Brief:
This is me second type o' birdhouse rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fins are attached t' end o' a thick dowel and six 24mm motor tubes are mounted in t' body around t' dowel. Avast! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' original rocket had canted mounts. However, shiver me timbers, t' original rocket had a recovery failure and turned itself into toothpicks. Arrr! When I rebuilt it, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I had trouble drillin' t' canted mounts so I settled for parallel ones. Ya scallywag! Arrr! This review covers both t' original and re-built rockets so I hope I don't confuse you too much.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• One cylindrical wooden birdhouse (Michael's crafts)
• One 24mm LOC motor mount tube (21" required)
• 1"x 34" dowel
• Four light ply rectangles (Michael's)
• Small section o' 4" mailin' tube with telescopin' inside tube
• Keelhaul®©™twine
• 36" nylon chute
• 1st unit only: 3/4" pine strip and two rail buttons (railbuttons.com)
• 2nd unit only: 3/8" brass lug

Construction began by removin' t' top o' t' birdhouse. Begad! Blimey! T' conical top mounted t' a flat circular plate that be in turn attached t' t' cylindrical body. Begad! Blimey! While I was tryin' t' remove t' plate from t' body, shiver me timbers, t' cone spontaneously popped off. Arrr! I eventually removed t' plate and decided t' leave it off, ya bilge rat, since I wanted t' cone t' be open for parachute storage anyway.

I first found t' center o' t' base plate and drilled t' hole for t' dowel usin' a drill press and suitable wood bit. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I marked lines t' position t' motor mounts, ya bilge rat, but how was I t' drill t' slanted holes for t' motor mounts? T' base o' t' Harbor Freight drill press will tilt t' perform angled drilling, but it didn't have t' clearance t' do this with t' birdhouse. Avast! I found a spacer that when placed under t' edge o' t' plate, me hearties, tilted it t' an angle o' about 15 degrees. Blimey! Well, blow me down! So, I proceeded t' drill t' holes with me makeshift spacer. Begad! On t' first item, shiver me timbers, drillin' went fairly well. Begad! T' inside o' t' base chipped as t' drill went though but it retained its integrity. Begad! Arrr! After t' first two holes, I started drillin' on one side, then flipped t' birdhouse over and finished t' drillin' from t' inside. Ahoy! On t' re-build though, t' wooden plate completely fell apart. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' quality o' t' wood was nay good nor was it uniform. Begad! Blimey! Maybe a newer bit or a different drill speed would have helped. Well, blow me down! Luckily, t' plate I removed from t' top be t' same size as t' bottom that I just destroyed. Ya scallywag! Avast! I didn't risk t' slant drillin' on this one and drilled it straight through, providin' parallel mounts.

While t' body o' t' birdhouse was supported on t' dowel by a nylon rafter angle square (which be taped t' t' dowel), matey, I glued it in place with 5-minute epoxy. I cut t' motor tube into 3.5" sections and also mounted them with epoxy.

I couldn't find any suitable scrap fin material, me bucko, shiver me timbers, so I resorted t' spendin' a couple o' bucks on some prefab ply rectangles from Michael's. Ahoy! Michael's used t' have a huge assortment o' pre-cut shapes and I be hopin' t' get birds, or birdhouses, or some other theme shape. Avast! Avast! However, ya bilge rat, their stock was low so I settled for t' rectangles. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' facilitate their attachment t' t' round dowel, me hearties, I mounted them across t' dowel and butted up against one another.

I installed a piece o' 4" mailin' tube in t' body t' provide a smooth internal surface and t' mate with t' coupler tube that formed t' nosecone shoulder. Begad! Arrr! T' Keelhaul®©™shock cord was affixed t' t' tip o' t' roof with epoxy and be run through t' bottom plate and attached t' t' dowel.

On t' first version, me hearties, rail buttons were mounted on a pine spacer so t' rail would clear t' roof. Begad! On t' second version, me hearties, I mounted a launch lug directly on t' body and notched t' roof t' allow t' rod t' clear.

T' final step was t' wrap some scrap wire from t' base o' t' body t' t' bottom fins. Ya scallywag! This allows me t' hook t' clips below t' fins. Havin' clips above movin' fins is nay a good thing. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Been there, matey, done that!

I made a RockSim model and it appeared that it was highly stable. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! O' course, bein' a cluster thar be plenty o' opportunity for this design t' get ignorant. Well, blow me down! So, it was off t' t' 'C' rack o' high power pads for this baby! Blimey! (Hence t' buttons and rather large lug.)

Finishing:
This rocket was, me hearties, matey, is, me hearties, and forever will be nekkid. Avast, me proud beauty! You can find out why in me caption t' t' Nekkid Photo Contest.

Flight:
For t' maiden flight, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I loaded her up with a chute protector, a 36" nylon chute, arrr, ya bilge rat, and six D12s. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' motors were ignited via quickmatch and ejection was t' be performed by a single D12-7. Begad! Begad! I should have computed t' volume involved or just used more D12-7 motors t' handle ejection. Avast! T' upshot was t' laundry didn't come out and t' flight ended in a spectacular lawn dart on t' gravel access road. Anyone need some toothpicks? You can see a video o' t' flight on MDRA's photo page. In t' video by Bob Utley, you can see t' ejection charge go off just before apogee. Aye aye! T' lawn dart also came too close for comfort t' one Jerry O. Ya scallywag! who was arrivin' late. Begad! Begad! We were careful with t' orientation o' t' rail, made sure nobody was walkin' down range, me hearties, and checked t' sky...we just didn't check for movin' vehicles. Aye aye! Lesson learned.

On t' rebuild, t' prep was t' same. However, matey, this time I "enhanced" t' ejection charge. T' boost be cool and it recovered fine. Begad! Blimey! T' one problem be t' dowel that holds t' fins was barbecued.

Summary:
This unique odd-roc gets everyone's attention. Begad! There are nay many rockets with their motors mounted so far forward...and thar aren't that many flyin' birdhouses! As noted in t' flight report, me hearties, parallel mounts take their toll on t' dowel, and in general don't look so cool. Aye aye! Begad! If you try one, I strongly recommend tryin' t' angled version. Begad! I be goin' t' scrap Version 2.1 and rebuild it usin' a piece o' ply for t' bottom plate. Blimey! Instead, shiver me timbers, I decided t' try somethin' else. Ya scallywag! I sanded off t' layer o' charcoal and mounted a thick cardboard cone, covered with 2 layers o' metal tape, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' deflect t' exhaust gasses. I hope that this cone protects t' dowel downstream. If not, I'll revert back t' me original plan.