Long before I was buildin' rockets, shiver me timbers, a very small, tumble recovery rocket was introduced by Estes. Aye aye! It was t' 1/2A powered Astron Sprite. Avast! T' those nay familiar with this rocket, matey, shiver me timbers, I would like t' explain a very unique characteristic o' this design. Blimey! When scaled up enough t' be powered by a high impulse motor, ya bilge rat, matey, t' air flowin' past t' fin rin' creates a high-pitched whistle when launched. Arrr! 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, arrr, durin' t' second launch o' me 4-inch airframe based Superscale Sprite, ya bilge rat, t' whistle be clearly heard by all those in attendance. Ya scallywag! As t' rocket arced over, ya bilge rat, matey, even before t' ooh’s and aah’s had subsided, 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, ya bilge rat, became perfectly clear. This amazin' rocket whistled comin' down, me hearties, louder than when it was goin' up. Aye aye! Blimey! In fact, it whistled right up until it impacted with t' rock-hard Pennsylvania soil at our Jones Farm launch site. Arrr! Naturally, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, me fellow rocketeers were quick t' offer their condolences, me bucko, but I was more amused by t' memory o' it whistlin' back t' Earth. Arrr! I collected t' remains, includin' diggin' t' nosecone out o' t' ground, matey, and went back t' me truck t' prep me next rocket.

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