Brief:
For t' EMRR Stagin' Challenge, arrr, I decided t' build a two-stage rocket with composite motors. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Since I had done a 2-stage before, matey, I figured it would be easy. Begad! WRONG... I decided t' do a 3-inch bird with dual deploy and a 19-inch booster with motor deployment. Avast!

Construction:
This time I decided t' use alignment rods in t' stage coupler t' keep t' rocket aligned. Ahoy! Begad! I didn't have any 'sleeves' for t' rods t' slide through, so I went with spaced centerin' rings with holes t' guide t' rods. Ya scallywag! I've discovered that I really need a drill press. Blimey! Because I was usin' a handheld power drill, arrr, ya bilge rat, I wasn't that accurate in drillin' holes through t' 2 sustainer centerin' rings and t' stagin' coupler. Well, blow me down! Avast! It still works, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but it isn't pretty. Begad!

There are holes in both centerin' rings that are supposed t' be aligned. Arrr! That didn't work out as smoothly as I had hoped.

T' motor mount is recessed into t' sustainer t' provide a connection for t' top half o' t' stage coupler. Since a 3" tube won't allow me t' get me hand in t' connect t' shock cord, I made t' fin can on both the sustainer and booster removable. Ahoy! T' sustainer fin can is held in place by small screws. T' booster fin can will eject and deploy t' booster chute. Avast! T' whole project is about 83 inches tall, ya bilge rat, about 3.5 lbs empty, and can fly on 38mm motors.

Finishing:
T' fit/finish betwixt t' booster and t' stage coupler is a little rough, but once it's painted it might nay be that noticeable. It *certainly* won't be noticeable on t' pad.

Flight:
Electronics will be a PerfectFlite timer for staging, ya bilge rat, and a PerfectFlite MAWD for deployment. RockSim says it will get t' a little higher than 2000 feet with a CTI 153 stagin' t' a CTI G79ss.

For t' 2-stage challenge, I decided t' build one that used composite motors. Ya scallywag! Since I have done stagin' before, arrr, I didn't expect thar t' be a problem. Arrr! Boy, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me bucko, was I wrong... Ahoy! Aye aye! T' main problem be t' size o' t' new project. Well, blow me down! T' previous 2-stager be almost a 4" tube. That left room for t' timer betwixt t' sustainer fins, and a standard-type ebay. This one is a 3", me bucko, and thar's no room in t' fincan. Ya scallywag! So I put t' timer in t' ebay, ya bilge rat, and ran a connector wire down t' ignite t' sustainer motor. Ya scallywag! I had t' splice t' wire so it would disconnect when t' apogee event fired. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' next issue I ran into was t' stage connector. Well, blow me down! I decided t' use metal rods t' connect and align t' sustainer t' t' stage connector. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! I don't have a drill press, so me holes through t' centerin' rings are...less than exact. Avast! Well, blow me down! Last issue was t' 3" bay be too small t' use switches t' power on everything, me hearties, so I had t' run all t' wires through a hole in t' e-bay and twist them t' connect. That posed a problem t' first time I tried t' launch. Begad! Ahoy! I test fit t' electronics when I built t' bay, but nothin' was connected. In t' field, I sadly discovered thar wasn't enough space for all the wires t' fit and route t' t' outside. I had t' rebuild t' sled t' avoid that problem for t' next attempt. Well, blow me down!

T' field we used has a waiver o' 5000', ya bilge rat, matey, but I wanted t' make sure I kept t' flight much lower than that. Aye aye! RockSim 7 showed an altitude o' about 3800 feet on a CTI H143/G79ss combo.

Electronics: ARTS board for apogee/main deployment o' t' sustainer, arrr, PerfectFlite timer for sustainer motor. T' booster recovers under its own chute by motor ejection. Begad! Payload: BoosterVision GearCam taped t' t' side. Crude, but effective.

Launch day: I racked t' rocket, set up t' breakwire, ya bilge rat, and twisted t' wires for power. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Since I didn't have enough room t' push t' wires back into t' bay, I taped them t' t' outside. Ya scallywag! Blimey! That be a mistake... Blimey! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' launch was beautiful! Blimey! Straight, and staged on cue. Avast! Blimey! T' booster chute came out and it drifted down safely. Ahoy! Blimey! T' sustainer had a good apogee event(drogueless), but I lost sight o' it while followin' t' booster. Blimey! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! There be no main deployment, arrr, and fellow club members pointed me in t' direction they saw it fall. While walkin' out for recovery, shiver me timbers, I tried t' figure out what went wrong. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Too many sheer pins? Nay enough BP? When I got t' it, me hearties, I immediately knew what happened. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' armin' wires were taped t' t' bottom o' t' sustainer. Aye aye! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! When t' apogee separation occured, it ripped t' wires out o' the altimeter, killin' power. Avast! Blimey! AUGH! Blimey! I powered up t' ARTS board later, and t' data showed 1700 ft accel, 1500 baro. Ahoy! Blimey! WAY short o' Rocksim's prediction, so t' loss o' power probably scrambled t' data. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! But other than t' ebay being crunched, me hearties, and t' booster bein' scorched by t' sustainer motor, it didn't come out too bad. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I can replace t' ebay and fly it again.