Brief:
A 1.8x upscale o' t' Space Twins rocket from Estes Industries Rocket Plan #41. Avast, me proud beauty! Back in me 70's days, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I was quite a glider freak thanks t' t' purchase o' an Estes Condor as me second rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Twenty plus years later when I rediscovered t' hobby, t' Space Twins caught me eye when I was workin' me way through t' JimZ archives. Begad! Aye aye! Havin' recently bought a nose cone assortment from Apogee, I found two identical BT-50 cones and set about makin' t' calculations for t' upscale. Initial tests upon completion o' t' gliders sparked me optimism because nay only did t' gliders glide, they seemed t' float through t' air. Blimey!

Construction:
T' Parts list:

• 2 PNC-50 nose cones (Apogee Components)
• PNC-56 (Estes)
• 18mm engine mount kit
• 18" parachute kit
• 36" length o' 1/4" sewin' elastic for shock cord
• medium snap swivel

With no actual fins t' attach, t' booster section for this bird could scarcely be easier. I used wood glue t' attach two sections o' launch lug on opposite sides o' t' booster instead o' goin' with t' attachment method detailed in t' plans. Avast! Two balsa scraps were then glued t' each side t' keep t' aft o' t' gliders from simply hangin' out in t' wind. Well, blow me down! (They still hung out in t' wind, ya bilge rat, they just had bumpers t' keep them somewhat in line as they sat on t' pad.)

T' gliders were built as straight upscales o' t' original pattern. Begad! Avast! I had bought a nose cone assortment from Apogee Components and included were two matchin' red BT-50 cones, ya bilge rat, which seemed light enough t' me. Ya scallywag! They were perfect.

Finishing:
I was tryin' t' keep t' weight down on this one, me hearties, me hearties, so I never bothered with finishing. Good thing. Aye aye! After t' first two flights it looked like it had been dragged t' t' launch behind a pickup truck.

Flight and Recovery:
First flight be at a local soccer field where I spent a lot o' time back in 2001. I was a little hesitant about the ability o' t' whole rocket t' hold together under t' stress o' boost, arrr, so instead o' goin' whole hog with a C6-3, I went with what I thought be a somewhat less powerful engine, shiver me timbers, t' C5-3. Well, blow me down! Blimey! (You can see where this is going, can't ya?) Well, I was right. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! At boost everythin' came apart. Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' booster left t' rod and began flippin' wildly, disengagin' both gliders and crashin' t' t' ground under power. Avast! Despite t' mess, thar was good news, as both gliders floated serenely across t' field, ya bilge rat, light as a feather and under complete control.

Post-mortem showed that t' launch lugs that held t' gliders in place had pulled free from t' booster body tube, shiver me timbers, renderin' t' booster unstable. Aye aye! Blimey! I'd obviously nay built t' thin' strong enough, ya bilge rat, so I decided t' re-glue everythin' with epoxy then try again (heavy sigh) with another C5-3. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! As you may have guessed, t' second flight didn't turn out any better than t' first, ya bilge rat, and t' remains o' t' project were banished t' a far-off corner o' me facility, never t' see t' light o' day again. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey!

Well, except for t' gliders. Avast, me proud beauty! I used them for a while as replacement gliders on me upscaled Condor. (T' Condor glider had crashed into a Porta-Pottie then be stepped on by t' occupant as he exited, although that wasn't his story.)

Almost five years passed and me motor savvy grew. Ahoy! Aye aye! (Or be finally born.) T' booster for t' Space Twins turned up again and t' PNC-56 be almost adopted for use on another project, but then I thought t' check t' flight logs for the first two "flights". I'd made t' C5-3 mistake on several other occasions (the Mach 10 comes t' mind,) but never with such horrid results. Avast! Avast! I began t' wonder if t' whole Space Twins project might have been different with a more sedate B4-2 or B6-2 instead o' t' Godzilla C5-3. Aye aye! Since t' whole thin' was still in one piece, tryin' it again was just a matter o' cartin' it up t' t' VOA and announcin' that it was a "heads up" flight. Aye aye! On a warm day in May o' 2006, shiver me timbers, I did just that.

T' third flight was just as I'd hoped t' first flight would be. T' B4-2 boost be gentle enough t' allow lift-off without rippin' t' gliders from their mounts, and t' gently curvin' flight path made for a nice photo op. At ejection only one o' t' gliders disengaged and went sailin' across t' field in a northwesterly heading. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I gathered up the booster and second glider, me bucko, then began walkin' in t' direction where I'd seen t' glider land. Begad! Blimey! I walked across that field in an ever widenin' search pattern for 45 minutes but never again saw t' missin' glider. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! (Even with t' bright red cone that I thought would be a dead giveaway.) I be disappointed but nay as badly as I would have been had the last flight been a copy o' t' first two. Avast! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! At least I proved t' myself that t' idea be viable, me bucko, matey, if nay unlucky.

Summary:
PROs: Apogee nose cones worked great, as did t' whole project once I figured t' motor thin' out.

CONs: I think I needed a motor tutor.