Brief:
T' "A Salt Vehicle" be built for t' EMRR Challenge 2007, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, t' be a rocket made entirely from trash and finished in a unique style. Ya scallywag! This rocket is a tiny saucer, shiver me timbers, 1.5in tall, 3in diameter, and weighin' 0.5oz. Begad! It be made from a standard container o' salt and was finished by coverin' all surfaces in salt.

Construction:
T' components needed were: 1 salt container, 1 soda straw, matey, glue, me bucko, spray mist adhesive, me hearties, and salt.

To begin, me bucko, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I used an empty salt container and t' free 13mm "delta" saucer plans from Art Applewhite. Ya scallywag! I cut a rectangular portion o' cardboard from t' bottom o' t' container and wrapped it around a spent 13mm casing, gluin' around t' seam. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! With some scraps o' cardboard from t' first step, me bucko, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I fashioned an engine block and glued it in place.

For t' saucer body, I used only t' top portion o' t' Applewhite plans. Ya scallywag! Due t' the curvature in t' salt container, ya bilge rat, me saucer disk didn't retain a nice conical shape, arrr, me bucko, so I cut out three triangles, serendipitously mimickin' t' nuclear radiation symbol. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! These were glued t' t' motor tube, arrr, rememberin' t' cant them as for t' Applewhite saucer. Avast! Since thar be no bottom saucer disk or support struts, I made extra thick glue fillets. Ahoy! Avast! A launch lug be made from a soda straw, shiver me timbers, slit and resize appropriately.

Finishing:
All t' holes were plugged with wadded paper tissue. Well, blow me down! I layered some salt in a shoe box. Well, blow me down! Then I sprayed Stick It Mist Spray Adhesive all over t' saucer, placed it in t' shoe box, shiver me timbers, arrr, and poured more salt over t' top, me hearties, buryin' t' craft. After a dryin' period, I removed t' saucer and repeated t' whole procedure twice more. I ended with an overspray of the adhesive. Begad! When finished, t' saucer be so fuzzy that I rubbed off some o' t' larger clumps t' get an even finish.

Flight and Recovery:
All three launches were on 1/2A3-2T motors. Boost wasn't pretty--some spin and lots o' wobble. Begad! Blimey! There was clearly some tendency toward instability in at least one flight. Blimey! A stratosphere-bustin' altitude o' 50-60 feet be achieved. From there, me hearties, matey, ya bilge rat, tumble recovery onto t' grass was nay a problem. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I should mention that I have also built a 13mm Delta Saucer stock, and it flies flawlessly (plus you can launch it from a small back yard!)

Summary:
This was sort o' a silly little project, but I did learn one important thin' for some future build. Blimey! Blimey! T' salt container comes with one o' those little metal, me bucko, retractable spouts. A much niftier version o' t' Applewhite saucer (or some other small rocket) could be made by buildin' t' rocket completely accordin' t' t' standard directions, me bucko, then insertin' t' spout as a retractable saucer hatch from which miniature aliens might emerge. Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! T' spout is just t' right size and would look really cool, me hearties, especially on t' mini-saucer.