Brief Description:
This be me first attempt at a dual deployment rocket designed for 29mm H/P RMS. T' deployment o' 'chutes is performed by a Blacksky dual channel timer. Avast, me proud beauty!

Component Description:
Body tube material is 3.1" phenolic material. Blimey! Ahoy! Nose cone is made from LOC 3.1". Fin material is 1/8" PVC plastic. Well, blow me down! Begad! Used 2 plywood centering rings and a plywood bulkhead for top o' exhaust coolin' compartment. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Shock cord made o' 12' nylon tubin' with Quick Link attachments.

Construction/Finishing:
This be me first rocket made o' phenolic materials. Blimey! I ordered t' materials from Rocky Mountain Rocketry cut t' size and slotted for fins. As mentioned, shiver me timbers, I used 1/8" PVC plastic purchased as scrap from Tap Plastic for about $1 per 12" x 8" sheet. Aye aye! PVC is very easy t' work with. Aye aye! T' cut, me bucko, you just score and snap along a straight edge. Well, blow me down! T' finish, sand lightly with 200 grit sand paper and you are ready t' prime. PVC saves me a ton o' time in constructing both kits and scratch builds. PVC is nay as tough as styrene, but due t' weight and fin location considerations, me bucko, arrr, I thought is would be a better choice for this project. Blimey!

T' wad-less recovery system incorporates a perforated motor tube, a coolin' compartment betwixt the upper centerin' rin' and a perforated bulkhead. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! I also use a steel exhaust coolin' mesh ala Aerotech that goes up t' motor tube prior t' RMS hardware. T' exhaust gasses pass through t' steel mesh, through t' perforated motor tube into t' coolin' compartment and through t' perforated bulkhead into the recovery chamber. Begad! Ahoy! This system works very well, shiver me timbers, and I have used it successfully in other rockets. Avast!

Launch lugs are made from 5/16" brass tubing. Two 1" lengths are placed on each o' t' body tubes. These are glued and filleted in place with 5 min. epoxy. Avast! I used a ¼" x 7' launch rod for this rocket.

I painted this rocket usin' gloss black spray paint and applied the “Black Magic" decal split betwixt t' bottom and top body sections. No sealer was applied t' this rocket, matey, as I expect that it would get banged up a lot durin' trials. Ahoy! Black gloss spray be t' most forgivin' for performing repair/finish work, and sealers only impede t' process.

I purchased t' 3.1" LOC phenolic body tube, 29 mm motor mount tube, recovery hardware, centerin' rings and bulkhead from Rocky Mountain Rocketry. All hardware and finishin' paint be purchased from me local Orchard Supply Hardware store. Begad! Begad! T' Blacksky dual channel timer be purchased off o' eBay. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! The decal be purchased from t' DecalZone usin' their custom decal engine.

Flight/Recovery:
I designed t' 29mm motor mount t' accommodate up t' a 29 x 240 Doctor Rocket hardware, shiver me timbers, but typically will be flyin' usin' Dr Rocket 180 29mm RMS. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I built into t' base 3" ply centerin' rin' two blind nuts that take #8 x ¾" brass machine screws. Window screen clips are used t' for motor retention.

T' first flight was on an H-128 as pictured in this article usin' a Quick Burst Twiggy igniter. Avast! Ya scallywag! I used what I thought was a medium delay for t' drogue. An Oxal e-match was used with a typical FFFG black powder ejection charge for a 29mm motor for t' main chute programmed t' deploy 25 seconds after launch. Rocket flight was very stable and straight at launch and acceleration to apogee. Blimey! Aye aye! Estimated altitude per me wrasp calculations be around 1,100'. Avast, me proud beauty!

Everythin' went wrong from here on: Ejection o' drogue powered by t' H-128 delay occurred 17 seconds after launch with t' rocket already in a speedy ballistic trajectory. T' drogue, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, a 24" nylon chute, shredded upon deployment and t' rocket tumbled about 500 feet t' t' ground. Avast! Ahoy! Several searches o' t' near by woods were nay successful, ya bilge rat, and I was thinkin' that my rocket be a goner.

About an hour later, I reviewed a video that I shot o' t' launch and was better able t' triangulate the crash area. Well, blow me down! Avast! I drove me car through t' neighborhood lookin' for any signs of me bird on roofs or lawns o' t' hapless inhabitants. Well, blow me down! I suddenly spotted my rocket neatly placed on t' sidewalk in front o' a house. Avast, me proud beauty! I pulled over to inspect what was left, me hearties, when a women approached me from t' garage. I was expectin' a tongue lashin' that would include comparin' me irresponsible behavior t' that a teenager, me hearties, or possibly even a terrorist given current world events. Well, blow me down! T' me pleasant surprise, arrr, t' women's greetin' indicated that t' family was model rocket friendly and were themselves hobbyist. Blimey! Blimey! T' me relief she described how t' rocket had become tangled in one o' her fruit trees and how her children and her had brought it down. She even commented that me rocket was a large one and pretty cool. Begad! After expressin' much thanks and smartly exiting the area, I drove home and inspected Black Magic more carefully. Blimey! T' me delight, the only damage was t' t' paint finish o' t' nose cone. Begad!

Lessons learned from me first attempt at dual deployment are as follows:

• Use a bright flag or other marker as a reminder t' activate t' timer or altimeter. Ya scallywag! You will never remember this in t' course o' preppin' your rocket on t' launch pad. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! I have also made this mistake with an altimeter that fortunately was nay responsible for any deployment components. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! I have now learned this lesson. Aye aye! Blimey!
• Always use two e-matches for both chutes and never rely on t' motor delay alone for t' drogue deployment. Begad! Blimey! After researchin' what went wrong, matey, I discovered that I had used a long delay instead o' a medium delay- thus t' 17 second drogue deployment. Ahoy! Blimey!

Summary:
I liked workin' with t' phenolic material, and am impressed with the sturdiness o' Black Magic. Had this bird been made o' paper tubing, matey, it would have been in much worse shape. Ahoy! I noticed that one end o' t' tubin' had done a “core sample" landin' based on t' mud streaks on t' finish. The phenolic didn't have a scratch or wrinkle t' show for it. Ahoy! Aye aye! Phenolic is heavy, and I'm sure a 3.1" x 54" rocket would weigh in easily 30% less. Begad! Once you get all t' pieces cut t' size, ya bilge rat, 5 minute epoxy glues everythin' together nicely. Sandin' and finishin' is also a breeze with this material.

Phenolic material used for both body and engine tubes is tough t' cut, but otherwise easy t' work with. Aye aye! Begad! It takes t' epoxy and sands well. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I used an Exacto saw t' cut t' phenolic with good results. Ahoy! I had no problem finishin' this rocket with primer followed by t' black gloss finish.