Brief:
A longish rocket with purple and yellow, me hearties, me bucko, consistin' o' 6 fins, me bucko, 3 tubes, and a head lamp with a comic super hero embedded. Blimey! Blimey! This rocket be designed t' be able t' be flown on t' D12-5 or t' E9-6 engines.

Construction:
Surprise items:

• 3 pin' pong balls
• Somethin' from a gum ball machine–-a light with a comic superhero inside.
• A plastic egg

Here are all t' parts. Ya scallywag! As you can see, I received a gold mine o' various tubes. Blimey! Unfortunately, I only had one tube that would fit t' nose cone with all t' other tubes bein' o' various sizes.

I didn't know where t' start, so I started with t' motor mount. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I found a tube that would fit a typical E motor (24mm) and I glued in a thrust rin' at t' proper spot, me bucko, approximately 2.75 inches from t' end. Arrr! T' thrust rin' was made by cuttin' a portion o' t' toilet paper roll an inch long, then cuttin' a portion o' that out t' give it a smaller diameter.

T' next portion I decided t' do was t' create t' upper fins. Begad! This be done by cuttin' a ¾ inch tube in 3 equal lengths which came t' 2.75 inches each. Ya scallywag! Then I glued t' 3 orange fins t' them. Begad! In order for t' fins t' lay flat on t' tubes, a slit was cut into t' tubes so that t' tabs o' t' fins would slide through. Avast!

Wow, ya bilge rat, looks great doesn't it? Now set those aside for a moment. Arrr! Begad! Next I took t' 1/8 inch thick balsa sheet and cut 3 fins. Aye aye! Each fin had approximately t' followin' dimensions:

I then glued t' balsa fins at t' bottom and t' 3 orange and tube fins near t' top o' t' tube. Begad! Arrr! I didn't have a good picture o' this so I'll use a diagram.

There, t' rocket is takin' shape. Aye aye! Now I just need t' add a bit o' flair. Well, blow me down! I took one half o' t' plastic egg, cut a hole in it t' size o' t' diameter o' t' lower body tube (1 inch), then slid it down t' top o' t' lower body tube until it be just above t' tube fin combos. Aye aye!

Now at this point, I discovered a problem. Begad! I liked that t' half egg be there, but because it altered the overall diameter o' t' lower part o' t' rocket, shiver me timbers, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I needed t' place t' launch lugs on some kind o' standoff or else the launch rod would have t' go through t' egg.

I found another tube that be about 4 inches long and 0.75 inches in diameter. I sliced it in half lengthwise. Out o' one o' those halves, matey, I cut a piece that was 2 inches long and then another piece 1 inch long, discardin' the remainder. I then placed t' 2 inch piece centered betwixt 2 fins about inch above t' bottom o' t' lower body tube. T' other was centered in betwixt t' upper fins. Avast! Then, matey, on each o' t' standoffs, I glued a portion o' t' launch lugs.

Now t' work on t' payload section. Begad! This portion o' t' project be a little trickier. Blimey! I started with t' easiest part: t' nose cone.

First, one o' me surprise items was t' be somethin' from a gum ball machine. Arrr! One day I was at me local Fuddruckers, chowin' down on a burger with extra pickles and mayo when me deadlights were pulled t' t' dank corners o' the restaurant. Avast! Lo and behold were all these little machines with blinky lights that for years have sucked t' quarters from t' lint filled pockets o' starry eyed kids. Begad! I was starry eyed. Well, me hearties, blow me down! I sauntered over, wipin' mayo on me sleeve, me hearties, and side stepped a pickle on t' floor... Then I delved into me pockets with greasy fingers and pulled out a couple of quarters. Arrr! Moments later I had this light bulb thingy on a key chain. Arrr! Avast! It had a switch on t' side that when flipped, will give off a glow from t' top. Blimey! Ya scallywag! If you looked into t' glow, you could see a super hero type o' comic character, arrr, but with me poor eyesight, ya bilge rat, it reminded me o' a muscular cat with a funny hat. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! I nicknamed him Gaylord. When I got home, I cut off t' chain with me trusty old Dremel and cut t' tip o' t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! I cut t' tip large enough t' fit the mini flash doohickey. I now had me nosecone.

Next comes t' harder part: usin' t' pesky pin' pong balls. Ya scallywag! I decided that I was goin' t' use t' balls as part of a pod like object that would be connected t' t' payload section. Avast, me proud beauty! I cut a tube that be ¾ inch diameter into a 5 inch long piece. Avast, me proud beauty! In each o' t' pin' pong balls--and this is where it was tricky because pin' pong balls don't like to cooperate--I cut a hole that would allow me t' insert t' 5 inch piece. Aye aye! I then slid t' first pin' pong ball onto it until just a tip o' t' tube was pokin' out. Begad! Begad! On this end, me bucko, I did a little somethin' more. Ahoy! I found a tube that would make a perfect coupler for t' lower body tube. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! I attached this t' t' end o' t' pin' pong ball. Arrr! T' next step was t' take 2 more pin' pong balls and slide it down next t' t' others. Blimey! Now I had somethin' like this:

But I'm nay done yet. Ahoy! Avast! I took t' toilet paper tube that I had left over and cut a piece 3 inches long. This piece will fit over t' pin' pong balls snugly. Blimey! Now I had somethin' like this:

Now, I glued t' payload section, shiver me timbers, which is a 1.25 inch diameter by 10 inches long tube t' t' payload side (the side with t' 0.75 inch tube stickin' out). Avast, me proud beauty! Now I had somethin' like this (please forgive me artistry):

On t' end with t' coupler, shiver me timbers, me bucko, a bulkplate will be needed. I made a mistake while I was buildin' Gaylord. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I cut a piece o' round cardboard from t' box that I received t' parts in and then glued it t' t' end o' t' coupler. If I was smart, I would have used this as an opportunity t' glue in t' shock chord inside t' coupler. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Then I could have glued in t' cardboard bulkplate pinchin' in t' shock chord inside t' coupler for further "holding" power. Begad! Blimey!

Usin' t' folded paper method (glue t' chord t' a strip o' paper and fold twice), ya bilge rat, I glued t' chord t' the inside o' t' lower body tube and far down as your little fingers can reach. T' other end, I glued t' chord t' the base o' t' bulk plate in t' coupler.

Finishing:
I taped over t' flashlight thingy o' t' nose cone t' keep it from bein' painted. Arrr! I then sprayed primer, ya bilge rat, arrr, sanded, me hearties, and sprayed another coat. Well, blow me down! After some sandin' I used some purple paint that I found on sale, which was great because the flash light thingy was already purple.

Flight and Recovery:
On July 25, me hearties, at MDRA's launch, matey, me hearties, I launched Gaylord on a D12-5. Ahoy! Blimey! T' winds were eastward at about 10mph. Aye aye! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! At liftoff, Gaylord made a nice slow liftoff and arced slightly into t' wind t' an altitude o' about 500 feet. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' ejection was less than perfect as me shock chord did nay hold t' t' base o' t' bulkplate and thar be a separation. Fortunately the damage was only minor in that t' coupler broke on landing.