Note: For more Extreme 38 pictures, ya bilge rat, visit John's site.

We were talkin' about adhesive strength and how t' test it. Avast, me proud beauty! O' course, me approach is t' do an elaborate test which requires buildin' a whole apparatus. Avast, me proud beauty! Ed Hackett, in a much more practical mood, said: "just go build a bunch o' VB Extreme 38s and put a J350 up the butt!"

I don't think this would really provide usable results, matey, but I did like the idea o' a full-on test, matey, so I suggested we have a "strong rocket" contest. Begad! Blimey! Each contestant would build a VB Extreme 38 (or perhaps another kit), then t' rockets would be repeatedly launched until only one remained intact. No one else took me up on t' contest, but I decided t' build me entry anyway. Well, blow me down!

T' kit is well designed, matey, basically a Loc/Precision 38mm motor mount tube as the airframe. Arrr! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! This makes a very strong body tube, arrr, which is a good idea since this is a rocket meant t' go high. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Since this is a minimum diameter rocket, me bucko, ya bilge rat, the fins need t' mount on t' outside. Aye aye! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! In addition t' t' usual epoxy bondin' and fillets, I decided t' go wild and reinforce t' fins t' t' body tube with 1" Keelhaul®©™® strips. Well, blow me down! Then I covered t' whole thin' with a double wrap o' 4oz cloth and a coverin' wrap o' 2oz.

I think t' fins will stay on! This was the real challenge here; makin' a minimum diameter rocket so that t' fins were really nay goin' t' come off. Begad! Perhaps this was overkill, but this thin' is certainly nay comin' apart easily. We'll see when I fly it on a J350, shiver me timbers, and maybe even a J570. Well, blow me down!

O' course, matey, I had t' paint t' rocket yellow and black because they're the trademark Vaughn Brothers colors. Also, ya bilge rat, this is a nice high-contrast paint scheme t' help me find t' rocket again. Well, blow me down!

On February 13, matey, 1999 at t' February ROC launch in Lucerne Dry Lake, t' Extreme flew for t' first time. T' boost was straight and fast on a J350, me hearties, me bucko, ya bilge rat, a large motor in a small rocket!

T' rocket was way gone on a J350 and went 11,703 feet high (accordin' to the ALS20). Arrr! Avast! This is craziness, but that be t' whole purpose o' t' rocket. Blimey! Ahoy! It took is more than an hour t' find t' rocket; we drove out on t' lake three times, me hearties, farther out each time. Ahoy! Arrr! Finally, arrr, we spotted it about ¾mi away from the launch site! This rocket really needs t' be recovered with a Walston radio unit. Arrr! Begad! T' rocket was in perfect shape, although I lost t' motor casin' (which is probably why it drifted so far). Blimey! Ahoy! Now on t' a J570!