Note: For more North Star pictures, shiver me timbers, 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. Ahoy! There are several kits available, matey, ya bilge rat, several from Public Missiles Limited and another I found from Rocket Dyne Systems. 

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

I be hurryin' t' finish this rocket in times for Balls '98 (August 1st) and so didn't finish t' painting. Avast! Avast! 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. Begad! It's unoffical name is T' Unfinished Rocket. 

T' Northstar maiden flight be at Balls 98. Avast, me proud beauty! Unfortunately, ya bilge rat, t' motor flew through t' booster, battered t' sustainer and proceeded t' skywrite through its 4.5 second burn. Avast! T' motor flyin' by itself got t' loudest cheers at the launch! (T' hose clamp was nay enough t' hold t' single-use K500 in place.) T' rocket is repairable, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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, a K500 for t' booster and a K250 for t' sustainer, shiver me timbers, t' two igniters wires run and t' timer was enabled and t' hatch screwed on. Everythin' ready t' go and ship-shape, me bucko, shiver me timbers, or so I thought. 

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

At t' moment, shiver me timbers, I don't want t' look at this rocket, matey, but hopefully I will get up t' energy t' repair it, me bucko, 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, me bucko, but needs fiberglassin' t' be strong enough. Blimey! Also, matey, t' paper has a soft outer wrappin' which starts comin' off as soon as you try t' sand the tubes. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I ended up usin' 4" carbon fiber reinforcement along t' fin roots and then fiberglassed t' entire rocket with 4oz. fiberglass. Avast, me proud beauty! That was quite a job, ya bilge rat, but t' body tube now has a gratifyin' sturdiness without the brittle nature o' P.M.L. phenolic. 

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

T' kit did nay include provisions for a recovery system on t' booster stage. Begad! 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, shiver me timbers, arrr, 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.