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I loved EMRR's new "Spaceship Design Contest", me bucko, shiver me timbers, but in t' beginning, I wasn't excited by any o' t' designs. Blimey! But, over t' weeks that followed, shiver me timbers, I rotated t' pictures on me desktop wallpaper and studied each for a few days and finally settled on this design. Begad! I thought that t' outboard motors would be an interestin' challenge that I had nay tried before. This design reminds me o' t' look o' t' ships o' Star Trek, though somewhat "lower tech" looking. Begad! Probably around t' time o' t' "Enterprise" series and an early Star Fleet tug or supply ship from its looks. Workin' with that line o' thought, as many o' t' ships in t' Star Trek universe are named after famous scientists and scholars, I decided t' name this rocket t' USS Moebius.

I started out t' design process by firin' up me handy-dandy copy o' Rocksim. I got t' basic model built and lookin' pretty good, shiver me timbers, I thought. Well, blow me down! However, ya bilge rat, thar was one little problem... Well, blow me down! Rocksim said it was totally unstable even with several ounces o' nose weight! At this point, me hearties, I decided t' go ahead and build t' rocket that, matey, me bucko, shiver me timbers, with me many years o' experience, ya bilge rat, I was pretty sure would be stable.

I decided that I would use an old Estes Fat Boy nose cone that I had kickin' around after me last Fat Boy lost it's match with gravity. Arrr! This provided t' scale for t' design and t' rest was scaled t' look proportional t' t' picture. Avast! Aye aye! I decided t' keep t' design as simple as possible and pop t' nose cone on each nacelle instead o' tryin' t' passport t' ejection charge t' push out t' main nose cone. Due t' t' naggin' feelin' in t' back o' me head created by Rocksim, arrr, me hearties, I decided t' go with 13mm motors instead o' t' larger 18mm t' cut back t' weight on t' tail end as much as possible.

This rocket provided me with an interestin' new challenge as well. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' get t' nose cones for t' nacelles t' look right, I would either need t' use a BT-5 stuffer tube inside o' t' BT-20 nacelles t' get t' correct look, or try t' turn t' cones. Aye aye! Avast! I up until this point had been highly intimidated by t' though o' tryin' t' turn cones for myself. Avast! For some reason, matey, me bucko, t' process seemed much more dauntin' than it actually (if you'll pardon t' pun) "turned" out t' be! I cut a chunk o' balsa t' 1"x1"x1" and CA'd a piece o' hard wood dowel into one end. Avast! I chucked this into me drill after it cured and locked t' drill in t' "on" position. Avast! Aye aye! I let t' drill rest on t' ground and held t' dowel as it turned (I'd recommend gloves for this...friction burns are nasty...) and used some 80 grit paper t' slowly round t' balsa into shape. Ya scallywag! Avast! T' first one came out amazingly perfect! I was floored! T' came t' harder part.... Well, blow me down! Makin' three more that were identical.... Begad! Heady with me initial success, it took a couple extras t' get four that were suitably close enough for use. Aye aye! If you have nay tried this because it seems t' "scary", give it a shot. T' process is reasonalby simple t' grasp, but it is definitely an artform. Begad! Give it a little practice and it is really rewarding!

I also had t' turn t' tailcone for t' Moebius as well. Well, blow me down! This was somewhat easier as I was able t' trim t' diameter o' t' balsa t' match t' tube before I started turning. Avast! Blimey! After turning, I glued t' cone flush without it havin' a shoulder. It seems t' be sturdy enough t' survive without t' extra weight that t' shoulder would have added.

T' rest o' t' build was fairly straight forward. Blimey! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I tacked t' fins t' t' nacelles with CA and Tite-bond, matey, filletin' after t' root bond had cured. I eyeballed t' alignment o' t' fins onto t' main airframe since me fin alignment guide wouldn't fit under t' outboard pods, usin' t' same gluin' technique. I finished up where I normally start, matey, ya bilge rat, matey, buildin' and insertin' t' mini-motor mounts into t' pods.

