T' followin' be t' HTML interpretation o' David's PDF submission. Ahoy!
Please see t' full PDF HERE (0.4M)

Constructin' the For t' EMRR BOX-O-Parts Contest

Muddle through t' Mess

I started by separatin' body tubes in t' groups that could be used as airframes and tubes that where crinkled,dinged, arrr, or dented. Well, blow me down! Begad!

This gave me an idea o' t' size and shape I could accomplish. Arrr! My basic concept was for a long and tall rocket. Cluster power was a must. Begad! I LOVE clusters!

T' Nose Job

I messed around with Nose Cone possibilities. Ya scallywag! A rocket's nose really determines t' "flavor" o' the build. So with t' cones I received I did some cutting, ya bilge rat, sandin' and gluing. Blimey! T' results are photo #2. Begad! Aye aye! Lookin' a bit like a command module, perhaps windows lookin' out over a nose. Well I guess I'm buildin' a Spacecraft o' sorts.

This is a "BERTHA" BT-60 plastic Nose Cone . Arrr! Turned backwards. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Purple BT-50 nose cone. Blimey! Base is sawn off and glued t' t' bottom o' t' Bertha cone. Begad! Hopefully this will look somethin' like a Starship cockpit. Well, blow me down!

T' Body Stack

Go big or go Home. Ahoy! Well, blow me down!

I took stock o' all t' possible body tubes I could use t' go as tall as possible. Avast, me proud beauty! This photo shows t' Top and Middle sections test fit together. Ahoy! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty!

I sorted through t' various centerin' rings in me stack o' stuff and pieced together several sections o' body tube t' assemble t' top stack. Aye aye!

This rocket is intended t' separate for recovery at t' point o' t' two different colored BT60 tubes. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' mid section break allows t' rocket t' recover on two separate recovery devices. This was necessitated by t' limited recovery options that came in me Box-0-stuff. Ya scallywag! (more on this later.)

Some o' t' steps t' build t' top stack: Short one centerin' ring. Ahoy! Blimey! So I modified one 20/60 rin' t' a 50/60 ring. Begad! Blimey! Trace inner circle and cut out

Make a BT-60 adapter sleeve. Slice a section o' BT60 tube t' reduce diameter. Aye aye! Use t' sliver that was removed t' brace t' inside o' t' new inner sleeve and glue together. Avast, me proud beauty! This makes t' whole Top Section like one long nose cone. Well, blow me down!

More Top Section Assembly.

The BT50 Stack Middle Rin' is Just for looks (pictured left)

Recovery would be t' biggest issue. My Box-O-Stuff had One fat elastic cord. (below right)

I want t' go BIG.... Well, blow me down! so, I split t' cord in half Lengthwise, givin' me two thinner elastics but still have the longest possible length. Blimey! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! In this photo (below center) one half o' this cord is pushed through a slot in t' BT50 body tube. Ya scallywag! Tie a fat knot in t' elastic and I'm off t' t' next step.

Next I have t' fill t' top BT50 section so it will separate at ejection. Well, blow me down! So I tore up some o' t' shippin' box. Soaked t' torn bits in water, me hearties, then mixed t' wet pulp with glue. Stuffed t' glue/pulp mixture in t' base o' t' tube to form a plug (above right). Aye aye! This method works well. You have t' watch t' moisture in t' pulp mix so it does not warp t' tube. Begad! This also takes a wile t' dry. Aye aye!

Lookin' into t' bottom o' t' top stack. You see t' BT60 adapter sleeve, t' Elastic Cord and t' bottom of t' BT50 centerin' rin' and Glue/shredded box WAD. Avast, me proud beauty!

On t' t' Bottom section assembly. Begad! Aye aye!

Well, for t' lower section I have t' connect some BT60 tube t' some BT70. Arrr! Aye aye!

No 60/70 centerin' rings in t' Box-O-junk, shiver me timbers, so I whip out me trusty, shiver me timbers, me bucko, rusty compass draw and cut some rings from t' shippin' box. Aye aye!

Motor Mount

Coffee Cup With shred-obox soakin' in water. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

My Box-o-goodness did nay contain any 18mm tube. Arrr! So this one gets 24mm main motors (three o' them). Avast, me proud beauty! Just for kicks I added three 13mm mounts along side. Test fit t' motor tubes. Ya scallywag! Then started shreddin' t' Shippin' box again. Well, blow me down! I use the shreds,soaked in water t' soften them up, arrr, me bucko, matey, then rin' them out and soak them in glue. Well, blow me down! Gluey shreds are then used to stuff t' voids betwixt t' Motor tubes and Main body tube. Begad!

