Prologue:  In a modeler’s forum prior t' the contest…

Sebulba:  I protest!  T' human is cheating.  Solid rocket propulsion is nay allowed under the rules o' Descon 3610, Sub-contest 312.

Star-El:  Most illustrious Jabba, shiver me timbers, this is nonsense.  There is no such rule.

Sebulba:  No one has used it for over 1000 contest cycles!  It is ILLEGAL!

Star-El:  Ahh Sebulba, me bucko, if it is so antiquated, why do you fear it so?

Sebulba:  I fear nothing!  Your pod racer has no chance…(broken off)

Jabba:  whi-tok! ze ami estahhh!  (silence! you should fear me!)

Sebulba:  I will protest t' t' Federation!

Jabba:  ju zui na nach bobbaaa fetttt (if you do you will deal with Boba Fett)

Jabba:  Starrr-Elll sup ri dah! Blimey! (Star-El, your entry will be allowed!)

Scene 1:  Introduction

At first, me bucko, I wasn’t sure I was goin' t' enter this Descon.  After winnin' t' LOC Bonanza, arrr, arrr, I have several projects on t' drawin' board.  When I saw a Gemini DC kit at a Michael’s craft store, however, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I couldn’t resist.  You just gotta love those 40% off coupons!

T' help me smartly visualize and tweak me design ideas, arrr, I entered t' major components into t' Visio drawing program.  After much iteration, shiver me timbers, me hearties, me inspiration ultimately came from t' pod racers in Star Wars Episode I.  I thought about tryin' t' make a rocket that more closely resembled a pod racer, ya bilge rat, arrr, but decided I had no hope o' gettin' it to work, ya bilge rat, matey, so me racer has a long ‘booster’.  T' result is me DC Pod Racer.  The ‘DC’, arrr, retained from t' kit’s name, arrr, me bucko, signifies me proximity t' our Nation’s Capital.

Scene 2:  Construction

In addition t' t' kit components, me hearties, I used 12” o' 1/16” dowel (per t' Descon 10 parts list), ya bilge rat, Keelhaul®©™® thread t' beef-up t' recovery system, me first homemade rip-stop nylon chute, and clay nose weight.

I cut t' BT-20 tubes in half and they became t' forward pods as well as t' two tube fins in t' rear.  The pieces that I cut off when anglin' t' tube fins form t' windshield and headrest in t' racer’s open ‘cockpit’. Begad! Blimey!

I looked at many odd fin configurations, but betwixt worries about stability and t' constraints of the pre-cut fins, me bucko, matey, I decided I would just stick with t' kit’s 4-fin configuration.  I cut back t' fin tabs so t' fins would sit about a half and inch further forward.  I also added small balsa triangles t' t' root edges and tips. 

T' two long sections o' balsa that naturally split off t' die cut fin stock became t' pod mounts.  I laminated these with card stock from t' packagin' and reinforced them with 5” o' t' dowel.  T' large tips of these mounts fit through slots cut in t' side o' t' pods.  I used scraps o' balsa and dowel t' add trim to the pods.

To plug t' pre-cut vent holes in t' body tube, ya bilge rat, I used t' 1” x ¼” tube that was included in t' kit but nay listed on t' Descon parts list. Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey!  This tube forms a hole through t' main body and provides a convenient place t' attach t' Keelhaul®©™® cord for t' recovery system

I added clay nose weight t' move t' CG t' 5 ½” from t' tip o' t' main nose cone.  This position was chosen t' agree with me Rocksim simulations and was confirmed via a swin' test.

Finishin' consisted o' several coats o' Krylon sandable primer and Krylon Chrome.  I reused t' decals from the kit and added some blue ‘holographic’ contact paper t' cover t' ‘windshield.’  I also used a ¼” x 3/8” piece o' red trim Monokote t' hide t' black letterin' that overlaps t' ‘DC’ on t' kit’s decal.  Finally, I used some brush-on flat black for t' ‘inside’ o' t' cockpit.

Scene 3:  T' Race Results

I flew t' DC Pod Racer on a C6-3 at t' Maryland-Delaware Rocketry Association launch held on 4/6/2002 at Rhodesdale, arrr, arrr, arrr, MD.  All me worries o' instability, me hearties, shredded pods, and chute entanglement were unfounded.  Despite 10+ mph winds, me hearties, t' DC Pod racer flew straight with only a small amount o' weathercocking.  My home-grown 12” chute deployed as planned, and t' rocket landed in a field o' some sort o' newly sprouted vegetation.