Click on Pics t' Enlarge     

I loved EMRR's new "Spaceship Design Contest", ya bilge rat, but in t' beginning, I wasn't excited by any o' t' designs. Blimey! But, ya bilge rat, arrr, over t' weeks that followed, me bucko, I rotated t' pictures on me desktop wallpaper and studied each for a few days and finally settled on this design. I thought that t' outboard motors would be an interestin' challenge that I had nay tried before. Begad! This design reminds me o' t' look o' t' ships o' Star Trek, me bucko, though somewhat "lower tech" looking. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Probably around t' time o' t' "Enterprise" series and an early Star Fleet tug or supply ship from its looks. Workin' with that line o' thought, ya bilge rat, as many o' t' ships in t' Star Trek universe are named after famous scientists and scholars, me hearties, I decided t' name this rocket t' USS Moebius.

I started out t' design process by firin' up me handy-dandy copy o' Rocksim. I got t' basic model built and lookin' pretty good, matey, I thought. However, thar be one little problem... Avast! Rocksim said it was totally unstable even with several ounces o' nose weight! At this point, shiver me timbers, matey, me hearties, I decided t' go ahead and build t' rocket that, ya bilge rat, arrr, with me many years o' experience, I was pretty sure would be stable.

I decided that I would use an old Estes Fat Boy nose cone that I had kickin' around after me last Fat Boy lost it's match with gravity. Arrr! This provided t' scale for t' design and t' rest was scaled t' look proportional t' t' picture. I decided t' keep t' design as simple as possible and pop t' nose cone on each nacelle instead o' tryin' t' passport t' ejection charge t' push out t' main nose cone. Ya scallywag! Due t' t' naggin' feelin' in t' back o' me head created by Rocksim, ya bilge rat, I decided t' go with 13mm motors instead o' t' larger 18mm t' cut back t' weight on t' tail end as much as possible.

This rocket provided me with an interestin' new challenge as well. Begad! Ahoy! T' get t' nose cones for t' nacelles t' look right, I would either need t' use a BT-5 stuffer tube inside o' t' BT-20 nacelles t' get t' correct look, arrr, or try t' turn t' cones. I up until this point had been highly intimidated by t' though o' tryin' t' turn cones for myself. Arrr! Arrr! For some reason, arrr, t' process seemed much more dauntin' than it actually (if you'll pardon t' pun) "turned" out t' be! I cut a chunk o' balsa t' 1"x1"x1" and CA'd a piece o' hard wood dowel into one end. Blimey! I chucked this into me drill after it cured and locked t' drill in t' "on" position. Begad! I let t' drill rest on t' ground and held t' dowel as it turned (I'd recommend gloves for this...friction burns are nasty...) and used some 80 grit paper t' slowly round t' balsa into shape. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' first one came out amazingly perfect! I be floored! T' came t' harder part.... Begad! Ya scallywag! Makin' three more that were identical.... Begad! Heady with me initial success, me hearties, it took a couple extras t' get four that were suitably close enough for use. If you have nay tried this because it seems t' "scary", matey, give it a shot. Begad! Avast! T' process is reasonalby simple t' grasp, arrr, arrr, but it is definitely an artform. Give it a little practice and it is really rewarding!

I also had t' turn t' tailcone for t' Moebius as well. Begad! Blimey! This was somewhat easier as I was able t' trim t' diameter o' t' balsa t' match t' tube before I started turning. Aye aye! Blimey! After turning, ya bilge rat, I glued t' cone flush without it havin' a shoulder. Avast! Blimey! It seems t' be sturdy enough t' survive without t' extra weight that t' shoulder would have added.

T' rest o' t' build was fairly straight forward. Ahoy! I tacked t' fins t' t' nacelles with CA and Tite-bond, filletin' after t' root bond had cured. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! I eyeballed t' alignment o' t' fins onto t' main airframe since me fin alignment guide wouldn't fit under t' outboard pods, arrr, usin' t' same gluin' technique. Avast! Well, blow me down! I finished up where I normally start, ya bilge rat, buildin' and insertin' t' mini-motor mounts into t' pods.