Motor mount continued.

Motor mount fillets dryin' (above right). Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! In t' "custom" motor mount dryin' apparatus a.k.a. Blimey! a Dunki'n Donuts cup!

A lovely Gluey mass o' shredded box applied t' t' motor mount and lower body tube.

I better make some fins for this thing.

Looks like I have a full set o' pre-cut "Bertha" fins. Blimey! (Actually I think I have at least one whole bertha)

But those Balsa fins may nay be strong enough for a cluster. Blimey! So I use a precut fin as a template t' cut out some fins from t' balsa sheet in t' box. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! Then I laminate these fins so they are double thickness and hopefully quite strong.

Fins t' t' left, shiver me timbers, me hearties, shiver me timbers, fins t' t' right....... Begad!

T' lower section nearly complete.

More lower section. Blimey! Arrr!

In these photos you can see t' detail o' t' "Warp Ring"

Warp Rin' is made up o' a plastic garden light fixture. (I know this because I got some o' me own parts back!)

T' inside diameter o' t' plastic rin' is much larger than t' bt70 tube. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! So I pulled some small body tube that I believe is BT-4 and cut it t' several short lengths. Ahoy! This BT-4 be squish-fit betwixt t' Plastic rin' and t' outside of t' body tube. Blimey! With t' small tubes and plastic rin' in place it be actually easy t' slide t' whole assembly (not yet glued together) down t' BT70 body tube. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Once I had everythin' where I wanted it I glued it all in place. With some patience and a few toothpicks o' course. Ya scallywag! Blimey!

Recoverin' from Recovery

Official shop shot o' t' "parawing-gle"

My box-0-stuffin' was kind o' short on recovery options. Avast! Ya scallywag! It did have two plastic chutes. But only had shroud lines for one! I will brin' t' top half down on t' regular 18 inch plastic chute that was in t' box-o-lovely. Begad! But the lower section... Ahoy! that would be harder. Hmmmm? Streamer, me hearties, boring! How about some sort o' para wing?

O.K. Arrr! this made me get creative. Ahoy! Ahoy! Some where in t' TRF discussions it be asked if addin' tape would be legal. Arrr! Tape was o.k.ed so with ample amounts o' scotch tape I fashioned this "Parawing-gle" type thing. Arrr!

Parts for t' Parawing-gle thing:

• One 24inch plastic chute. Avast! Blimey! Sliced in half and then one half quartered.
• T' quarter chute is used for t' lower rudder type piece.
• Several Chopsticks are utilized as t' leadin' edge and rudder stiffeners.
• That now famous thick black elastic cord was again sliced length-wise t' make t' rigging. Ya scallywag! Begad!

Many hours were spent on this. Mostly worryin' time rather than workin' time. Ya scallywag! My greatest hope was that this would work at least as good as a streamer. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' big payoff!!

Launched 07-06-08 From Cape Cod Space Center

Nothin' like pushin' that deadline!

Nice liftoff, arrr, nice flight! Loaded in three C11-3's and three A10PT's. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! This rocket really needs "D" power but this was good for t' small field we where on. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Five o' t' six motors lit. Begad! All but one A-10. Begad!

O.k. Avast! recovery. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Top half be just fine on a regular chute. Begad! Bottom half came in a bit fast on t' Parawingle -thingle. Arrr! Which became more like a big para wad o' molten doom! But it did slow it down. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' aftermath. Minor damage. Ya scallywag! Avast! One "fin ring" slightly bent. Aye aye! One detail on that fin fell off

Overview and final thoughts.

This was a very cool contest. Avast! Begad! I would definitely try this again. Well, blow me down!

My only real wish is that we could add strin' (shroud line) if we needed it. Ya scallywag! Begad! But hey, me hearties, no one said this be easy!

Over all Flight ratin' 4... Arrr! it could use more power.

Overall Recovery ratin' 3. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Needs proper chutes

But this is a far better performin' rocket than I thought it would be. Avast! It will definitely fly again.

Things I will change, (with me own parts):

• Bigger Launch lugs 3/16"
• Better Parachutes
• Three "D" motors for a nice high flight. Begad!