Click on Pics t' Enlarge     

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

I started out t' design process by firin' up me handy-dandy copy o' Rocksim. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I got t' basic model built and lookin' pretty good, shiver me timbers, I thought. Ahoy! Blimey! However, me bucko, me bucko, me bucko, thar be one little problem... Aye aye! Blimey! Rocksim said it was totally unstable even with several ounces o' nose weight! Blimey! At this point, I decided t' go ahead and build t' rocket that, 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! Ahoy! 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. Begad! Ya scallywag! Due t' t' naggin' feelin' in t' back o' me head created by Rocksim, shiver me timbers, 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. Arrr! 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, shiver me timbers, or try t' turn t' cones. Begad! Begad! I up until this point had been highly intimidated by t' though o' tryin' t' turn cones for myself. Blimey! For some reason, 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. I chucked this into me drill after it cured and locked t' drill in t' "on" position. Aye aye! 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. Well, blow me down! Well, me bucko, blow me down! T' first one came out amazingly perfect! I be floored! T' came t' harder part.... Ahoy! Makin' three more that were identical.... Heady with me initial success, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' process is reasonalby simple t' grasp, but it is definitely an artform. Arrr! Give it a little practice and it is really rewarding!

I also had t' turn t' tailcone for t' Moebius as well. This was somewhat easier as I was able t' trim t' diameter o' t' balsa t' match t' tube before I started turning. Arrr! After turning, I glued t' cone flush without it havin' a shoulder. Avast! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I tacked t' fins t' t' nacelles with CA and Tite-bond, filletin' after t' root bond had cured. Aye aye! Aye aye! I eyeballed t' alignment o' t' fins onto t' main airframe since me fin alignment guide wouldn't fit under t' outboard pods, shiver me timbers, usin' t' same gluin' technique. Arrr! I finished up where I normally start, matey, me hearties, buildin' and insertin' t' mini-motor mounts into t' pods.

At this point, me bucko, 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, shiver me timbers, t' rocket seemed stable enough for flight! Nice t' see that I haven't lost me eye for stability, arrr, matey, even though t' software said otherwise....

I took a page from t' Master o' t' Dark Art o' Rocketry, ya bilge rat, Shrox, me bucko, 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 was much too large for t' look o' t' design. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! 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. 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, sanded and primed with Kilz and sanded again. Aye aye! T' tailcone got a coat o' Rust-o-leum Metallic Blue and t' airframe got a coat o' gloss grey. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! After maskin' t' grey stripes, I sprayed t' whole model with Rust-o-leum Metallic Black. T' design for t' contest had a bit o' a pixelated pattern t' t' lighter grey areas, matey, 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, matey, 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. Ya scallywag! It flew in primer only... Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Pretty rockets make ugly flights!

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

I waited until another day t' get me additional flight in. Arrr! Both me second and third flights were near disasters. Only 2 or 3 o' t' 4 motor lit on these flights. Aye aye! With t' reduction in thrust, t' model was terribly underpowered, matey, me bucko, barely clearin' t' rod on t' 2 motor burn. At this point, I had burned through most o' me supply o' A10-3t's, so I loaded only two on t' next flight as well as 2 A-10PT's! This one lit perfectly, but seemed t' nay fly quite as high as t' first flight had. After another failled flight, me bucko, with this motor combination, arrr, I switched t' me final flight configuration, ya bilge rat, 2 A10-3T's and 2 A3-4T's. Luckily, as these were t' last mini-motors that were left in me flight box, me bucko, all t' motors lit. Aye aye! This combination was again underpowered. My thought had been that it would get more altitude because o' t' longer burn o' t' A3's, arrr, but without t' initial thrust spike from 4 A10's, shiver me timbers, 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. Ahoy! Blimey! Overall a very satisfyin' experience. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I am goin' t' continue flyin' t' Meobius after t' contest, arrr, but in a modified configuration. Ahoy! Blimey! I am goin' t' glue in t' nacelle nose cones. Ahoy! Blimey! Lightin' all 4 motors is more o' a challenge than I would rather deal with every time I want t' fly it. Aye aye! Blimey! Since t' tail cone is only surface glued t' t' end o' t' main airframe, me hearties, it should be easy t' remove. Begad! Blimey! I'm goin' t' install a central 24mm motor mount that will aft eject, matey, matey, as t' nose details are glued securly over t' seam at t' front, makin' a standard ejection impossible.