This rocket was named for me daughter Rachael's favorite rock group. Arrr! T' plan be t' paint it completely white, but in mid-build we had t' idea t' leave it unpainted, makin' t' rocket even more ‘barenaked'. Blimey! Well, blow me down! It's an original design, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, matey, coming from a doodle I made one day while talkin' on t' phone. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty!

Designed for 24mm RMS motors, this rocket is light enough t' fly on D12's and probably C11's, and will be able t' handle everythin' up t' F24's with ease. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Replace t' BT-80 equivalent body tube with PML's heftier version, upgrade t' motor mount t' 29mm or 38mm, shiver me timbers, matey, and you could let ‘er rip on G's and up. Begad! Blimey!

Parts

• 1 Estes PNC-80K nosecone (available from t' Phoenix kit)
• 1 18" BT-80 or equivalent (mine came from Totally Tubular, if you use Estes tube, me bucko, you'll need t' shorten t' body or add a coupler for t' extra length.)
• 1 5" BT-60
• 1 3" 24mm motor mount tube (LOC MMT-0.95, arrr, Estes BT50, or equivalent)
• 4 centerin' rings for BT-60/BT-80 (glued into pairs, matey, me bucko, see below)
• 4 centerin' rings for BT-50/BT-60 (glued into pairs, me bucko, see below)
• 3/32" balsa for fins
• shock cord, I used 12' o' ¼" elastic attached with t' Estes ‘paper sandwich' method
• 3/16" launch lug or rail buttons
• copier paper

All glue joints are done with yellow wood glue. Avast! T' boattail is formed from a double layer o' paper. Well, blow me down! All body tube grooves and seams on t' boattail were filled with Elmer's Fill ‘n' Finish, me bucko, and then sanded smooth. Begad! T' boattail was painted with thin CA for extra strength.

All o' t' centerin' rings were cut out from cereal box cardboard. Each ring consists o' two layers o' cardboard laminated together usin' yellow glue, and then t' whole thin' is soaked in thin CA when dry. These are lightweight and plenty strong enough for t' motors used. They were put together with t' BT-50 and BT-60 tubes as shown below.

T' ‘decal' is simply a piece o' paper with t' name laser-printed on it, shiver me timbers, then glued t' t' rocket usin' 3M Super 77 spray adhesive. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I've used this technique a few times now and it looks pretty good.

T' fins are 3/32" balsa, matey, me bucko, with tabs for through-the-wall attachment and reachin' t' BT-60 tube betwixt t' centerin' rings. T' balsa was reinforced by laminatin' copier paper t' each side usin' thin CA.

Launch Report

Empty weight for t' Lady is 6½ ounces. Arrr!

T' Barenaked Lady made her maiden flight on September 28, 2002 loaded up with a D12-5 and an 18" nylon parachute. T' wind was fairly strong that day, me hearties, matey, but t' boost was nice and straight, me hearties, and t' chute ejected near apogee. All in all a very nice flight.

She's since flown five more times. Ya scallywag! By far t' most impressive flights were on E11 blackjack reloads. Begad! Begad! I hope they get recertified soon. Begad! She also absolutely screamed on an E18-7W RMS flight, me hearties, but popped a fin when she landed on the hard-frozen turf. That was easily repaired and she's flown since that mishap.