Long before I was buildin' rockets, a very small, tumble recovery rocket was introduced by Estes. Begad! It was t' 1/2A powered Astron Sprite. Avast, me proud beauty! T' those nay familiar with this rocket, I would like t' explain a very unique characteristic o' this design. When scaled up enough t' be powered by a high impulse motor, t' air flowin' past t' fin rin' creates a high-pitched whistle when launched. Begad! This is sometimes drowned out by t' initial noise o' t' motor, but is quite audible as t' motor burns out and continues durin' t' coast phase.

Back in 1999, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, durin' t' second launch o' me 4-inch airframe based Superscale Sprite, t' whistle was clearly heard by all those in attendance. Aye aye! As t' rocket arced over, me hearties, even before t' ooh’s and aah’s had subsided, it was obvious that I had a major deployment problem…there be none! T' Sprite raced back t' earth, and a fact that I was previously unaware of, became perfectly clear. This amazin' rocket whistled comin' down, matey, louder than when it be goin' up. Avast, me proud beauty! In fact, it whistled right up until it impacted with t' rock-hard Pennsylvania soil at our Jones Farm launch site. Naturally, matey, me fellow rocketeers were quick t' offer their condolences, but I was more amused by t' memory o' it whistlin' back t' Earth. Ahoy! I collected t' remains, includin' diggin' t' nosecone out o' t' ground, and went back t' me truck t' prep me next rocket.

My son, Chris, ya bilge rat, almost immediately began urgin' me t' build another one. Aye aye! Due t' t' amount o' work that was involved in t' project, I be unwillin' t' commit t' such an ambitious undertaking. Aye aye! Aye aye! Over t' next twelve months or so, I did acquire a piece o' 15-inch diameter cardboard drum, matey, which would make a fine fin ring, (my first one was 11.5-inch diameter) and a 24-inch long section o' 5.5-inch airframe. Avast! Avast! Blimey! This would amount t' a 7.3X version o' t' original Estes model. Blimey! I also purchased a 3 x 6 x 36-inch block o' balsa wood, matey, arrr, that I planned on usin' t' turn a scale nosecone. Aye aye! Arrr! Blimey! I cut t' block in two and laminated them together t' make a nice 6 x 6 x 18-inch blank, arrr, and then set it aside, arrr, where it would sit for almost another year. Begad! One weekend in February o' 2001, I be turnin' a couple wooden nosecone patterns for a Tripoli Pittsburgh group project, t' Gloria Mundi III. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! After completin' this task, me bucko, I decided t' go ahead, arrr, and turn t' new Sprite nosecone from t' balsa block that had been collectin' dust. Aye aye! Ahoy! After finishin' t' outside form, me hearties, ya bilge rat, it was necessary t' hollow out a large section o' t' cone so that I would be able t' add t' one-pound o' weight needed for stability. I cut a bulkhead from .5-inch plywood t' seal t' openin' that was epoxied into place after fillin' t' cone with expandin' foam. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Before I knew it, t' nosecone was complete, arrr, and I be plannin' me next steps o' t' project, that would soon come t' be known as "T' Lord o' t' Rings."

Next, I carefully cut a 5.5-inch section o' t' cardboard drum, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and prepared it t' be reinforced with a few layers o' fiberglass cloth. I opted for two wraps o' 6-ounce woven cloth and a finishin' wrap o' 1.5-ounce cloth. T' last layer be done solely t' make it easier t' get a smooth surface for painting. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I used t' same process for t' airframe, which, ya bilge rat, although it be made o' flexible phenolic, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, was nay strong enough for a project o' this size. Avast! Blimey! I printed patterns for t' fins and fin-caps usin' RockSim 5.0 and cut them from .25-inch aircraft plywood. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Two centerin' rings were cut from t' same material, me hearties, also usin' patterns created from RockSim. Ya scallywag! Twelve inches o' 38mm motor mount tubin' be cut and I had all t' parts necessary t' complete t' project.

A large T-nut was installed in t' forward centerin' rin' for recovery system attachment, as well as two in t' aft rin' for motor retention. Begad! T' forward rin' was epoxied t' t' motor tube, matey, and this assembly be installed into t' slotted body tube. Aye aye! Blimey! With t' rear-centerin' rin' temporarily put in place for alignment purposes, me bucko, me bucko, t' fins were epoxied into place. Ahoy! T' aft rin' was then removed, and internal fillets used at both t' motor tube and t' inside o' t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Since I was goin' t' be usin' rail guides instead o' launch lugs, t' guides were secured with nuts from t' inside o' t' airframe at this time. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! Before permanently installin' t' rear-centerin' ring, ya bilge rat, t' remainder o' t' cavity was filled usin' 2-part expandin' foam. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! Fillets were added t' t' fins at t' outside o' t' airframe for added strength, usin' a combination o' epoxy and micro-balloons.

It was now time t' attach t' fin rin' and fin caps. Begad! Careful attention was paid t' t' alignment o' t' caps so that minimal fillin' o' gaps be necessary. Arrr! When t' assembly was completely dried, I once again used t' epoxy/micro-balloon mixture t' create fillets both inside and outside t' fin rin' at each fin and fin cap. Begad! Begad! I used grain filler on t' plywood fins, and after some extensive sanding, ya bilge rat, was finally ready t' prime t' entire rocket. Well, blow me down! Arrr! More sanding, fillin' and primin' followed, o' course, ya bilge rat, matey, shiver me timbers, until I was ready t' paint. Avast! After addin' an 18-foot, 5/8-inch tubular nylon shock cord and a Sky-Angle 52-inch parachute with Nomex protector, ya bilge rat, t' total weight without motor is just over 8-pounds.

I launched t' completed project at our first Dragon's Fire launch o' t' season, April 7th, 2001. Ya scallywag! Accordin' t' simulations done in both RockSim and wRASP, shiver me timbers, me bucko, it reached a max altitude o' approximately 1900 feet on an Aerotech I284 reload. Arrr! Unlike me first Sprite, ya bilge rat, t' whistlin' only occurred on t' way up.