Long before I was buildin' rockets, a very small, tumble recovery rocket be introduced by Estes. It was t' 1/2A powered Astron Sprite. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' those nay familiar with this rocket, I would like t' explain a very unique characteristic o' this design. Begad! 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. 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, durin' t' second launch o' me 4-inch airframe based Superscale Sprite, me bucko, t' whistle was clearly heard by all those in attendance. Well, blow me down! As t' rocket arced over, me hearties, ya bilge rat, even before t' ooh’s and aah’s had subsided, arrr, shiver me timbers, me hearties, it be obvious that I had a major deployment problem…there be none! T' Sprite raced back t' earth, matey, me hearties, and a fact that I was previously unaware of, became perfectly clear. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This amazin' rocket whistled comin' down, louder than when it was goin' up. Blimey! In fact, shiver me timbers, it whistled right up until it impacted with t' rock-hard Pennsylvania soil at our Jones Farm launch site. Aye aye! Naturally, me fellow rocketeers were quick t' offer their condolences, but I be more amused by t' memory o' it whistlin' back t' Earth. Begad! I collected t' remains, matey, includin' diggin' t' nosecone out o' t' ground, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and went back t' me truck t' prep me next rocket.

My son, Chris, arrr, shiver me timbers, almost immediately began urgin' me t' build another one. Due t' t' amount o' work that be involved in t' project, I was unwillin' t' commit t' such an ambitious undertaking. Ahoy! Avast! Over t' next twelve months or so, matey, I did acquire a piece o' 15-inch diameter cardboard drum, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 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. Ahoy! Blimey! This would amount t' a 7.3X version o' t' original Estes model. Ahoy! I also purchased a 3 x 6 x 36-inch block o' balsa wood, me hearties, that I planned on usin' t' turn a scale nosecone. Aye aye! Begad! I cut t' block in two and laminated them together t' make a nice 6 x 6 x 18-inch blank, and then set it aside, arrr, ya bilge rat, where it would sit for almost another year. Aye aye! One weekend in February o' 2001, I be turnin' a couple wooden nosecone patterns for a Tripoli Pittsburgh group project, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' Gloria Mundi III. Avast! Ahoy! After completin' this task, matey, I decided t' go ahead, and turn t' new Sprite nosecone from t' balsa block that had been collectin' dust. Avast! After finishin' t' outside form, me bucko, 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. Ahoy! Avast! I cut a bulkhead from .5-inch plywood t' seal t' openin' that was epoxied into place after fillin' t' cone with expandin' foam. Avast, me proud beauty! Before I knew it, matey, t' nosecone was complete, 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, and prepared it t' be reinforced with a few layers o' fiberglass cloth. Arrr! 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. I used t' same process for t' airframe, arrr, which, although it was made o' flexible phenolic, arrr, shiver me timbers, was nay strong enough for a project o' this size. I printed patterns for t' fins and fin-caps usin' RockSim 5.0 and cut them from .25-inch aircraft plywood. Two centerin' rings were cut from t' same material, ya bilge rat, also usin' patterns created from RockSim. Blimey! Twelve inches o' 38mm motor mount tubin' was 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. Aye aye! Aye aye! Blimey! T' forward rin' was epoxied t' t' motor tube, and this assembly was installed into t' slotted body tube. Arrr! With t' rear-centerin' rin' temporarily put in place for alignment purposes, arrr, t' fins were epoxied into place. Ya scallywag! T' aft rin' was then removed, matey, and internal fillets used at both t' motor tube and t' inside o' t' body tube. Aye aye! Blimey! Since I was goin' t' be usin' rail guides instead o' launch lugs, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, t' guides were secured with nuts from t' inside o' t' airframe at this time. Blimey! Blimey! Before permanently installin' t' rear-centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, t' remainder o' t' cavity be filled usin' 2-part expandin' foam. 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Careful attention be paid t' t' alignment o' t' caps so that minimal fillin' o' gaps be necessary. When t' assembly was completely dried, me bucko, 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. I used grain filler on t' plywood fins, ya bilge rat, and after some extensive sanding, was finally ready t' prime t' entire rocket. Arrr! More sanding, fillin' and primin' followed, ya bilge rat, o' course, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, until I be ready t' paint. Aye aye! After addin' an 18-foot, 5/8-inch tubular nylon shock cord and a Sky-Angle 52-inch parachute with Nomex protector, 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, arrr, April 7th, 2001. Accordin' t' simulations done in both RockSim and wRASP, me bucko, it reached a max altitude o' approximately 1900 feet on an Aerotech I284 reload. Ya scallywag! Unlike me first Sprite, t' whistlin' only occurred on t' way up.