This design was done by Stephen Corban and William Anderson. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I am 15 years old and have been in rockets for about a year, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and William is 14 and has been in rockets for 3 or 4 years. Begad!

This rocket is called t' Flyin' Birthday Party Hat o' Death. Aye aye! Blimey! It was a conglomerate idea betwixt William and I. Well, blow me down! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! We had a great idea, me hearties, and had t' do a LOT o' explorin' t' get t' machine t' work. Avast! Blimey!

T' idea came from... Well, blow me down! Well who knows where it came from, matey, arrr, shiver me timbers, but it be a good idea. We wanted t' build a rocket that would float and fly straight. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy!

We started out by gettin' a pack o' small party hats from t' local variety store. Arrr! Avast! Then we got together and CAed a piece o' BT 5 t' t' top o' t' cone. Arrr! Aye aye! We then filled t' rest o' t' void areas with 2 part foam. This is party hat number 1. Begad! After gettin' this filled, and lettin' it set we shoved a 3/16" launch rod through t' foam t' make a 1/8" launch lug. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! T' we loaded up an A10-3 and took it outside t' fly. Ahoy! We set up our launch controller, and William backed up and I stayed low. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! We check t' make sure t' area be clear and gave an audible countdown because we didn't know what be goin' t' happen. 5...4...3...2...1... Aye aye! Liftoff. Begad! T' rocket went no more than 75 feet in t' air doin' loops. Well, blow me down! It hit t' ground about 50 feet away. T' ejection charge fired and sent t' hot motor flyin' back at us. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad!

Well, matey, we went back inside his house and knew a few things. Aye aye! It was SERIOUSLY underpowered, it needed noseweight, me hearties, and we needed some way t' keep in the motor. Ahoy! So we got another hat, packed clay in t' top and stuck a chunk o' BT 50 in it. Aye aye! We again pored t' foam, rammed a launch guide, matey, ya bilge rat, and shoved a bit more clay down t' BT 50. Aye aye! We wrapped 2 baskin' tape rings around a B6-4 and took it outside again. Begad!

We again took t' procedures t' make sure t' launch are be clear, and gave another countdown. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! 5...4...3...2...1...Liftoff. Well, blow me down! This time t' rocket had a marginal flight t' a couple hundred feet, ya bilge rat, hit t' ground and t' ejection charge fired. Ahoy! T' engine stayed in place, shiver me timbers, but our clay packed tip went flying across t' yard. Well, blow me down! We laughed and went back inside. Well, blow me down!

This be t' one. Blimey! Excuse me, t' two. We went ahead and made 2 this time as we were sure he had it down. Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! We packed t' nose with clay again, matey, and put some more around t' tube. Well, blow me down! We then poured in t' foam, arrr, and rammed t' launch guide. This time we inserted little pieces across t' motor tube for positive motor retention. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Blimey! We also drilled holes from each side above that for vents. Ya scallywag! This was sure t' work! Blimey!

Well, t' weekend came when I took William, and another fiend Jason t' our cabin at Lake Mattoon for 3 days. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! If you remember t' original idea was for this t' float : ) Well, on t' Sunday we arrived t' family be still there (more than usual as it was a family reunion, and we couldn't make it). Arrr! Blimey! So we went out into t' half a cornfield lot that we own behind our house. Ahoy! Aye aye! Blimey! We set up next t' t' knee high corn and did a test fire. Aye aye! Blimey! T' rocket flew as straight as an arrow, and landed on me Aunt's camper : ) We also used an Estes igniter to light a bottle rocket : )

Well once t' family left we took our fishin' stuff, and t' launch equipment into t' pontoon boat. We then went tubin' behind t' speed boat. That night we were wound so went out on a night cruise. We were cruisin' around the lake at about 9 o' clock at night and we had an idea. Begad! Well, blow me down! We set up the launchpad on t' front o' t' boat. Ahoy! Hooked William launcher t' t' 12v battery in t' boat, matey, and had continuity. Arrr! Well, me bucko, blow me down! We couldn't get too far away for this flight! I armed t' Q-Beam and William began a countdown. Avast! 5...4...3...2...1 LIFTOFF. T' rocket screamed into t' air. Aye aye! It looked so cool havin' a B motor leave at night from feet away! I lost it with t' Q-Beam, but got sight just as it hit the water. It did more than float, it bounced back up another 3 feet. Well, blow me down! Begad! We recovered t' rocket and headed in. Arrr!

T' next day we were too busy fishin' and swimmin' t' shoot. However, me bucko, that nigh we again cruised out about 9 o'clock and loaded a C motor. This could be great. Avast, me proud beauty! We loaded everythin' up, matey, arrr, arrr, set t' rocket on t' pad in t' front o' the boat and pushed t' button. Ahoy! T' cone stuck a bit, ya bilge rat, matey, nearly pullin' our pad into the water, but it flew and was successfully recovered. Begad! Aye aye!

T' next day we decided t' launch it durin' t' day, me bucko, so we could see the whole thing. We went out, set up everythin' as before, but loaded a D12 motor. This would be great. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 5...4...3...2...1...Liftoff. T' rocket shot up t' about 1000 feet and plummeted down for a picture perfect splash landing.