Note: For more North Star pictures, visit John's site.

I have been wantin' t' build a multi-stage rocket for a while since I haven't even built an Estes Comanche. Well, blow me down! There are several kits available, me hearties, several from Public Missiles Limited and another I found from Rocket Dyne Systems. 

After t' fragility o' t' phenolic tubin' be so drastically demonstrated with me Aurora and Bull Dog kits, I wanted t' stay away from P.M.L. Also, arrr, Mike Gillette o' Rocket Dyne Systems be so helpful and confident about his rockets that I decided t' go ahead and buy his North Star 2-stage kit. 

I was hurryin' t' finish this rocket in times for Balls '98 (August 1st) and so didn't finish t' painting. Ahoy! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Fiberglassin' t' entire body turned out t' be more work than I expected and I didn't finish it as completely as me other rockets. It's unoffical name is T' Unfinished Rocket. 

T' Northstar maiden flight was at Balls 98. Ya scallywag! Begad! Unfortunately, t' motor flew through t' booster, ya bilge rat, battered t' sustainer and proceeded t' skywrite through its 4.5 second burn. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' motor flyin' by itself got t' loudest cheers at the launch! (T' hose clamp be nay enough t' hold t' single-use K500 in place.) T' rocket is repairable, but is just sittin' in me garage at t' moment. 

You can see that t' payload section and nose are nicely finished and painted, shiver me timbers, but t' booster and main sustainer airframe of T' Unfinished Rocket are still raw. 

T' Northstar was assembled with t' two motors, matey, a K500 for t' booster and a K250 for t' sustainer, ya bilge rat, me bucko, t' two igniters wires run and t' timer was enabled and t' hatch screwed on. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! Everythin' ready t' go and ship-shape, or so I thought. 

I didn't get a picture o' t' launch or t' skywriting, unfortunately, arrr, but here be t' sad rocket after t' non-flight. Avast! T' booster (red) is still on the left launch pad and t' sustainer (green, red and black) is layin' t' the right. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' booster parachute is stretched out t' t' left.

At t' moment, I don't want t' look at this rocket, me bucko, but hopefully I will get up t' energy t' repair it, me hearties, or at least cut t' unfired upper stage motor out of t' rocket! 

T' Kit

T' kit is made with soft Kraft paper tubing, which is easy t' work with if you are careful, but needs fiberglassin' t' be strong enough. Avast! Aye aye! Also, ya bilge rat, t' paper has a soft outer wrappin' which starts comin' off as soon as you try t' sand the tubes. Avast, me proud beauty! I ended up usin' 4" carbon fiber reinforcement along t' fin roots and then fiberglassed t' entire rocket with 4oz. Aye aye! fiberglass. That was quite a job, but t' body tube now has a gratifyin' sturdiness without the brittle nature o' P.M.L. Well, matey, blow me down! phenolic. 

T' kit is reasonably well designed, but t' instructions were rough. Aye aye! I had to get replacements for two centerin' rings where were too loose over t' motor mount tube. Ya scallywag! Other than these glitches, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, it be a pretty standard high-power rocket. 

T' kit did nay include provisions for a recovery system on t' booster stage. Ahoy! I decided t' use 1/2" nylon webbin' for t' recovery harness and Sky Angle parachutes (from T' b2 Rocketry Company so I didn't end up usin' the Rocket Dyne Systems recovery components anyway. 

To air-start t' sustainer, I built a bay betwixt two fins o' t' sustainer and am usin' an Olsen Advanced Electronics ez-timer t' fire t' second stage. These timers are nice and compact and t' LCD display is comforting: you know exactly what t' timers are set for and have a persistent continuity display.