Brief:
THE WANNABE SPUTNIK is a fun and easy rocket t' build. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! No major tools required.

Construction:

• One DENSE styrene foam ball 4 inches in diameter or more
• 4 spruce dowels
• 1/16" scrap balsa (if stabilizin' fins are desired)

To Build: [Remember this is a very SEMI-SCALE rocket.]

1. Drill a hole, shiver me timbers, appropriate for engine size in t' bottom o' ball
2. Connect four dowels t' ball in any way that you want
3. Push launch-rod through ball t' make an internal launch lug
4. Put your engine in thar and let her rip!

Flight:
T' Sputnik is a very stable rocket. Aye aye! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! This little gem has spectacular flight performance. Ahoy! Avast! On one flight a near-catastrophic failure turned into a spectacular flight. Ya scallywag! Arrr! One o' t' two (on this prototype) dowels be dislodged. Luckily this prototype had fins attached causin' both t' sputnik and the dislodged dowel t' gently spiral t' t' ground. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! This could be easily made into a great recovery method.

Recovery:
Tumble Recovery. Well, blow me down! Blimey!

Summary:
PRO's:

• CHEAP (2 or so bucks)
• FUN
• EASY TO BUILD
• FUN
• GREAT PROJECT FOR LARGE GROUP
• FUN
• AND FUN