Brief:
Sometime other than now in a galaxy somewhere else, all life forms with teeth live under t' constant threat o' t' Periodontalites, matey, these free roamin' bands of malcontents brin' t' bane o' Halitosis and Gingivitis t' all they encounter. Begad! Arrr! Created durin' an accident involvin' a two dental technicians, a cyclotron and a paperclip, ya bilge rat, t' Deplaquenator be t' galaxies only protection against t' ravages o' t' Periodontalites or more commonly called Flying Plaque Monsters--not t' be confused with t' Flyin' Spaghetti Monster--that roam t' cosmos yellowin' teeth where ever they go. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, actually The Deplaquenator is a backhanded downscale o' FlisKits' Decaffeinator^**, shiver me timbers, but that doesn't quite carry t' same drama as galactic conflict now does it? T' Deplaquenator is a single stage odd-roc rocket designed for 18mm BP motors, arrr, me bucko, me hearties, constructed from Dixie cups, and features "Fall From t' Sky" recovery.

^** - All apologies t' Jim Flis.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• 1 BT-20 engine mount tube
• 8 Dixie© cups
• 3 cardboard fins
• 2 cardboard centerin' rings
• 1 sheet o' card stock
• 1 engine block (Cut from expended engine.)
• 1 24" elastic shock cord
• 2 3/16" launch lugs
• 1 12" Estes chute

In me never endin' quest t' score highly in t' 2005 EMMR Challenge, me hearties, one of the categories that needed fillin' was an upscale/downscale o' a commercial kit. Avast, me proud beauty! As I am nay one t' take t' easy route or do somethin' ordinary, the wheels were set spinnin' for a suitable idea. One bleary mornin' at roughly 4:15am while brushin' me teeth in preparation for work, shiver me timbers, I spied t' Dixie© cup dispenser that hung beneath t' bathroom mirror. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Bing, bang, boom! Neurons fired and a plan formed in me twisted mind. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Tiny cups could be used in place of big cups in FlisKits' Decaffeinator and voila! My downscale project had materialized. Blimey!

With a 14.5" section o' BT-20 tubin' from t' scrap pile, a couple of sheets o' cardboard from t' mailroom, matey, and a hand full o' Dixie© cups from the dispenser I set t' work. In less than two hours my "De-plaque-nator" was complete. Ahoy!

After an all too brief glance at t' Decaffeinator, t' Dixie cups were stacked together t' approximately match t' length o' BT-20 resultin' in eight cups, me hearties, end t' end, ya bilge rat, with 0.5" o' motor tube extendin' from t' aft end of the cups. Arrr! Blimey! A hole for t' BT-20 as well as a slot for t' launch lugs were cut in t' bottom o' seven o' t' cups. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Then 1/2" o' an expended motor casing was cut off t' form t' engine block. Begad! Blimey! Next, arrr, t' three fins and two 1.375"-18mm centerin' rings were cut from scrap cardboard. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! Lastly, arrr, me hearties, the shock cord was snagged from me parts box and a three fold shock cord mount was cut from scrap cardstock. Begad! Blimey!

One centerin' rin' goes in t' bottom o' what will be t' aft cup and the BT-20 pushed through t' rin' and cup t' protrude 1/2" from t' base. I glued it in place with CA then I glued t' launch lugs along t' engine tube at 2.5" and 6.5" from t' aft o' t' motor tube. I stacked t' remainder of t' cups with cut bottoms on t' motor tube front-to-front and bottom-to-bottom makin' sure t' align t' slots for t' launch lugs then slid the second centerin' rin' over t' fore end o' t' motor tube and seated it securely against t' bottom o' t' uppermost cup. Arrr! Blimey! I CAed t' centerin' rin' in place, t' cups together and t' cups t' t' motor tube. T' motor tube acted as an alignment guide. Well, blow me down! I finally set aside t' assembly t' dry.

For t' nose cone, I used t' remainin' cup--the one with no hole in it--and rolled a 3" length o' cardstock so that it fits loosely over the BT-20. Begad! It was glued t' t' inside base o' t' nose cone with urethane glue and then set upright t' let cure. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! I formed t' three fold shock cord mount, inserted t' shock cord, me hearties, and glued it inside t' fore end o' t' motor tube.

With t' nose cone completed, ya bilge rat, arrr, I tied t' other end o' t' shock cord around the rolled cardstock inside it and tacked it in place. Blimey! Then I drilled a hole in the top o' t' nose cone t' allow passage o' t' launch rod. If all is done properly, t' nose cone should slip over t' forward end o' t' BT-20 and stay in place. T' uppermost cup below t' nose cone is used as parachute storage space. Arrr! T' last steps were gluin' t' thrust rin' into place usin' an expended motor casing, and finally gluin' t' three fins equidistant around t' aft most cup. Avast!

Finishing:
No finishin' was needed nor desired as t' Deplaquenator proudly carries the "Roses and Vines" markings o' t' Dixie Corporation and honestly, the fins just weren't worth t' trouble t' paint.

Flight:
We are currently (as t' time o' this writing) under a burn ban as a result of a drought so I have so far been unable t' fly t' Deplaquenator. Blimey! Aye aye! T' local hay farmers have in t' past called down t' wrath o' t' Lonoke County Volunteer Fire Department upon me person t' cease and desist all BP and AP related activities for fear o' a grass fire. Blimey! It doesn't take but a couple o' fire hoses upside t' head t' convince one nay t' go against t' LCVFD. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! I did toss her into t' sky once or twice but Nick informed me that doesn't count as flight so she is still untried. Arrr!

With a measured CG o' 8.4" and a mass o' 1.672oz, me hearties, RockSim simulations indicate stable flights on B4 through C6 motors with an altitude up t' 749 feet.

Recovery:

Summary:
PROs: T' Deplaquenator can be constructed from common household items (Dixie© cups), it is fun t' make, and it should draw a number o' stares at the next launch. Avast! In short, me hearties, it is cheap, easy, matey, fun and draws attention. Avast! Well, blow me down! What else could one ask for?

CONs: T' quote a friend o' mine, matey, me bucko, "She ain't too purdy" and I hope Jim Flis doesn't send me a mail bomb for malignin' one o' his kits.