds with all black decals.) I finished t' project up by sprayin' t' entire rocket with t' Krylon clear. Avast! I have plans t' replicate t' silver bands on t' tube fins with tape, shiver me timbers, but it looks like it will fly before I get t' tape.

Flight:
In t' final analysis, ya bilge rat, it all comes down t' t' flights. I wish I had good news. Well, blow me down! I made me first Groove Tube flight at a Quark section launch, and took it t' t' pad hopin' that it flew as good as it looked. I loaded with an E9-6 for t' first flight. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I was busyin' myself tryin' t' get a launch picture and let one o' t' kids press t' button. Ahoy! Based on t' picture that I wound up with, t' shutter closed at t' moment before things went horribly wrong. Avast! I lowered t' camera in time t' see t' Groove Tube finishin' up it's skywritin' demo. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! It never cleared 100', me bucko, but it still managed a perfect recovery. At that point I planned t' take it home and try again after addin' a ton o' nose weight, but another tube fin enthusiast talked me into takin' some clay and addin' it as nose weight on t' field. Aye aye! Ahoy! (Launch fever! Don't catch it!) Flight #2 was on an E9-4 and it behaved better, but still needed obvious work. Begad! It once again cocked at t' 100' mark but this time, arrr, it kept its poise enough t' continue on its way at a steep angle away from t' pad. Ahoy! Recovery be once again perfect and I joined t' rest o' t' Quark crowd in watchin' it land across t' field by t' park entrance road. Arrr! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! A long walk but easily recoverable. Begad! Or so I thought. I began walking, me hearties, arrr, ya bilge rat, takin' care t' keep myself lined up betwixt t' two markers I had picked out. Aye aye! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! For t' next hour I scoured t' brush, me bucko, bravin' sticker bushes and thumb-sized spiders, arrr, all t' no avail. Ya scallywag! I stomped through every meter o' brush on both sides o' t' entrance road, arrr, checked t' parkin' lot o' t' neighborin' Target, and even made a second pass before leaving. Arrr! No luck. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' Groove Tube was nowhere t' be found. I was growin' angrier by t' minute and knew me launch day was ruined. I packed up and left, haunted by t' feelin' that me rocket had been gathered up by someone leavin' t' VOA. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! It was probably already bein' tossed across t' backyard somewhere by t' time I made it t' t' landin' site. Avast! Needless t' say, I was nay happy.

Summary:
For what was largely a spur o' t' moment project, shiver me timbers, t' Groove Tube turned out t' be a great lookin' rocket. I should have known better than t' try it without nose weight, me hearties, but I had been told that smaller versions had flown well without any weight, so I decided I be as charmed as everyone else. Arrr! I really should have known better than t' try t' second flight as I generally overcompensate with massive amounts o' nose weight, but I got caught up in t' excitement and went against me gut feeling. Arrr! Begad! I think I'll be buildin' another one, shiver me timbers, arrr, just t' prove that I can get t' design t' work.