Brief:
When I discovered JimZ's plan page in early 2001, ya bilge rat, matey, one o' t' first old rockets that I looked for with hopes o' somehow recreatin' it was t' Estes Satellite Interceptor. Begad! Begad! An original S.I. Begad! had been one o' me favorites from me early fleet but had been one o' t' rockets that I never managed t' fly due t' lack o' a flyin' partner. Aye aye! Arrr! Unfortunately a 2001 sweep o' t' local toy and hobby shops made me realize that many, me hearties, if nay all, me hearties, ya bilge rat, o' t' late 70's era kits I was interested in buildin' were no longer available except with a second mortgage. Arrr! Arrr! As I delved deeper into t' online arm o' t' hobby and discovered David O'Nan's S.I. Well, blow me down! review on EMRR, me bucko, I began t' get a clearer picture o' how some kits could be donors for t' parts needed t' clone a completely different bird, me hearties, and shifted me attention t' eBay with hopes o' landin' an Estes Wildfire as a parts vehicle. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I eventually won a Wildfire but nay before purchasin' an assortment o' body tubes and nose cones from Hobbylinc, arrr, a stash that included t' BT-55BB nose cone used in t' Black Brant. Blimey! Ahoy! T' Black Brant cone wasn't a perfect match, me bucko, but it be close enough for me tastes and with it in hand I jumped blindly into me first upscale project. Begad! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! I had several impressive flights with t' D-powered S.I. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! over t' next few years, matey, me bucko, arrr, but it be mortally injured in a tragic garage accident, which led me t' t' current E-powered version.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• BT-55 main body tube 18" length
• BT-55 main body tube 4" length
• BT-20 ram tube
• BT-55 tube coupler
• PNC-55BB
• 1/8" balsa fin stock
• 24mm engine mount
• 18" nylon parachute
• 36" Keelhaul®©™ thread
• 24" x 1/8" sewin' elastic
• 4" x 4" sheet Keelhaul®©™ Perma Wadding
• Large snap swivel

Even though it was me first attempt at an upscale, matey, t' Satellite Interceptor turned out lookin' great. Blimey! It has been mistaken on several occasions for t' BT-60 based Estes S.W.A.T., arrr, but more often than nay it just gets a puzzled "seen that before, but I don't remember it bein' that big" look. Avast, me proud beauty! T' BT-50 t' BT-55 upscale works out t' roughly a 1.8x upscale, and I was able t' reproduce t' correct scale fin patterns by makin' 180% copies o' t' originals at work. One benefit t' buildin' this t' second time be that I be able t' learn from t' mistakes I made on t' original. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Back then I had made t' mistake o' tryin' t' round off t' leadin' edges and taper t' trailin' edges o' t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' combination o' t' comparatively thick 1/8" balsa with a taper didn't look good when I attached t' wood dowels later, arrr, so on version two I just left them squared off. Arrr! Well, blow me down! (I figured that I wouldn't need t' added aerodynamics anyway with t' E engine.) Version one also dated from t' days before I had discovered t' wonders that thinned Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish worked when used t' hide balsa grain and tube spirals, shiver me timbers, me bucko, so t' new version turned out lookin' a lot nicer than t' original. Begad! Begad! I also built t' second one with t' correct fin orientation. Begad! Well, arrr, blow me down! (I lined up t' wings and t' aft fins in version one. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! It flew okay but looked a little off.) I also incorporated several other upgrades into t' second version, tyin' a 36" length o' Keelhaul®©™ thread in behind t' forward centerin' rin' and usin' piece o' Keelhaul®©™ Perma-Waddin' t' negate t' S.I.'s dependence on dog barf. Blimey! Begad! Aside from these changes and t' engine upgrade t' two birds were identical.

Finishing:
Paintin' rarely gets easier than with a Satellite Interceptor. Begad! Gloss white all over. Begad! That's me kind o' bird. Begad! T' decals are what really make this rocket and as o' yet I haven't been able t' get a set t' scale out correctly on me computer, but I have hopes o' gettin' t' right program for Christmas.

