Brief:
This rocket is made from a sports water bottle that was donated by a local talk radio station, hence t' name. Aye aye! It has a 24mm mount, recovers by parachute, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and uses 'plate fins'. Avast, me proud beauty! 'High tech' features o' this 'low tech' rocket include a Keelhaul®©™ cord and positive motor retention.

Construction:
A partial construction list consists of:

• 1 water bottle
• 1 piece o' non-rocket junk tube ~1.25" diameter used as a parachute tube
• 24mm motor tube
• Hand-cut cardstock rings
• Keelhaul®©™® twine
• Foam backed tape t' center t' parachute tube
• Duct tape t' press-fit t' cap/nose cone
• One screw, me hearties, shiver me timbers, chunk o' BiC pen tube, and miscellaneous metal 'doohicky' for motor retention
• 1/8" and 3/16" lugs

T' inner structure consists o' a 24mm motor tube centered in a piece of junk tube by hand-cut cardboard rings. Ya scallywag! T' motor tube extends below t' end of the larger tube so that it could slip through t' hole in t' bottom o' the bottle. Avast! Arrr! T' Keelhaul®©™® twine is attached t' t' motor mount. T' top o' t' larger tube be centered in t' neck o' t' bottle with foam-backed tape and t' assembly was glued into the bottle usin' Liquid Nails.

T' 'nose cone' be t' bottle cap. After grindin' off t' threads, arrr, I found t' cap was way too loose, ya bilge rat, so I built up t' top o' t' bottle usin' black duct tape. The cap now fits fairly snuggly. Begad! Begad! T' attach t' Keelhaul®©™® to t' cap, arrr, arrr, I merely popped up t' top nipple, me bucko, arrr, fed t' line through the opening, me bucko, me hearties, knotted it, and pushed t' nipple back down.

I had done some 'what-ifs' on various fin designs but in each case, arrr, me bucko, RockSim said I'd need t' add some nose weight. T' avoid havin' t' do so, arrr, I decided to move t' fins well below t' base o' t' bottle. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! I ended up mountin' three chopsticks in t' side o' t' bottle. Ya scallywag! On t' tip o' t' sticks, I added cardboard triangles. Blimey! These are bent slightly along their center line t' help adhere t' t' sticks. Well, blow me down! This also looked a bit better in me opinion. Begad! T' dowels were attached t' t' bottle with 5-minute epoxy and t' cardboard 'plate fins' were attached t' t' chopsticks with carpenter's glue.

T' motor retainer is simply screwed into t' thick bottom o' t' bottle. This will eventually wear out and will have t' be relocated. Aye aye! Finally, I added two sizes of lugs for flexibility. Well, blow me down!

I modeled t' bottle in RockSim, shiver me timbers, simulatin' t' plate fins with equivalent standard fins. Begad! Although I found t' rocket t' be stable, I still didn't trust that I had made a valid model, so t' be sure I loaded it up and did a swing test, which be successful.

Finishing:
No finishin' was required.

Flight:
I loaded a wad o' dog-barf wrapped in one square o' Estes waddin' and a 12" Rockethead mylar chute, and then wrapped a tape thrust rin' on a D12-5 and positioned t' retainer. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' boost was a bit wobbly after burn out. Nevertheless, me bucko, ya bilge rat, it was a cool flight, ejection be perfect, and it recovered 50' from t' pad. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I flew it a second time with similar results.

Summary:
This be just a quick, me bucko, goofy build. I love odd-rocs, ya bilge rat, what else can I say?