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

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

My son, Chris, ya bilge rat, me hearties, almost immediately began urgin' me t' build another one. Ahoy! Due t' t' amount o' work that was involved in t' project, I be unwillin' t' commit t' such an ambitious undertaking. Blimey! Over t' next twelve months or so, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I did acquire a piece o' 15-inch diameter cardboard drum, arrr, which would make a fine fin ring, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, (my first one was 11.5-inch diameter) and a 24-inch long section o' 5.5-inch airframe. Aye aye! Aye aye! Blimey! This would amount t' a 7.3X version o' t' original Estes model. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! I also purchased a 3 x 6 x 36-inch block o' balsa wood, that I planned on usin' t' turn a scale nosecone. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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, where it would sit for almost another year. One weekend in February o' 2001, I was turnin' a couple wooden nosecone patterns for a Tripoli Pittsburgh group project, t' Gloria Mundi III. After completin' this task, me hearties, I decided t' go ahead, ya bilge rat, and turn t' new Sprite nosecone from t' balsa block that had been collectin' dust. After finishin' t' outside form, 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. Before I knew it, me hearties, matey, t' nosecone be complete, and I was plannin' me next steps o' t' project, me bucko, me hearties, that would soon come t' be known as "T' Lord o' t' Rings."

Next, me bucko, me hearties, I carefully cut a 5.5-inch section o' t' cardboard drum, ya bilge rat, and prepared it t' be reinforced with a few layers o' fiberglass cloth. Begad! I opted for two wraps o' 6-ounce woven cloth and a finishin' wrap o' 1.5-ounce cloth. T' last layer was done solely t' make it easier t' get a smooth surface for painting. Ya scallywag! I used t' same process for t' airframe, which, matey, me hearties, although it be made o' flexible phenolic, arrr, 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. Ya scallywag! Begad! Two centerin' rings were cut from t' same material, also usin' patterns created from RockSim. Ahoy! Begad! 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, shiver me timbers, as well as two in t' aft rin' for motor retention. T' forward rin' be epoxied t' t' motor tube, ya bilge rat, and this assembly be installed into t' slotted body tube. With t' rear-centerin' rin' temporarily put in place for alignment purposes, me hearties, t' fins were epoxied into place. T' aft rin' was then removed, and internal fillets used at both t' motor tube and t' inside o' t' body tube. Arrr! Ahoy! Since I be goin' t' be usin' rail guides instead o' launch lugs, matey, t' guides were secured with nuts from t' inside o' t' airframe at this time. Before permanently installin' t' rear-centerin' ring, t' remainder o' t' cavity was filled usin' 2-part expandin' foam. Well, blow me down! Fillets were added t' t' fins at t' outside o' t' airframe for added strength, ya bilge rat, arrr, usin' a combination o' epoxy and micro-balloons.

It was now time t' attach t' fin rin' and fin caps. Careful attention was paid t' t' alignment o' t' caps so that minimal fillin' o' gaps was necessary. Arrr! Aye aye! When t' assembly be 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. Aye aye! I used grain filler on t' plywood fins, me hearties, and after some extensive sanding, me hearties, was finally ready t' prime t' entire rocket. Ya scallywag! More sanding, fillin' and primin' followed, o' course, ya bilge rat, until I was ready t' paint. 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, matey, April 7th, arrr, shiver me timbers, 2001. Accordin' t' simulations done in both RockSim and wRASP, ya bilge rat, it reached a max altitude o' approximately 1900 feet on an Aerotech I284 reload. Well, blow me down! Unlike me first Sprite, me bucko, t' whistlin' only occurred on t' way up.