Brief:
This rocket is named for t' local hockey team and is decorated in Coyotes colors. Avast, me proud beauty! It is single staged, but can fly on 1, me bucko, 3, 4, me hearties, 6, or 7 29mm motors. Aye aye! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! It has 3 fins, arrr, but if 6 were used, shiver me timbers, then flights on 2 and 5 motors are theoretically possible. This is based on t' notion o' symmetrically placing motors and fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Thus far it has been flown with G motors, but I am looking into t' possibility o' usin' a central H motor or clusterin' 3 or 4 Kosdon H motors. Aye aye! I have used motors with low average thrust and long delays. T' rocket recovers on a homemade purple 60-inch parachute.

Construction:
T' nose cone is an LOC 4-inch by 12 inch hollow plastic model. Begad! Thus far I have not placed any mass objects within, but have used 2-part polyurethane-epoxy foam t' mount a long piece o' wire that used t' be a metal shroud line from a military parachute, inside t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! This serves as t' attachment point for me parachute and t' shock cord. Ahoy! Experience has shown that high speed deployments break t' plastic loop on t' nose cone meant t' attach cords. Blimey! The nose cone was obtained from Atomic Rockets in Phoenix. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Magnum also carries them. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! T' 2-part foam can be found at Hobby Bench. Also, Space Modeling Solutions, which has an ROL site, also carries it.

T' main body tube is also LOC, ya bilge rat, and is a 34-inch long, 4-inch diameter paper body tube. This be also gotten at Atomic Rockets. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' seven motor tubes are all 17-inch lengths o' LOC paper 29mm motor tubes. Arrr! Since these tubes come in 34-inch lengths, halvin' them served well. These tubes are affixed with 12-minute epoxy in a 6 around 1 pattern often called t' star cluster. Avast, me proud beauty! I used maskin' tape t' keep them together while t' epoxy dried. Blimey! Another viable way to do this and get straight results is t' epoxy three pairs separately first, then apply t' pairs around t' central tube. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! This structure is then placed inside the main body tube with 12-minute epoxy and gaps filled in with t' 2-part foam. Begad! If t' main body tube chosen allows t' 7 motor tubes t' fit loosely, a 6-inch section o' 4-inch paper coupler tubin' from LOC can be used t' tighten that fit. Anyway, push in these tubes until 12 inches still protrudes out the end o' t' main body.

T' fins are 3/8 inch thick Baltic birch and measure 7 3/4 inches in span, arrr, 8 1/4 inch root edge, and 1 1/4 inch tip. They were cut with a bandsaw. T' fins are epoxied with first 12 minute, me bucko, arrr, then filleted with 30 minute epoxy into every second groove betwixt t' motor tubes. Begad! Ahoy! This is called wedge fin attachment by LOC, me hearties, shiver me timbers, who, with their 4-29SS, inspired me t' create this bird. T' leadin' edges and tips are all sanded t' a rounded edge. Arrr! T' wood was found at a local hardwood store called, shiver me timbers, New Beginnings in Wood, ya bilge rat, and can also be found at Home Depot. Well, blow me down! Arrr!

There are 2 launch lugs, and they are brass pipe fittings 1 inch long by 3/4 inch diameter. Ahoy! T' inside diameter has taken lightnin' rods t' 5/8 inch diameter with slack. Ya scallywag! These lugs were found at Home Depot. Begad! Ahoy! They were applied at 20 and 30 inches from t' top o' t' main body with 12-minute epoxy and the connection was later reinforced with 30-minute fillets. Well, blow me down!

T' homemade parachute is 60 inches in diameter and is made up o' 8 sloped triangular gores o' rip stop nylon. Blimey! Blimey! T' gores are sewn together with a 4-thread serger and t' spill hole and shroud lines are sewn and finished with a straight stitch. Begad! Blimey! T' shroud lines are 1/8 inch polypropylene cording. Ya scallywag! T' shock cord is 10 feet o' wire wrapped bungee cord found at American Science and Surplus, which has mail catalogs and an ROL site. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! T' bungee is anchored via a u-bolt through a 1/4 inch thick 4-inch diameter birch centerin' rin' 20 inches down inside t' main body tube from t' top o' t' rocket. T' centerin' ring was bought from Space Modelin' Solutions and t' hardware from Home Depot. Fred Meyer grocery store also carries u-bolts. Arrr! T' assembly was affixed in place with 2 coatings o' 12-minute epoxy, and t' underside o' t' rin' where the u-bolt be bolted was also reinforced with 12-minute epoxy.

