Long before I was buildin' rockets, arrr, me hearties, a very small, me bucko, tumble recovery rocket be introduced by Estes. It was t' 1/2A powered Astron Sprite. Aye aye! Blimey! T' those nay familiar with this rocket, matey, I would like t' explain a very unique characteristic o' this design. Ahoy! When scaled up enough t' be powered by a high impulse motor, t' air flowin' past t' fin rin' creates a high-pitched whistle when launched. Well, blow me down! This is sometimes drowned out by t' initial noise o' t' motor, but is quite audible as t' motor burns out and continues durin' t' coast phase.

Back in 1999, durin' t' second launch o' me 4-inch airframe based Superscale Sprite, shiver me timbers, t' whistle was clearly heard by all those in attendance. Avast, me proud beauty! As t' rocket arced over, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, even before t' ooh’s and aah’s had subsided, me bucko, it be obvious that I had a major deployment problem…there was none! T' Sprite raced back t' earth, me hearties, and a fact that I be previously unaware of, became perfectly clear. This amazin' rocket whistled comin' down, louder than when it was goin' up. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! In fact, it whistled right up until it impacted with t' rock-hard Pennsylvania soil at our Jones Farm launch site. Avast! Naturally, matey, me fellow rocketeers were quick t' offer their condolences, arrr, me bucko, but I be more amused by t' memory o' it whistlin' back t' Earth. Avast, me proud beauty! I collected t' remains, includin' diggin' t' nosecone out o' t' ground, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and went back t' me truck t' prep me next rocket.

My son, me hearties, Chris, shiver me timbers, almost immediately began urgin' me t' build another one. Avast! Due t' t' amount o' work that be involved in t' project, me bucko, arrr, I be unwillin' t' commit t' such an ambitious undertaking. Well, blow me down! Begad! Over t' next twelve months or so, I did acquire a piece o' 15-inch diameter cardboard drum, which would make a fine fin ring, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, (my first one was 11.5-inch diameter) and a 24-inch long section o' 5.5-inch airframe. Begad! Blimey! This would amount t' a 7.3X version o' t' original Estes model. Aye aye! Blimey! I also purchased a 3 x 6 x 36-inch block o' balsa wood, that I planned on usin' t' turn a scale nosecone. Begad! Blimey! I cut t' block in two and laminated them together t' make a nice 6 x 6 x 18-inch blank, me hearties, and then set it aside, me hearties, where it would sit for almost another year. One weekend in February o' 2001, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I be turnin' a couple wooden nosecone patterns for a Tripoli Pittsburgh group project, arrr, t' Gloria Mundi III. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! After completin' this task, shiver me timbers, I decided t' go ahead, matey, ya bilge rat, and turn t' new Sprite nosecone from t' balsa block that had been collectin' dust. Avast! After finishin' t' outside form, ya bilge rat, it was necessary t' hollow out a large section o' t' cone so that I would be able t' add t' one-pound o' weight needed for stability. Avast! I cut a bulkhead from .5-inch plywood t' seal t' openin' that was epoxied into place after fillin' t' cone with expandin' foam. Aye aye! Before I knew it, matey, matey, t' nosecone was complete, and I be plannin' me next steps o' t' project, shiver me timbers, matey, that would soon come t' be known as "T' Lord o' t' Rings."

Next, I carefully cut a 5.5-inch section o' t' cardboard drum, me bucko, and prepared it t' be reinforced with a few layers o' fiberglass cloth. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I opted for two wraps o' 6-ounce woven cloth and a finishin' wrap o' 1.5-ounce cloth. T' last layer was done solely t' make it easier t' get a smooth surface for painting. Blimey! I used t' same process for t' airframe, me hearties, which, ya bilge rat, although it be made o' flexible phenolic, was nay strong enough for a project o' this size. Blimey! I printed patterns for t' fins and fin-caps usin' RockSim 5.0 and cut them from .25-inch aircraft plywood. Well, blow me down! Avast! Two centerin' rings were cut from t' same material, also usin' patterns created from RockSim. Well, blow me down! Twelve inches o' 38mm motor mount tubin' be cut and I had all t' parts necessary t' complete t' project.

A large T-nut be installed in t' forward centerin' rin' for recovery system attachment, as well as two in t' aft rin' for motor retention. T' forward rin' was epoxied t' t' motor tube, me bucko, and this assembly was installed into t' slotted body tube. With t' rear-centerin' rin' temporarily put in place for alignment purposes, ya bilge rat, t' fins were epoxied into place. Arrr! T' aft rin' was then removed, matey, and internal fillets used at both t' motor tube and t' inside o' t' body tube. Avast! Since I was goin' t' be usin' rail guides instead o' launch lugs, shiver me timbers, t' guides were secured with nuts from t' inside o' t' airframe at this time. Before permanently installin' t' rear-centerin' ring, t' remainder o' t' cavity be filled usin' 2-part expandin' foam. Fillets were added t' t' fins at t' outside o' t' airframe for added strength, usin' a combination o' epoxy and micro-balloons.

It be now time t' attach t' fin rin' and fin caps. Careful attention was paid t' t' alignment o' t' caps so that minimal fillin' o' gaps was necessary. When t' assembly be completely dried, me bucko, me bucko, I once again used t' epoxy/micro-balloon mixture t' create fillets both inside and outside t' fin rin' at each fin and fin cap. I used grain filler on t' plywood fins, and after some extensive sanding, was finally ready t' prime t' entire rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! More sanding, fillin' and primin' followed, matey, o' course, until I be ready t' paint. Arrr! After addin' an 18-foot, 5/8-inch tubular nylon shock cord and a Sky-Angle 52-inch parachute with Nomex protector, me hearties, arrr, t' total weight without motor is just over 8-pounds.

I launched t' completed project at our first Dragon's Fire launch o' t' season, April 7th, 2001. Accordin' t' simulations done in both RockSim and wRASP, it reached a max altitude o' approximately 1900 feet on an Aerotech I284 reload. Unlike me first Sprite, t' whistlin' only occurred on t' way up.