Brief:
T' Tsuru marks t' apex o' 23rd century Japanese fighter craft. Ahoy! Avast! It be named after t' peaceful and auspicious white crane, arrr, although t' sight o' this bird on your tail is enough t' strike fear into t' hearts o' most adversaries.

This is a scratch-built fighter craft with a futuristic look and featuring rear ejection from a separate parachute pod. It's based on BT-55, is 25" tall, with 13" canted wingspan, ya bilge rat, and 7.25oz empty. Aye aye! Arrr! It is intended for AT 18mm D RMS motors.

My goal be t' design a fighter-style rocket with none o' t' sharp corners and angles found in most such designs. Avast! Ahoy! Mine is all curves. T' basic design was sketched on paper one night, and then I built it by eye, modifyin' things as I went. T' fighter has two under win' laser cannons on t' downward-canted canards, shiver me timbers, arrr, two missiles under t' upward-canted wings, shiver me timbers, two more laser cannons on the tail underneath, ya bilge rat, and one main missile under t' arched win' canopy.

Construction:
I don't have step-by-step construction information because t' build was improvisational. Ya scallywag! Below are a few highlights.

T' ejection system is an experimental separate-tube aft ejection scheme.

T' nose cone is glued on. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' glued-in motor mount is a telescopin' tube that fits just over a standard BT-20 and is anchored in t' body tube with two centerin' rings. T' BT-20 contains t' motor, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and is dry fit so it can slide easily in and out. There is a block that prevents it from shootin' up into the fuselage. Begad! Avast!

Keelhaul®©™® is tied t' this BT-20 in two places. Well, blow me down! T' first Keelhaul®©™® (about 24") attaches t' BT-20 t' t' aft centerin' ring. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! This prevents the motor casin' assembly from completely separatin' from t' rocket. In its packed formation, shiver me timbers, this Keelhaul®©™® is just wound around t' BT-20, matey, so when t' BT-20/motor ejects backwards this Keelhaul®©™® just spirals out until fully extended.

T' second Keelhaul®©™® attaches t' t' BT-20/motor casin' and exits t' aft o' t' rocket t' sneak up into t' large missile tube above t' main body. Ahoy! Arrr! This is where t' chute is stored, me hearties, ya bilge rat, with some additional Keelhaul®©™® and elastic length. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' idea is that t' ejection charge will shoot t' motor (friction fit) and its BT-20 casin' out t' aft o' t' rocket, draggin' t' chute out o' its compartment. Ahoy! T' chute is packed in t' tube snugly enough t' prevent it fallin' out durin' boost, me bucko, but loosely enough t' be yanked out by t' ejecting motor case at apogee. Arrr! Also, t' two lengths o' Keelhaul®©™® need t' be sized appropriately so that t' ejectin' motor doesn't reach the "end o' its rope" before fully yankin' out t' chute!

T' plan be that t' resultin' nose-first descent would help protect the elaborate tail assemblies durin' landing.

I used virtually every tube in t' book from BT-55 downward, includin' some cool micro tubes for small missiles, shiver me timbers, with tiny balsa nose cones. Begad! Ahoy! Fins, canards, shiver me timbers, etc. were improvised as I went, shiver me timbers, followin' t' spirit o' me original sketch. T' arched canopy was cut from a cardboard oatmeal container and wallpapered with card stock and white glue. Ya scallywag! T' cockpit was hand-carved from balsa. Begad! T' various laser mounts, lights, etc. were pirated from me daughter's necklace bead kit.

Finishing:
I always fill, shiver me timbers, sand and seal before assembly with diluted Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish. Avast, me proud beauty! T' canards also got a first coat o' CA for extra strength. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Rustoleum white spray paint be used over gray primer. Aye aye! T' black parts were brush painted with Testors gloss black and scotch tape masks. Begad! T' red and gold portions were painted freehand, me bucko, again with Testors. Arrr! T' Japanese "tsuru" kanji symbol was downloaded from t' web, ya bilge rat, spruced up in Adobe Illustrator, printed on plain white paper, and glued in place with spray adhesive. Ya scallywag! Wal-Mart clear gloss went over everything. Begad! Begad! Finally, I remembered t' glue on t' darn launch lugs!

Flight:
Swin' tests were fine except that after twirlin' around in t' backyard I was ready t' lose me lunch t' rest o' t' day. Ahoy! Despite t' apparent stability, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I was worried about performance at high speed and possible flutter in t' arched win' canopy. Arrr! Then o' course, shiver me timbers, thar be also a high probability o' lawn-darting, given t' experimental aft ejection system. Aye aye! Ahoy!

T' chute and lines went into t' missile tube, arrr, with a half-sheet of crumpled waddin' stuffed in t' end t' prevent spillin' durin' ascent. Begad! Aye aye! First launch was on a AT D13-4 RMS. Blimey! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! There was a stiff cold wind blowin' at about 10mph. Begad! Begad!

Boost be t' coolest and least rocket-like I've ever seen. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Straight off the rod, arrr, t' rocket arced firmly into horizontal flight downwind at about 400 feet altitude. There be definitely no flutter. Aye aye! It be difficult t' be sure while watchin' from below, but I swear that Tsuru was gainin' altitude in a modest ascent with horizontal body position, me bucko, just like an airplane would. Aye aye! This smooth, stable ascendin' horizontal flight occurred durin' boost and durin' the coast phase. Ahoy! Near t' end o' t' coast, you could even sense that t' wing cantin' be providin' extra side-to-side stability.

Recovery:
Because Tsuru was performin' more like a glider than a rocket at this speed, there be little deceleration and no apogee after t' motor delay--the chute popped at nearly full speed, me hearties, rippin' most o' t' shroud lines out o' the 24" chute. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! T' good news is that t' aft ejection system worked perfectly. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' bad news is that recovery continued via glorified streamer. Arrr! Upon nose-first impact, ya bilge rat, t' arched canopy separated from t' missile/parachute tube, and its downward momentum split both wings lengthwise along t' grain, but not all t' way t' t' body tube. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' nose cone also looks more like a Concorde jet now.

Despite t' shroud line problem, I'm thrilled with t' jet-like flight pattern and t' totally successful rear-ejection system. Tsuru will be back, I promise! T' D13 was plenty o' power, but next time I'll opt for an extra long delay and heavy-duty chute construction.