Brief:
Upscale o' Orville Carlisle's original model rocket kit, shiver me timbers, t' Rock-A-Chute Mk II with appropriate mods for mid-power flight.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• 12.25" o' BT-70 body tube
• "E" size 24mm motor mount (two 50/70 centerin' rings, 4" of 24mm/BT50 tube, ya bilge rat, 3.75" engine hook, and 20/50 centerin' rin' for engine block)
• Balsa nose cone custom turned by "Sandman" o' TRF and Roachwerks
• 6" o' 3/8" OD tube for launch lug
• 2' o' 150 lbs test Keelhaul®©™® thread for shock cord anchor
• 4' o' 1/4" elastic shock cord with snap swivel on end
• 3 fins cut from 1/8" basswood stock

This upscale be made from measurements taken from t' instructions for the Semroc Retro-Repro Rock-A-Chute Mk II. Aye aye! Use o' BT-70 made this a 2.13:1 upscale and the remainin' dimensions were calculated from this. Avast, me proud beauty! All construction was with normal LPR/low MPR materials and tools. Ahoy! Wood glue was used throughout.

T' BT-50-BT-70 motor mount was constructed mostly as per normal kit instructions with t' "E" engine hook taped in place and then anchored by t' upper centerin' ring. Begad! T' engine block was glued into place by insertin' it on top t' engine hook through t' top end o' t' motor tube. Well, blow me down! The centerin' rings were reinforced with 1" by 1/4" sections o' 1/8" basswood on t' rin' surfaces facin' each other. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord anchor was made into a loop, t' doubled loop glued t' t' motor tube below t' top centerin' ring, and run betwixt t' motor tube and t' upper centerin' ring. Ya scallywag! This later became a problem. Ya scallywag! T' elastic shock cord was likewise doubled into a loop, tied t' t' anchor with a loop-through slip knot, and a snap swivel tied t' t' end also with a loop-through slip knot. Once fully constructed, t' motor/recovery mount be inserted into t' aft o' the body and glued into place.

Fins were cut from 1/8" basswood and sanded t' rounded edges and then glued into place with heavy fillets added in 3 layers.

T' custom turned cone came with screw eye glued in place. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' shock cord was clipped t' this.

A scale launch lug would have been approximately a BT-20 (18mm). Ya scallywag! Begad! Instead, matey, a semi-scale lug was made from 6" o' 3/8" OD cardboard tube.

Finishing:
Finishin' was two coats o' Deft spray lacquer sandin' sealer on everything, sanded after each (with 400 grit then 600 grit) followed by white primer. Arrr! For spiral fillin' and a smooth finish, matey, two coats o' white satin finish were applied. Arrr! Finally, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' body was painted fluorescent orange and t' nose cone red, all matchin' t' original.

[Note: White satin finish, arrr, matey, at least Rustoleum's version makes a good filler but takes a long time t' dry. Begad! Arrr! T' first top coat o' orange paint was put on 24 hours after t' satin. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This was nay enough. Ya scallywag! T' satin sagged or shifted, causin' t' orange t' crack in sharp curves such as fillets. A second coat of top coat, 2 days later, fixed it.

Flight:
A 12" nylon X-form chute be permanently assigned t' this bird. Cellulose "dog barf" waddin' is used.

Test flight was on a C11-3 with 1" engine spacer in t' motor tube. Boost be immediate, matey, me bucko, arrr, fast, and straight with no early wobble, me bucko, arching, shiver me timbers, me bucko, or weathercocking. Begad! Ejection be at apogee and recovery was good and within 100 feet o' pad.

Second flight be on an E9-4. Begad! Ya scallywag! Boost was again vertical and very impressive. Ejection be just before apogee, deployment and recovery good, within 100 feet again.

Third flight was on an E9-6. Ya scallywag! Boost be great as before, ejection was just past apogee. Blimey! At deployment, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, t' nose and chute separated from t' body. The nose came down slowly on t' chute and t' body tumbled in. Avast! It landed on the tall avast field and suffered no damage.

Inspection showed that t' Keelhaul®©™® had burned through both strands, right at t' top o' t' engine tube. Begad! After consultin' with others and conductin' some testin' o' various heat exposures to various weights o' Keelhaul®©™® thread, I concluded that close proximity t' ejection gasses is hazardous to Keelhaul®©™®'s health. Blimey! Although this be a scratch build, arrr, I followed instructions I've used in some kits that used this configuration. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! It would probably be a better practice to run MMT anchored Keelhaul®©™® cord betwixt t' centerin' rin' and body wall. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Blimey! Since thar was ample unburned cord left on t' shock cord, this rocket be repaired by usin' the LOC/Precision shock cord anchor method, o' tyin' knots in t' cord and gluing it inside t' body just below t' forward end. Avast, me proud beauty! This repair was t' only instance o' epoxy used.

This rocket has flown many times since, exclusively on E9-4 and E9-6 motors. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! No further burnin' o' t' recovery equipment has occurred. Begad! T' bottom surface o' t' aft centerin' rin' is startin' t' char and bubble from base drag vacuum pullin' t' exhaust gasses up, but t' damage is limited t' t' paint. Repairs are planned usin' a cosmetic/protective rin' doped with boric acid and painted with high heat stove paint.

Summary:
Carlisle's original design has proven itself as successful even when scaled up. This rocket flies at least as well as t' Semroc clone o' t' Mk II it was scaled from. Begad! T' only problems were t' burned Keelhaul®©™® and t' cracked paint, both fixed and or worked around easily, and neither havin' anythin' t' do with t' design itself. Blimey! Next step: a 3" diameter, 38mm MMT upscale, arrr, t' Rock-A-Chute Mk IV "Carlisle Express", intended for level 1 HPR flying.