My first thought when lookin' over t' box o' parts was "Wow! I could build 10 rockets out o' this stuff." Then, reality started t' settle in- I was fat dumb and happy on body tubes, matey, but nay so endowed with balsa and nose cones were also limited in variety. Arrr! I had already decided before gettin' t' box that I be goin' t' go for broke and try t' make an insanely complex rocket, ya bilge rat, and pickin' through t' parts a few ideas started t' emerge.

I'll walk you through t' basic steps and offer up t' attached Rocksim as a general guideline, though why anyone would want t' attempt t' reproduce this is beyond me, and you'd almost have t' start with a similar set o' discarded bits o' stuff like I did t' pull it off. Aye aye!

Let me preface t' build plan by layin' out t' concept for t' overall rocket. I be torn betwixt boost glide and helicopter recovery, but eventually decided I could pull off both. T' final design includes a boosted dart with internal rotor blades that pop up upon ejection, matey, a main rocket body that descends under streamer and chute, and a parasite glider that pops off at ejection. Begad! Arrr! I also decided t' make use o' t' ample length o' BT-5 tubin' by cuttin' a number o' motor tubes-nine o' them happened t' fit nicely surroundin' t' central 24mm motor tube, inside t' BT-70 main body tube. Ahoy! As long as I'm goin' off t' deep end, me hearties, shiver me timbers, arrr, why nay go under a full cluster?

T' general game plan for flight profile would work like this-clustered A10-PT's and a central C11-5 fire t' main body. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! At t' end o' t' BT-50, ya bilge rat, I used a 50/5 transition that was glued t' an inner BT-5 "shaft" for t' copter. Ahoy! T' copter was essentially a Rota-Roc style design, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, but without any fins since it was a boosted dart and t' blades were constrained by t' BT-70. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' C11-5 would push t' copter/dart out, and t' glider would slide off t' external piggyback mounts. A burn strin' type o' thin thread would attach t' t' transition and t' main body's parachute and streamer, pullin' them out before breakin' away. Aye aye! Sounds simple. Well, blow me down! What could possibly go wrong?

OK, for t' build…I made every effort t' nay only use t' parts in t' box, but also use them as provided, with as few modifications as possible. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This meant some very funky fins and glider pieces. Aye aye!

I started out by workin' on t' motor mount, shiver me timbers, cuttin' a BT-50 t' 5-inch length, ya bilge rat, then cuttin' (9) 3-inch lengths o' BT-5 for t' clusters. Blimey! Glue t' 13's in pairs on a flat surface for best alignment, me hearties, then glue each pair t' t' BT-50. Begad! T' odd 9th tube should fit nicely in t' gap left by t' other 8, ya bilge rat, as this works out t' a perfect cluster fittin' inside a BT-70. Arrr! There was nay enough room for a centerin' ring, so I filled t' gaps with Gorilla glue kicked with a spritz o' water mist t' cause it t' expand and fill t' gaps. Avast, me proud beauty!

For stability, me hearties, arrr, matey, it be clear that I would nay have enough balsa for both fins and a glider, ya bilge rat, so I had t' resort t' tube fins for primary stability. Aye aye! T' tube fins consist o' (8) pieces o' BT-55 cut t' half an inch long, matey, mounted in a rin' around t' outside o' t' BT-70. I did have enough balsa left over t' cut four small fins, arrr, matey, wedged betwixt t' BT-55 tube fins. Ya scallywag! Patterns for these fins can be printed from t' Rocksim file. There were also two scrap wedges o' odd-sized balsa left over from t' glider build, so I tucked them into two more gaps in t' BT-55 tubes. Begad! Avast! T' Rocksim file does nay reflect these scrap fins. Aye aye! Aye aye!

As a finishin' touch, I looked through t' box for anythin' else I could toss in, me hearties, and decided t' decorate t' balsa fins with BT-5 outboard tubes. Arrr! I also found some plastic detail parts that appear t' have been from a plastic model kit which conveniently fit into t' BT-5 outboard tubes and served as ramjets.

For t' helicopter, me bucko, me hearties, I had asked Todd t' make sure he included some elastic, which would be critical t' blade deployment. Ya scallywag! While he did include some rubber bands, he didn't include any significant length o' balsa t' use for blades. Aye aye! Fortunately, arrr, we were allowed t' use t' box itself, matey, matey, so followin' t' standard plans for t' Rotaroc at http://www.nar.org/competition/plans/pdf/Rota-13m.PDF, matey, ya bilge rat, I cut 1x12 strips o' corrugated from t' box. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Believe it or not, me bucko, it is possible t' airfoil corrugated. Begad! T' pull this off, use t' edge o' t' handle from a pair o' scissors, shiver me timbers, and rub down on t' edge o' t' cardboard. Arrr! You'll want a sharp leadin' edge, matey, and a much more tapered trailin' edge. Arrr!