At this point, I decided it would be a good time for a swin' test t' make sure that I be goin' t' have a rocket t' flew in straight lines instead o' loops! With a couple o' ounces o' sand glued into t' front o' t' Fat Boy cone, t' rocket seemed stable enough for flight! Nice t' see that I haven't lost me eye for stability, arrr, even though t' software said otherwise....

I took a page from t' Master o' t' Dark Art o' Rocketry, me hearties, Shrox, me hearties, t' add t' details t' t' nose...Pin' pong balls! I cut t' ends off a couple o' balls, as a full half o' a ball be much too large for t' look o' t' design. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I had a couple o' old Alpha III cones in me parts box, so I halved them and trimmed them down t' about a third o' t' length so that they would match up nicely with t' pin' pong balls. Avast, me proud beauty! Gluin' these t' t' airframe helped disguise t' seam betwixt t' body and t' nose somewhat.

I filled t' seams with Elmer's Fill-n-finish, shiver me timbers, me bucko, sanded and primed with Kilz and sanded again. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' tailcone got a coat o' Rust-o-leum Metallic Blue and t' airframe got a coat o' gloss grey. Ahoy! Blimey! After maskin' t' grey stripes, I sprayed t' whole model with Rust-o-leum Metallic Black. Arrr! Blimey! T' design for t' contest had a bit o' a pixelated pattern t' t' lighter grey areas, so I laid a piece o' loose weave fiberglass over t' grey areas and sprayed them with t' metallic black t' give them a little bit o' t' texture from t' image.

T' day o' t' launch, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I had decided t' nay tempt t' wrath o' t' Rocket Gods and didn't want t' fly t' rocket in it's finished paint. Begad! Well, blow me down! It flew in primer only... Pretty rockets make ugly flights!

My initial flight was on 4 A10-3T's. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I loaded t' motors up and installed t' igniters with and borrowed a whipclip from a buddy. Ahoy! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! All four motors lid and it jumped into t' sky perfectly thanks t' t' high initial thrust spike o' t' A10's. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! All four nosecones popped in series, me bucko, matey, much t' t' delight o' several children who were lookin' on. I had installed two streamers and a parachute, leavin' one o' t' cones t' just pop. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! This brought t' model down reasonably quickly, matey, but with no damage as t' flight was nay very high and our launch field here in San Diego is sand.

I waited until another day t' get me additional flight in. Both me second and third flights were near disasters. Avast, me proud beauty! Only 2 or 3 o' t' 4 motor lit on these flights. Aye aye! Arrr! With t' reduction in thrust, me bucko, t' model was terribly underpowered, shiver me timbers, barely clearin' t' rod on t' 2 motor burn. Avast! At this point, me hearties, I had burned through most o' me supply o' A10-3t's, shiver me timbers, matey, so I loaded only two on t' next flight as well as 2 A-10PT's! This one lit perfectly, me hearties, but seemed t' nay fly quite as high as t' first flight had. Aye aye! After another failled flight, with this motor combination, matey, I switched t' me final flight configuration, 2 A10-3T's and 2 A3-4T's. Ahoy! Luckily, arrr, as these were t' last mini-motors that were left in me flight box, all t' motors lit. Blimey! This combination was again underpowered. Begad! My thought had been that it would get more altitude because o' t' longer burn o' t' A3's, but without t' initial thrust spike from 4 A10's, t' flight barely ejected before impact.

I enjoyed t' experience o' buildin' this rocket because o' t' challenge o' it's outboard cluster and havin' t' learn t' new skill o' turnin' cones. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Overall a very satisfyin' experience. Well, blow me down! Avast! I am goin' t' continue flyin' t' Meobius after t' contest, matey, but in a modified configuration. Begad! I am goin' t' glue in t' nacelle nose cones. Avast, me proud beauty! Lightin' all 4 motors is more o' a challenge than I would rather deal with every time I want t' fly it. Since t' tail cone is only surface glued t' t' end o' t' main airframe, it should be easy t' remove. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I'm goin' t' install a central 24mm motor mount that will aft eject, as t' nose details are glued securly over t' seam at t' front, ya bilge rat, me bucko, makin' a standard ejection impossible.