Brief:
T' Sapphire Queen luxury cruise ship be t' most elegant way t' explore the wonders o' our galaxy. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Enjoy memorable accommodations and service in t' aft ring, me bucko, shiver me timbers, or pamper yourself with every imaginable comfort in t' elite first class cabins on t' front ring. Begad! Enjoy a bottle o' wine from our cellar as you and your companion relax in your private viewin' gallery and watch wondrous sights drift by, even when we engage our state-of-the-art trans-dimensional quantum hyperdrive t' power you smartly and safely betwixt ports o' call. Blimey! All guests have access t' our amazin' variety o' restaurants, shops, gardens, me hearties, shiver me timbers, library, me bucko, and sports/recreation facilities onboard. Your cruise will visit many o' the greatest sightseein' highlights known in t' galaxy, includin' t' amazing Martian canyons o' Valles Marineris, t' spectacular methane volcanoes of Titan, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, t' breathtakin' mercury falls o' Alpha Centauri's second planet, ya bilge rat, the sheer beauty o' t' Opaline Nebula, t' unimaginable riches o' t' golden asteroid belt near Barac, and t' sheer spectacle and power o' t' galactic core. Arrr! These and countless other wonders await you on your 18-day cruise that is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Contact your travel agent today.

This scratch rocket is a futuristic single-stage design usin' Fliskits dual canted 18mm cluster engine mount. Arrr! Four traditional fins are pierced by a rear ring. Avast, me proud beauty! There is also a front canard rin' with unusual support strut design. Recovery is by parachute ejectin' from t' aft compartment. T' front compartment can be used for payload if desired.

Construction:
Fliskits sent t' engine mount quickly. Begad! T' instructions were clear, t' parts were very high quality, and assembly be easy. I be very pleased with Fliskits' product.

Constructin' t' rest o' t' rocket was fairly straightforward. Ahoy! Blimey! T' fins were made from basswood and required very little work. Arrr! I always sand and seal as I go. Begad! Aye aye! Cuttin' t' rin' slots in t' fins was difficult because o' t' tight round corners. Begad! Ahoy! A good shape was achieved with coarse sandpaper wrapped around a pencil or other round cylinder. Ahoy! Begad! T' canard rin' strut braces were fashioned by hand from scrap balsa and eight o' them are needed.

T' aft rin' was made from a section o' an oatmeal container. T' stiffen this, shiver me timbers, I wallpapered t' interior with thick paper and white glue. Begad! Alignment of the aft rin' and its struts within t' fin slots must be done carefully to ensure a symmetric fit. Aye aye! Blimey! T' fore rin' is even trickier since it has three axes of potential asymmetry. Blimey! I glued t' two bottom struts, waited 5 minutes, and glued t' top two while t' first ones were still wet. Avast, me proud beauty! This enabled me t' do a little emergency sandin' and nudge t' whole assembly into a reasonably good fit before all t' glue dried.

Finishing:
T' rocket be finished in gloss white with red, black, gold, yellow, arrr, and green details. Arrr! I made stamps out o' felt, addin' "handles" made from scrap balsa. These were used t' make t' windows and many o' t' other detail shapes. T' A-47eta vessel number was cut into a scotch tape mask on wax paper. Blimey! Then the mask was transferred t' t' rocket for painting. Well, blow me down! Fingerprints, mistakes, and a collapsin' paintin' jig necessitated various touch ups. Avast! Aye aye! Two coats of clear gloss went over t' top. Avast! T' gloss made some o' t' detail paint run, so I had t' touch up and re-gloss. Begad! Arrr! Because o' all t' touch ups, ya bilge rat, t' final finish appears a bit amateurish o' you look carefully, but it looks fairly good from arm's length or in photos.

Flight:
Swin' tests indicated 1oz o' weight should be added t' t' nose cone, bringing the final weight o' t' rocket t' 5.5 oz without motors. Begad! T' wRASP software suggested C6-5 would be t' perfect engine, ya bilge rat, givin' a fast boost, reasonable altitude, matey, and ejection right at apogee.

T' first launch was on two C6-5 motors, friction fit into Fliskits' mount. T' rocket got stuck on t' launch rod momentarily, shudderin' in place before breakin' free and leapin' into t' sky. Ya scallywag! Boost was flawless--straight with no spin. Begad! T' design is clearly very stable.

Recovery:
Since t' initial thrust be partially expended on t' launch pad, maximum velocity and altitude were both lower than expected. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Thus t' ejection delay was too late, givin' us a hair-raisin' post-apogee ejection. Recovery was otherwise fine, with t' rocket landin' unblemished about 50 feet downwind in the dirt in a baseball diamond.

Inspection after t' launch be also interesting. Both motors had ignited and t' pause on t' launch pad had created two "blast craters" where the engines had blown away t' gravel and dust on opposite sides o' t' blast shield. Begad! My kids loved these craters most o' all. We're lookin' forward t' a higher launch next time on C6-5's with a better release from t' rod.

Summary:
This be a fun and easy scratch build. Avast! Avast! I'm lookin' forward t' more successful launches.