T' blades are normally attached t' t' shaft with Klett hinges, but I didn't exactly have anythin' like that t' work with, so had t' resort t' usin' peel & stick decal paper t' serve this purpose. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! I cut small strips, stuck one end t' t' underside o' t' blade, and t' other t' t' shaft. Aye aye! Since t' adhesive was weak, I had t' help it out with a little CA. Avast! Instead o' blade stops, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I decided t' use a centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, which be necessary t' keep t' BT-5 in place within t' BT-70. T' centerin' rin' wound up also comin' from t' box itself. Well, blow me down! Lackin' actual elastic for pullin' t' blades up, matey, I wound up cuttin' open t' rubber bands, arrr, and pokin' one end through t' blade and tuckin' t' other end inside t' BT-5 shaft wedged in by t' nose cone.

T' last main construction be t' glider. Begad! Blimey! I didn't put together plans or templates for this, as I tried t' simply cobble somethin' slightly aerodynamic out o' t' scraps o' parts unmodified. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! I did have a decent 1/8" thick piece t' work with as a boom, arrr, one long/skinny piece o' 3/32 balsa t' use as a win' (cut in half and re-bonded for a 10 degree dihedral). T' really clunky aspect came at t' tail, me hearties, where I have grossly oversized and overweight rudder and stabilizer from 1/8" scraps. As a result, t' win' is mounted extremely far forward, me bucko, resultin' in very little lift, me hearties, a slow glide, and tendency t' stall. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' glider has a small pin cut from a wood dowel that conveniently slips into an 1/8" launch lug mounted t' t' rocket body.

At this point, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I started lookin' over t' leftover parts, arrr, and tried t' think o' how I could use even a fraction o' t' remainin' pile rather than store/keep them. Blimey! I decided t' work in t' plastic spoon and nail file, arrr, externally mounted usin' pieces o' fin can and plastic details. Arrr! Blimey!

Now that I was ready t' paint, I mulled over t' options. Arrr! Considerin' all t' variety o' recovery methods, clusters, ya bilge rat, arrr, shiver me timbers, and t' oddball parts stuck t' t' outside, I decided this was startin' t' look like a Swiss Army knife. Begad! T' pull off this effect, I painted t' whole rocket a base white. Avast! I then masked off a Swiss Army emblem. Avast! I then hit t' rocket body with a red topcoat, me hearties, and painted t' BT-5 exposed 'copter tube and nose a bright silver metallic.

For t' flights, me hearties, matey, I loaded up 8 o' t' 9 13mm tubes with A10-P's. Avast, me proud beauty! Why nay go for all 9? They come in 4-packs, ya bilge rat, and I rarely have use for them, so didn't want an odd/opened pack layin' around for years. Begad! I then loaded up a C11-5, and spent a good half hour twistin' igniter leads together so that me 5-lead clip-whip could cover everything.

T' first flight be a bit underwhelming. Begad! Ya scallywag! Only 3 o' t' A10's lit, ya bilge rat, me hearties, t' C11 didn't light, shiver me timbers, and t' rocket barely cleared t' rod before floppin' over right by t' range head.

I replaced t' spent motors, arrr, rewired everythin' but this time makin' sure t' C11 be nay paired with any other motor's leads, checked for best igniters I could find, shiver me timbers, and gave it another shot. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! This time t' C11 lit, ya bilge rat, as did 4 A10's but t' A10's were all on one side, and t' asymmetrical thrust led t' a pretty unstable flight. T' glider pilot must have sensed t' impendin' doom, as t' glider popped off after t' first loop under thrust, and t' glider actually came down in a glide-like profile, albeit fast and hard. Well, blow me down! T' main rocket, shiver me timbers, though, me bucko, arrr, continued its bat-on-crack flight path and crashed into a tent along t' prep line. T' copter deployed while t' rocket be grounded, me bucko, so thar be no chance o' an actual 'copter recovery.

T' damage was nay irreparable, and with a tiny amount o' nose weight (and ideally a spider ignition system t' drive t' cluster), arrr, I suspect this could eventually be salvaged into a better performer, matey, but for now this project has t' take a back seat t' preppin' for me NARAM run. Begad! Blimey! It be amusing, matey, inspiring, fun, but in t' end, t' challenge o' tryin' t' parallel wire a 9-motor cluster just proved t' be too much complexity, and this never had enough thrust t' pull off a decent flight. Blimey! Blimey! Avast! Blimey!