Long before I was buildin' rockets, matey, a very small, ya bilge rat, tumble recovery rocket was introduced by Estes. Well, blow me down! It was t' 1/2A powered Astron Sprite. Ahoy! 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, me hearties, t' air flowin' past t' fin rin' creates a high-pitched whistle when launched. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! 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, me hearties, durin' t' second launch o' me 4-inch airframe based Superscale Sprite, t' whistle was clearly heard by all those in attendance. Aye aye! Blimey! As t' rocket arced over, even before t' ooh’s and aah’s had subsided, ya bilge rat, it was obvious that I had a major deployment problem…there be none! Blimey! T' Sprite raced back t' earth, matey, and a fact that I was previously unaware of, me bucko, became perfectly clear. Begad! Blimey! This amazin' rocket whistled comin' down, matey, louder than when it was goin' up. Avast, me proud beauty! In fact, me bucko, it whistled right up until it impacted with t' rock-hard Pennsylvania soil at our Jones Farm launch site. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! Naturally, me fellow rocketeers were quick t' offer their condolences, but I was more amused by t' memory o' it whistlin' back t' Earth. Begad! 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, ya bilge rat, matey, Chris, ya bilge rat, me hearties, almost immediately began urgin' me t' build another one. Arrr! Due t' t' amount o' work that was involved in t' project, I be unwillin' t' commit t' such an ambitious undertaking. Avast, me proud beauty! Over t' next twelve months or so, matey, me hearties, I did acquire a piece o' 15-inch diameter cardboard drum, shiver me timbers, which would make a fine fin ring, ya bilge rat, me bucko, (my first one was 11.5-inch diameter) and a 24-inch long section o' 5.5-inch airframe. Avast! Blimey! This would amount t' a 7.3X version o' t' original Estes model. I also purchased a 3 x 6 x 36-inch block o' balsa wood, that I planned on usin' t' turn a scale nosecone. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I cut t' block in two and laminated them together t' make a nice 6 x 6 x 18-inch blank, shiver me timbers, and then set it aside, where it would sit for almost another year. Well, blow me down! Blimey! One weekend in February o' 2001, me hearties, I be turnin' a couple wooden nosecone patterns for a Tripoli Pittsburgh group project, shiver me timbers, t' Gloria Mundi III. After completin' this task, I decided t' go ahead, ya bilge rat, and turn t' new Sprite nosecone from t' balsa block that had been collectin' dust. Aye aye! After finishin' t' outside form, 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. 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! Before I knew it, t' nosecone was complete, and I be plannin' me next steps o' t' project, shiver me timbers, arrr, me bucko, 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, ya bilge rat, me bucko, shiver me timbers, 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. I used t' same process for t' airframe, which, although it be made o' flexible phenolic, shiver me timbers, was nay strong enough for a project o' this size. Ahoy! 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, also usin' patterns created from RockSim. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Twelve inches o' 38mm motor mount tubin' was cut and I had all t' parts necessary t' complete t' project.

A large T-nut be installed in t' forward centerin' rin' for recovery system attachment, as well as two in t' aft rin' for motor retention. Begad! Blimey! T' forward rin' be epoxied t' t' motor tube, and this assembly be installed into t' slotted body tube. With t' rear-centerin' rin' temporarily put in place for alignment purposes, matey, t' fins were epoxied into place. T' aft rin' be then removed, me hearties, and internal fillets used at both t' motor tube and t' inside o' t' body tube. Since I be 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. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Before permanently installin' t' rear-centerin' ring, t' remainder o' t' cavity be filled usin' 2-part expandin' foam. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Fillets were added t' t' fins at t' outside o' t' airframe for added strength, arrr, usin' a combination o' epoxy and micro-balloons.

It be now time t' attach t' fin rin' and fin caps. Avast! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Careful attention was paid t' t' alignment o' t' caps so that minimal fillin' o' gaps be necessary. Arrr! Arrr! Blimey! 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. I used grain filler on t' plywood fins, ya bilge rat, and after some extensive sanding, was finally ready t' prime t' entire rocket. More sanding, fillin' and primin' followed, o' course, ya bilge rat, until I be ready t' paint. After addin' an 18-foot, shiver me timbers, me hearties, matey, 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, April 7th, ya bilge rat, me bucko, 2001. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Accordin' t' simulations done in both RockSim and wRASP, matey, it reached a max altitude o' approximately 1900 feet on an Aerotech I284 reload. Unlike me first Sprite, matey, ya bilge rat, me hearties, t' whistlin' only occurred on t' way up.