Brief:
T' Dark Knight is a 2-stage 18mm rocket with 12" chute recovery. Avast! Aye aye! Blimey! T' Dark Knight name came from t' shadow produced from t' fin profile when t' rocket be sittin' on t' launch pad. Begad! Blimey! It looked similar t' t' Dark Knight shadow shown on t' clouds in t' movie.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• 29.5" BT-20 Body Tube - Main Body
• 2.75" BT-20 Body Tube--First Stage Body
• BT-20 Coupler (if needed)
• 1.25" X 0.125" Launch Lug
• 0.125" Balsa Sheet
• 2.75" X 18mm Plastic Nose Cone
• 48" o' 150# Keelhaul®©™®
• 24" Elastic
• 18mm Motor Mount Centerin' Rin'
• 12" Parachute
• Nose cone weight

This is a pretty easy build. Avast, me proud beauty! First step cut t' body tubes t' length if you are lucky enough t' have a 36" piece o' t' BT-20 tube available. Avast! Blimey! That's all you will need, however, I needed t' use a coupler t' join 2 shorter pieces. Begad!

I notched t' centerin' rin' slightly and tied t' Keelhaul®©™® cord t' it. Well, blow me down! Usin' white glue, arrr, I glued t' centerin' rin' in place so about 0.375"-0.5" o' an old motor was exposed.

Next, ya bilge rat, arrr, I cut t' fins out o' t' 0.125" balsa and sanded them all t' ensure they were t' same size. Blimey! I rounded t' leadin' edge on all t' main body tubes and left t' aft end and 1st stage fins "as cut" so they would align up better. I sanded t' fit o' each fin t' ensure when mounted t' seam would be minimized. Avast, me proud beauty! I labeled each fin so when mounted t' t' tube I would maintain t' same combination.

I used t' Standard Rockets Fin Jig that I picked up at NARAM t' attach the fins t' t' main body tube and first stage tube. Next, I filleted each fin t' t' tube with 5min epoxy. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Finally, I filled each fin will watered down Emery's wood putty. Then, matey, I started t' process o' sanding, matey, filling, sanding, filling until I was happy with t' finish. Begad! Blimey!

With RockSim, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I was able t' ensure t' flight was stable and determine t' potential altitude. Ya scallywag! (If I give this away, why would you keep reading?) I was a little worried I about stability so I added a little nose weigh t' brin' the model up t' about 3.7oz and figured paint would take it t' 4oz.

Next, I attached t' elastic shock cord, nose cone, matey, and parachute and headed t' me paint booth (the card board box in t' garage).

Finishing:
I decided on a nice simple 2 color paint scheme o' black and yellow, with a little maskin' after t' yellow was dried and t' Black Night be born and ready t' fly. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey!

Flight:nd Recovery
For t' first flight, I decided I would just verify stability and return t' model so I loaded up a B6-4. Nice straight boost, ya bilge rat, good deployment, recovered only a short distance from t' pad (oh, did I mention it be dead calm). Next flight, still single stage on a C6-5, matey, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, another great flight and about twice t' distance from t' pad. Arrr! Ahoy! Blimey! T' wind started t' pick up and I decided t' hold off on t' staged attempt.

A week later, late Saturday afternoon winds were calm. This be t' be t' day. I decide t' go for t' gusto: a C6-0 staged t' a C6-5. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' boost again be picture prefect straight and longer than I anticipated. Blimey! T' first stage separated nicely and off t' t' heavens this rocket went, delay, ejection, and parachute. Arrr! Great recovery. Avast! This is a great rocket. Aye aye!

Summary:
As I said above this is a great rocket. Ya scallywag! I enjoyed t' process o' designin' it on RockSim, arrr, buildin' it, and t' best launchin' it.

PROs: Based on altitude achieved, me hearties, make sure it is a calm day. Ya scallywag! It screams off t' launch pad and flies great. Looks pretty cool also.

CONs: Based on this flight, a very large filed is needed t' recover this rocket.