Brief:
I shortened t' body tube t' t' Goonybird standard 5" (BT-60R) and switched from 13mm power t' 18mm power.

Modifications:
T' main body tube from t' Baby Bertha could be left as is for this project, if you're nay a man who is serious about his Goonies. I chose t' keep things proportional and shortened t' body tube t' t' Goony-traditional 5", me bucko, a feat I accomplished by wrappin' a nice, straight line o' maskin' tape around t' tube then runnin' a hobby knife along t' tape until t' blade eventually cut through. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, matey, blow me down! If you're plannin' on usin' t' 18mm motor mount, ya bilge rat, then this leaves little room in t' body tube for recovery equipment. Ya scallywag! However, t' resultin' rocket is light enough t' employ nose blow recovery. Begad! I initially planned t' use a small chute and cut away a section o' t' nose cone so that I could tuck it up inside. This method be a failure, which led t' t' nose blow experience, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, but steps could easily be taken t' make t' chute or streamer deploy more reliably.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• 1 Estes Baby Bertha kit
• 3/32" balsa fin stock
• 1/8" sewin' elastic shock cord (24")
• 24" Keelhaul®©™® shock cord

Finishing:
Finishin' wasn't all that bad once I figured out t' masking. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' get t' giant tongue effect, it is necessary t' mask t' rocket after applyin' t' red. However, t' contours o' t' mask need t' follow t' curve o' t' "teeth" stickers. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I first painted t' rocket red usin' Valspar Cherry Gloss. Well, blow me down! Blimey! After t' red had cured, I printed off a scan o' t' stickers on a sheet o' regular paper, cut t' "teeth" pattern out, and wrapped it around t' rocket in t' spot where I planned t' put t' actual sticker when I printed it. Ahoy! Begad! I used maskin' tape t' cover everythin' that needed t' remain red, matey, then sprayed t' aft o' t' rocket with Valspar gloss black. I printed t' stickers on label paper and after cuttin' them out, they fit perfectly. Except for t' fact that I left off some o' t' smaller stickers, you'd be hard pressed t' tell me faux-Goony from a real one.

Flight:
With t' 18mm power, matey, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, Goonies can be funny in flight. Avast, me proud beauty! (Funny as in unstable, me bucko, nay funny like Les Nesman watchin' turkeys come out o' a helicopter.) With some o' t' designs, matey, nose weight is necessary, but t' Sky Shriek has enough fin area t' make balance things out. Begad! I used a B6-4 for t' first flight and it was pretty much as you'd expect t' flight o' a relatively small, me bucko, draggy rocket on a B6-4 t' be. Blimey! Second flight was on a C6-5 and while it didn't go out o' sight, it be a pretty tiny dot in t' sky when t' ejection charge fired. Ya scallywag! T' weathercock was also fairly extreme, shiver me timbers, but this be t' be expected due t' t' amount o' fin area versus t' amount o' wind we had on this particular Sunday.

Recovery:
Recovery was iffy at best but as it turned out, me bucko, it didn't matter all that much. Cuttin' t' body tube back t' "Goony-stock" length leaves very little room for recovery materials so I improvised. Begad! Before t' first flight, arrr, I cut away all o' t' plastic that wasn't needed in t' base o' t' nose cone and used t' resultin' space t' store t' 8" parachute. Well, blow me down! Arrr! When t' ejection charge fired, me hearties, t' chute stayed stuck in t' compartment and t' rocket fell gently t' earth anyway. Ahoy! Arrr! Since it had worked so well t' first time, I chose t' go t' same route for t' C6-5 flight with similar results. Begad! I can't say that I'd consider goin' without a chute or streamer if I was flyin' near asphalt or hard-baked earth, but t' fields were green and weed choked in early April and t' only hard landin' around would have been t' path. Begad! Begad! I've hit that often enough under chute t' know that you still wind up with road rash.

Summary:
PROS:

1. Hey, it's a Goony.
2. Improved performance with 18mm engines.

CONS:

1. Lack o' room for a recovery system.