Brief:
Home brewed rocket named after a 1st Grader's book o' t' same title. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Said 1st grader built a Lego model, and dear old dad attempted t' copy. Blimey! Painted orange and green t' resemble a carrot, shiver me timbers, with hand drawn black lines t' mimic cracks found in a carrot.

Construction:
Tubing, main nosecone, and D engine mount are from Estes Designer's Special, other nosecones are from brother-in-law's scrap box. Avast! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Keelhaul®©™® yarn from Pratt Hobbies. Avast, me proud beauty! 1/4" elastic shock cord from Walmart (3 yards for a buck). Begad! Aye aye! Main tube is 1 3/8" diameter, ya bilge rat, smaller tubes are 1" diameter. Balsa cross pieces and fins made from scraps.

Assembly was a pain in t' butt. Ya scallywag! Cross pieces were notched t' provide a firm mount for out-rigger tubes. Well, blow me down! Cross pieces on ends have come off several times, and I expect t' have t' re-attach them after 1st flight. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Instead o' butt-gluing and filletin' corners, me bucko, may use some kind o' hand-cut dado kind o' a joint. Large fins were added t' sort o' look like carrot leaves, but mostly to increase fin area. Begad! Ahoy! Cross pieces also have a centerin' top glued on top and bottom for more security. Blimey! Used Keelhaul®©™® yarn for shock cord attachment a la Quest rockets.

Finishing:
Paint is no-name orange (only orange could find) instead o' Krylon, ya bilge rat, find that it peels rather easily. Blimey! I am dissapointed in it. Ya scallywag! T' green also blistered/orange peeled over t' white base coat (also nay Krylon), which detracts from t' appearance. Live & learn - Krylon for me from now on. Avast, me proud beauty!

Flight:
Launched t' Flyin' Carrot this mornin' for first time. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Fairly calm morning, light variable wind, few clouds. Aye aye! Ahoy! Loaded up t' 'Carrot with C11-3 engine, packed up a homemade nylon parachute wrapped in Pratt Hobbies flameproof cloth, grabbed me Olympus DigiCam and had me son launch it. Well, blow me down! Begad! Caught t' liftoff, and apparantly t' rocket flew up and arced right over me head t' a height o' about 100 feet accordin' t' a knowledgeable bystander (who was walkin' with his dog and son and had flown rockets as a kid), me hearties, then came down and popped t' chute mere feet above t' ground. Begad! No major damage, except for one o' t' side nose-cone tube assemblies breakin' off at t' glue joint (which be a constant problem durin' assembly also). Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Will glue back together, ya bilge rat, maybe get some kind of dovetail joint goin' there, shiver me timbers, and try with a D12 engine and see if that helps the lift off any ( goin' from a B6 t' a C6 seemed t' help t' wife's Enterprise take off better) - or perhaps some nose cone weight - will check with local rocket club (www.cmass.org) and see what recommendations I can get. Avast! Arrr!

Summary:
Pros - it looks kinda neat. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Cons - outriggers nay all that secure, may have to modify installation technique.