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

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

There are holes in both centerin' rings that are supposed t' be aligned. Avast! 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. T' sustainer fin can is held in place by small screws. T' booster fin can will eject and deploy t' booster chute. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' whole project is about 83 inches tall, 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, and a PerfectFlite MAWD for deployment. Blimey! Begad! 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, ya bilge rat, I decided t' build one that used composite motors. Ya scallywag! Since I have done stagin' before, me bucko, I didn't expect thar t' be a problem. Arrr! Boy, arrr, arrr, me bucko, was I wrong... Begad! Begad! T' main problem be t' size o' t' new project. Avast, me proud beauty! T' previous 2-stager be almost a 4" tube. Arrr! That left room for t' timer betwixt t' sustainer fins, me bucko, and a standard-type ebay. This one is a 3", me bucko, and thar's no room in t' fincan. So I put t' timer in t' ebay, shiver me timbers, and ran a connector wire down t' ignite t' sustainer motor. I had t' splice t' wire so it would disconnect when t' apogee event fired. Aye aye! T' next issue I ran into was t' stage connector. Aye aye! I decided t' use metal rods t' connect and align t' sustainer t' t' stage connector. I don't have a drill press, so me holes through t' centerin' rings are...less than exact. Last issue was t' 3" bay was too small t' use switches t' power on everything, 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. Blimey! Avast! I test fit t' electronics when I built t' bay, me bucko, me bucko, but nothin' be connected. Begad! Blimey! In t' field, me hearties, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I sadly discovered thar wasn't enough space for all the wires t' fit and route t' t' outside. Begad! Begad! I had t' rebuild t' sled t' avoid that problem for t' next attempt. Ahoy!

T' field we used has a waiver o' 5000', but I wanted t' make sure I kept t' flight much lower than that. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! RockSim 7 showed an altitude o' about 3800 feet on a CTI H143/G79ss combo. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty!

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

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