Construction:
I didn't want t' go with a standard two-stage design, fins above fins. Avast, me proud beauty! I decided on a rin' stabilized two stager.

T' initial pencil designs lead me t' a descendin' rin' profile. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Three rings held in place by four small fins under each ring. Begad! T' model almost looks as if it were a three stager. Ya scallywag! T' highest painted band gives t' impression o' a smaller rin' and a fourth stage.

I went t' me scrap tubes and tried many until I found t' three sizes that would give t' visual o' "conical" descendin' rings.

T' model be built around a ST-10 airframe. T' booster is 3" long, ya bilge rat, t' sustainer body tube is 18".

T' rin' on t' booster is a 2-1/8" length o' BT-80. Well, me bucko, blow me down! T' lowest rin' on t' sustainer is a 1-7/8" length o' BT-70. Begad! T' second higher sustainer rin' is 1-5/8" o' ST-16. Well, blow me down! Begad! And t' final (black painted) rin' is 1-3/8" wide.

T' fins were cut from 1/16" balsa and covered with 20lb copy paper. Aye aye! I did this for two reasons. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' first is strength. Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Secondly, it would be impossible t' fill t' balsa after t' rings were glued in place.

T' balsa grain direction is opposite o' normal construction. Ya scallywag! T' grain follows t' trailin' edges o' all t' fins. T' trailin' edges are outside t' rings. I wanted t' give a little more protection for those exposed edges. Avast! Blimey! Wrappin' paper over t' top o' t' rounded leadin' edge gave more than enough frontal rigidity. Aye aye! Avast! Blimey! All fins were cut wide, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, which allowed me t' sand t' outside edges t' slip-fit t' rings in place.

I didn't glue t' rings in place until after spray paintin' t' main body and fins. Avast! I sprayed t' rings separately then glued them over t' fins. Arrr! This gave me a no-mask paint job and clean color separations. Avast! T' only maskin' was t' paint t' wide black band on t' body tube.

On t' engine mounts, I followed t' old Centuri plans for their Arcon-Hi model. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' booster engine block is at t' aft o' t' booster. Avast! T' sustainer block is normal, matey, at t' top o' t' upper engine tube. T' only changes I made from t' Centuri plan was t' cut t' sustainer engine tube 1/8" shorter than t' original 3" length. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! This way t' engine would be extended 1/8" out t' back o' t' tubing. Arrr! T' engines are friction fit with maskin' tape. Aye aye! Ahoy! After a flight, arrr, me hearties, I wanted a little bit o' t' casin' stickin' out t' remove it out with pliers.

Centuri style stagin' doesn't use clear tape t' hold t' engines together. Both stages are held together by two couplers. Simply friction fit t' engines in place then slide t' stages together.

[Click on t' followin' link t' download a PDF o' t' rocket.]

Flight:
T' first flight be on March 7 with a B6-0/A8-5 engine combination. Ahoy! T' first stage boost be good, me bucko, me bucko, but when t' sustainer ignited it was unstable. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Recovery was safe. Ahoy! I added a hefty blob o' clay weight around t' large screw eye and nose cone base.

Later that day, I tried again with t' same engines. Begad! This time it was stable and had a straight boost with good stagin' and recovery.

I thought it would be stable, arrr, but I hadn't used RockSim yet. Well, blow me down! Avast! There be a large rin' area and plenty o' fins. Avast! I thought t' body tube length would be adequate.

I went home and weighed t' clay. I added t' equivalent weight in washers t' t' screw eye. Avast, me proud beauty! It required 0.4 oz (or five WW-7 washers from Semroc) o' nose weight t' be stable. Begad! Arrr! Like every "different" design, arrr, sometimes extra nose weight is required.

T' third flight took place on May 2, me hearties, arrr, 2009 at t' Orlando ROCK launch. Blimey! I used B6-0/B6-6 engines. Begad! While t' model be stable with a B6-0/A8-5 combination, me bucko, it be nay stable with a B6-0/B6-6. Ahoy! At t' sustainer ignition, me hearties, it looped. Avast, me proud beauty! It was in t' air at ejection, arrr, no damage.

Summary:
PROs: I was happy with t' finished look o' t' model. Avast! Arrr! Visually, me bucko, shiver me timbers, t' descendin' rings and painted black band give t' impression o' a conical stabilized rocket. Ahoy! While t' model is only two-stage, shiver me timbers, matey, it looks more like a three stager. Arrr! New designs can present construction and stabilization issues, but if you glean a few new lessons in t' process it's all worthwhile.

CONs: Even with all t' fins and tubing, t' model required nose weight t' be stable. Well, blow me down! Avast! It was stable for t' second flight after addin' nose weight. It was nay stable for t' third and final flight.