About t' trickiest part o' t' assembly process is makin' sure that the fins are straight and nay angled. Begad! Be patient and do one at a time. Begad! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I sighted down t' body tube t' check alignment often, me bucko, with each fin. T' result is a sturdy rocket even without fiberglassing. Ahoy! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! It also looks strong. Aye aye! In fact, another modeler said that it "looked like trouble askin' t' happen". I added three vent holes in t' main body tube 20 inches from t' bottom o' the main tube t' prevent premature separation o' t' nose cone. Blimey! I did this with an awl. Well, blow me down!

Metallic green spray paint provided t' main color, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and a sports shop provided me with Coyotes puck stickers for t' fins. A Monokote Coyote was also affixed t' t' body. When I decorated t' bird, me bucko, I applied sparklin' diffraction gratin' paper that is self adhesive. This is great for looks and visibility. Begad! Well, blow me down! It can be bought from American Science and Surplus. Aye aye! T' ones in Coyotes colors was found at Craft Mart and Michaels, me hearties, two craft chains. Aye aye! I also ran a loop o' this decor over t' launch lugs t' reinforce their connection.

Flight:
I ran this design through Rocksim 4 with t' prediction that it would not require mass added t' t' nose, me bucko, even with 7 G motors. Ahoy! Final preps included placin' 29mm wood bulkheads into all 6 o' t' outboard tubes so that only the central motor would do t' ejection o' t' chute. Blimey! This was decided when I wanted t' eliminate t' chance o' pressure loss when t' outboards aren't used or if I'm usin' single use motors with short delays. They can simply eject themselves. Well, blow me down! T' bulkheads came from Space Modelin' Solutions, whose owner had just made centerin' rings for 29mm motors and had these left over! I happily epoxied them in at t' length o' an Aerotech G40. Blimey!

Since this design was goin' t' be me special pride, I decided t' put it t' a punishin' test t' be sure that it would be worthy t' show off. Aye aye! First, 4 G80's. Rocksim predicted 10 seconds as a good delay for t' central motor, so a G80-10T be in t' center. Begad! I had 3 other G80T's but they were delays o' 7. No problem, shiver me timbers, me hearties, since t' outer tubes had t' bulkheads. And for neatness and style, I added streamers t' t' motors for their fall. Ya scallywag! I used worm bed wadding, ya bilge rat, enough to fill t' body tube's diameter. Aye aye! Begad! I got this from Space Modelin' Solutions. Blimey! I placed a thin rin' o' maskin' tape around t' nose cone shoulder t' tighten the fit, but nay make it too tight t' pop. Blimey! I used 4 low current igniters from AAA Model Aviation Fuels and a car battery and relay system t' be sure all 4 lit. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down!

T' rocket screamed t' easily 2000 feet and deployed t' chute perfectly. T' rocket be arcin' down a little, me hearties, so maybe 9 seconds would have been okay, with an altimeter. Begad! T' rocket landed intact right at rangehead!

Next, I decided that it was time t' do t' true test, Seven motors. I had 7 G40's, arrr, and one had a 10-second delay. Ahoy! T' others were 7's. Like with t' first flight, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I meticulously friction fitted t' central motor with maskin' tape so that it wouldn't eject, because it be its job t' deploy me chute. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Looking back, if I would change anything, me bucko, it would be t' add a loop o' piano wire between tubes so that it could be bent over t' central motor as a retainer. Then I found 7 Igniterman igniters and wired them in parallel. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! T' liftoff was even louder and more fiery than t' first time and it soared out o' sight. I listened for t' popopopop sound t' know that t' motors fired and proudly beheld me large purple chute. Avast! Ahoy! This time I had t' walk a mile t' get t' rocket back, but it was glorious. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! This time, ya bilge rat, 10 seconds seemed right.

Summary:
Easy t' find parts, shiver me timbers, darin' and fun t' fly, me bucko, ya bilge rat, with spectators lovin' it. Begad! Can be flown on just 1 motor, or as many as 7. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Unless you airstart any o' t' outboard motors, ya bilge rat, do use motors with t' same thrust characteristics and same propellant to be sure that all light at t' same time. I also suggest usin' a battery with enough current capability t' light all t' igniters at once as well. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I suggest that t' igniters all be t' same type too, shiver me timbers, so that you don't get some motors lightin' and others not, resultin' in a lateral flight.

Other:
Go for it, you clusterguys! If we never take chances, we'll never know how much fun clusters are.