At this point, I decided it would be a good time for a swin' test t' make sure that I was goin' t' have a rocket t' flew in straight lines instead o' loops! With a couple o' ounces o' sand glued into t' front o' t' Fat Boy cone, me hearties, t' rocket seemed stable enough for flight! Nice t' see that I haven't lost me eye for stability, even though t' software said otherwise....

I took a page from t' Master o' t' Dark Art o' Rocketry, shiver me timbers, Shrox, shiver me timbers, t' add t' details t' t' nose...Pin' pong balls! I cut t' ends off a couple o' balls, shiver me timbers, as a full half o' a ball was much too large for t' look o' t' design. I had a couple o' old Alpha III cones in me parts box, arrr, matey, shiver me timbers, so I halved them and trimmed them down t' about a third o' t' length so that they would match up nicely with t' pin' pong balls. Arrr! Gluin' these t' t' airframe helped disguise t' seam betwixt t' body and t' nose somewhat.

I filled t' seams with Elmer's Fill-n-finish, sanded and primed with Kilz and sanded again. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' tailcone got a coat o' Rust-o-leum Metallic Blue and t' airframe got a coat o' gloss grey. Blimey! Aye aye! After maskin' t' grey stripes, arrr, shiver me timbers, I sprayed t' whole model with Rust-o-leum Metallic Black. T' design for t' contest had a bit o' a pixelated pattern t' t' lighter grey areas, matey, so I laid a piece o' loose weave fiberglass over t' grey areas and sprayed them with t' metallic black t' give them a little bit o' t' texture from t' image.

T' day o' t' launch, I had decided t' nay tempt t' wrath o' t' Rocket Gods and didn't want t' fly t' rocket in it's finished paint. Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! It flew in primer only... Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! Pretty rockets make ugly flights!

My initial flight was on 4 A10-3T's. Avast! Arrr! I loaded t' motors up and installed t' igniters with and borrowed a whipclip from a buddy. Well, blow me down! All four motors lid and it jumped into t' sky perfectly thanks t' t' high initial thrust spike o' t' A10's. Begad! Begad! All four nosecones popped in series, much t' t' delight o' several children who were lookin' on. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I had installed two streamers and a parachute, leavin' one o' t' cones t' just pop. Begad! This brought t' model down reasonably quickly, but with no damage as t' flight be nay very high and our launch field here in San Diego is sand.

I waited until another day t' get me additional flight in. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Both me second and third flights were near disasters. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Only 2 or 3 o' t' 4 motor lit on these flights. With t' reduction in thrust, t' model was terribly underpowered, ya bilge rat, barely clearin' t' rod on t' 2 motor burn. Begad! At this point, I had burned through most o' me supply o' A10-3t's, ya bilge rat, so I loaded only two on t' next flight as well as 2 A-10PT's! This one lit perfectly, me hearties, but seemed t' nay fly quite as high as t' first flight had. Arrr! After another failled flight, me hearties, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, with this motor combination, I switched t' me final flight configuration, matey, 2 A10-3T's and 2 A3-4T's. Avast, me proud beauty! Luckily, me bucko, arrr, as these were t' last mini-motors that were left in me flight box, matey, all t' motors lit. Well, blow me down! Begad! This combination was again underpowered. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! My thought had been that it would get more altitude because o' t' longer burn o' t' A3's, but without t' initial thrust spike from 4 A10's, me bucko, t' flight barely ejected before impact.

I enjoyed t' experience o' buildin' this rocket because o' t' challenge o' it's outboard cluster and havin' t' learn t' new skill o' turnin' cones. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Overall a very satisfyin' experience. Avast, me proud beauty! I am goin' t' continue flyin' t' Meobius after t' contest, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, but in a modified configuration. Begad! I am goin' t' glue in t' nacelle nose cones. Blimey! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Lightin' all 4 motors is more o' a challenge than I would rather deal with every time I want t' fly it. Blimey! Begad! Since t' tail cone is only surface glued t' t' end o' t' main airframe, me hearties, it should be easy t' remove. Begad! I'm goin' t' install a central 24mm motor mount that will aft eject, as t' nose details are glued securly over t' seam at t' front, matey, makin' a standard ejection impossible.