Flight:
While differin' considerably in available power, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, both me D and E powered versions o' t' Satellite Interceptor provided me with incredible first flights. My D version S.I. Blimey! was t' first D-powered rocket that I ever flew in April o' 2001. Avast! With me in-laws camped out at Big Bone Lick State Park over Easter weekend, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, me brother in law Tony and I decided t' put t' large front lawn t' use as a launch field. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! We had successfully flown an assortment o' rockets from Mosquitos t' Wizards t' Astro-Cams in t' light breeze, me bucko, but as we were cleanin' up and preparin' t' leave, Tony mentioned how much he was lookin' forward t' seein' me big S.I. Ahoy! fly. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I be hesitant at first, but Tony insisted on trottin' out t' "God hates a coward," mantra that I had occasionally espoused and reversin' it on me. Avast, me proud beauty! Realizin' that me big mouth had once again been writin' checks that badly stretched me account, I had little choice but t' pony up and I loaded t' S.I. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! with an ill-chosen D12-3.

As I said before, arrr, this be me first ever D flight, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, so I was unsure what t' expect at ignition. Begad! T' speed with which t' S.I. left t' pad was a big shock and I watched in delight as t' rocket arced into t' breeze and traveled out over t' road in front o' t' park. Begad! It was still travelin' rapidly upward when t' ejection charge fired, and for a moment I thought that all be lost due t' t' violence with which t' rocket stopped. T' me surprise, t' chute had unfurled despite bein' hung up on t' aft dowels, causin' t' rocket t' descend more swiftly than normal (and in true Centuri Super Kit fashion, me bucko, parallel t' t' ground.) Unfortunately it also seemed t' be headin' for t' trees that ringed t' field or t' creek beyond them. Blimey! T' kids all scattered and chased after it, arrr, me hearties, but Tony and I just stood and watched t' course that we knew we had no power t' change. It scraped through t' upper branches o' one o' t' taller trees, somehow managin' nay t' snag t' parachute despite deflatin' it. Begad! From about t' 100' mark it was in free fall through t' bare branches, me bucko, me hearties, and appeared t' be on a potentially ruinous collision course with t' creek, me bucko, but at t' last possible second a rogue branch snagged t' shroud lines and stopped it fifteen feet short o' a certain bath. Begad! It be suspended just at t' edge o' t' deep-set creek, just inches out o' me reach. Blimey! Tony, arrr, who is about 6' 2" t' me 5' 11", shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, was able t' reach it and haul it t' safety. Well, blow me down! Arrr! It had several deep scratches on t' balsa fins and a broken shroud line from it's trip through t' trees, matey, but other than that it was undamaged. I managed four more flights with it, arrr, includin' one at NARAM 43, before it was destroyed in t' garage accident.

Version two made it's flight debut at a Quark section launch in July o' 2004. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Blimey! Loaded with a E9-6 t' S.I. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! arced over t' flight line into t' breeze t' an impressive altitude before ejectin' t' chute just as it's forward momentum seemed t' stop. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! From thar it rode t' breeze almost t' t' edge o' t' field, a recovery walk that almost killed me. Blimey! Everyone agreed that t' flight had been impressive and after restin' for a spell, matey, I loaded it up for a second flight, matey, a carbon copy o' t' first flight except for a much shorter recovery walk. Pumped by me success, arrr, matey, I was lookin' forward t' t' next flight a month and a half later and made it me leadoff flight for t' day. Aye aye! Blimey! T' flight be an unfortunate harbinger o' how t' rest o' t' day would go for me as t' nose cone separated at ejection after another impressive flight. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! T' rocket fell in three pieces, arrr, ya bilge rat, nose cone, Perma Waddin' and body tube, but somehow managed t' land within twenty feet o' each other. Aye aye! One o' t' aft fins broke off on impact and t' Perma Waddin' disappeared in t' heavy brush, but t' damage was relatively minor. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Remountin' t' Keelhaul®©™® will be somethin' o' a problem, but it will fly again in 2005.

Summary:
I originally began this project because o' t' unavailability o' t' nose cone for t' 1:1 clone, matey, but since Estes has seen fit t' reintroduce it in t' Sky Writer kit, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, clonin' a 1:1 Satellite Interceptor is once again no problem. Avast, me proud beauty! (Unless you REALLY have t' have t' display only tail cone.) T' nice thin' about t' BT-55 based version be t' way it handles t' extra power (and also that you have another choice for a mid-power bird.) Plenty o' PROs in this project, arrr, but only one CON: After three years I still haven't figured out a way t' upscale a decal scan. Arrr! Man, that's pitiful. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! They should take away me computer.