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

Construction:
T' components needed were: 1 salt container, arrr, 1 soda straw, me hearties, glue, spray mist adhesive, ya bilge rat, and salt.

To begin, ya bilge rat, I used an empty salt container and t' free 13mm "delta" saucer plans from Art Applewhite. Ahoy! 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. Begad! With some scraps o' cardboard from t' first step, I fashioned an engine block and glued it in place.

For t' saucer body, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I used only t' top portion o' t' Applewhite plans. Ya scallywag! Due t' the curvature in t' salt container, me saucer disk didn't retain a nice conical shape, matey, so I cut out three triangles, serendipitously mimickin' t' nuclear radiation symbol. Blimey! These were glued t' t' motor tube, ya bilge rat, 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. Well, blow me down! Begad! A launch lug be made from a soda straw, matey, slit and resize appropriately.

Finishing:
All t' holes were plugged with wadded paper tissue. Ahoy! I layered some salt in a shoe box. Avast, me proud beauty! Then I sprayed Stick It Mist Spray Adhesive all over t' saucer, shiver me timbers, me hearties, placed it in t' shoe box, shiver me timbers, and poured more salt over t' top, me hearties, buryin' t' craft. After a dryin' period, ya bilge rat, I removed t' saucer and repeated t' whole procedure twice more. Ya scallywag! I ended with an overspray of the adhesive. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! When finished, shiver me timbers, me bucko, t' saucer was 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. There be clearly some tendency toward instability in at least one flight. Aye aye! A stratosphere-bustin' altitude o' 50-60 feet be achieved. From there, tumble recovery onto t' grass be nay a problem. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I should mention that I have also built a 13mm Delta Saucer stock, matey, and it flies flawlessly (plus you can launch it from a small back yard!)

Summary:
This be sort o' a silly little project, matey, but I did learn one important thin' for some future build. Well, blow me down! T' salt container comes with one o' those little metal, retractable spouts. Aye aye! Arrr! 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 hearties, then insertin' t' spout as a retractable saucer hatch from which miniature aliens might emerge. T' spout is just t' right size and would look really cool, especially on t' mini-saucer.