Brief:
A single stage scale o' NASA's upcomin' Ares I launch vehicle. Ahoy! Blimey! T' rocket separates in t' center for recovery. Begad! Blimey! A 38mm motor mount allows flights on H, I, and J motors.

Construction:
T' lower body tube is a 2.56" phenolic tube and t' upper section is a 3.9" phenolic tube. Ahoy! Blimey! T' nose cone and reducer sections are custom made from balsa. T' engine flare at t' base is made from layered plywood. Centering rings are also plywood on a paper 38mm engine mount. Arrr! T' fin section is made from a removable section o' acrylic tubing. T' fins are also acrylic and epoxied in place with t' joints fiberglassed. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! There is also a standoff on the fin unit with a rail guide. A rail button is fitted on t' upper section t' match. A custom made ejection baffle is in the lower tube and also provides attachment points for t' shock cord. Ahoy! Avast! Blimey!

Custom wood parts (nosecone, reducer, and engine fairing) were turned on a lathe. Ya scallywag! Constructin' t' fin unit was a little difficult because t' epoxy did nay bind well t' t' acrylic surface. Begad! Blimey! If I were t' do it again, me hearties, I would use a solvent acrylic cement.

Flight and Recovery:
One flight on an Aerotech H123W-S. Aye aye! Good flight overall with a slight turn windward. Motor is retained usin' a customized flanged aft closure from T' Rocket Man. Avast, me proud beauty! T' parachute used be a 45" Top Flight nylon chute. Arrr! It be a little undersized and t' rocket came down fast, but it survived with minor damage.

Summary:
This was a great project for me. Begad! I probably could have benefited from some more experience before takin' on a custom scale build, shiver me timbers, but things turned out well in t' end. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! It flies great and got a lot o' people in me club excited. I may want t' make a few modifications before flyin' it again, matey, but I look forward t' usin' it for years t' come.

T' main drawbacks with this rocket as I built it are that I ended up with some inflexibility on t' recovery system. Arrr! Arrr! T' 45" chute barely fits with all o' t' shock cord due t' t' ejection baffle takin' up too much space and placed too high. Begad! T' fin unit is also fragile, but (with some effort) it can be replaced if needed, me hearties, since it is removable. Ahoy! Begad! One o' me major concerns before launchin' this rocket was stability issues. Ya scallywag! I didn't plan ahead very well and ended up with a bottom heavy rocket. Begad! Ya scallywag! I addressed this by stuffin' a couple o' T-shirts in t' empty upper section to even it out. In t' future I hope t' upgrade this t' a dual deploy or even just move t' parachute t' t' upper section t' be deployed with an altimeter. Begad! Aye aye! Another thin' I would redo given t' chance is make some more space in the lower section for t' parachute. Aye aye! Blimey! T' baffle installed really restricts t' space so I may nay be able t' move t' a larger parachute in that section.