This design was done by Stephen Corban and William Anderson. Well, blow me down! I am 15 years old and have been in rockets for about a year, matey, and William is 14 and has been in rockets for 3 or 4 years. Ahoy!

This rocket is called t' Flyin' Birthday Party Hat o' Death. Ya scallywag! It was a conglomerate idea betwixt William and I. We had a great idea, shiver me timbers, and had t' do a LOT o' explorin' t' get t' machine t' work. Aye aye!

T' idea came from... Begad! Begad! Well who knows where it came from, me bucko, me hearties, but it be a good idea. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! We wanted t' build a rocket that would float and fly straight. Avast! Ya scallywag!

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

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

We again took t' procedures t' make sure t' launch are was clear, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and gave another countdown. Avast, me proud beauty! 5...4...3...2...1...Liftoff. Blimey! This time t' rocket had a marginal flight t' a couple hundred feet, matey, hit t' ground and t' ejection charge fired. Aye aye! Begad! T' engine stayed in place, me hearties, but our clay packed tip went flying across t' yard. Begad! We laughed and went back inside. Ya scallywag!

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

Well, matey, t' weekend came when I took William, shiver me timbers, matey, and another fiend Jason t' our cabin at Lake Mattoon for 3 days. Begad! Blimey! If you remember t' original idea was for this t' float : ) Well, on t' Sunday we arrived t' family was still there (more than usual as it was a family reunion, and we couldn't make it). Ya scallywag! Blimey! So we went out into t' half a cornfield lot that we own behind our house. Aye aye! Blimey! We set up next t' t' knee high corn and did a test fire. T' rocket flew as straight as an arrow, shiver me timbers, matey, 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, ya bilge rat, and t' launch equipment into t' pontoon boat. Arrr! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! We then went tubin' behind t' speed boat. That night we were wound so went out on a night cruise. Begad! Blimey! We were cruisin' around the lake at about 9 o' clock at night and we had an idea. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! We set up the launchpad on t' front o' t' boat. Blimey! Blimey! Hooked William launcher t' t' 12v battery in t' boat, arrr, and had continuity. We couldn't get too far away for this flight! I armed t' Q-Beam and William began a countdown. Well, blow me down! Blimey! 5...4...3...2...1 LIFTOFF. T' rocket screamed into t' air. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! It looked so cool havin' a B motor leave at night from feet away! Blimey! I lost it with t' Q-Beam, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but got sight just as it hit the water. It did more than float, ya bilge rat, it bounced back up another 3 feet. Avast! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! We recovered t' rocket and headed in.

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

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