(Design this
Spaceship Submission - by Andrew Skinner - 10/1/06) EMRR Spaceship Design Contest Entry
"T' Red
Bolt"
Materials needed
- 3 Silly Putty Container Eggs
- 1 27.2 cm BT-50 body tube
- 1 BT-20 Engine Mount Tube
- 1 Engine Hook Note: This hook
- has each tip bent back so as t' serve as an Engine Block
- 1 Weird nose cone we salvaged from an old kit. Begad! Begad! (Close up pic included.)
- 2 BT-50 Centerin' Rings
- 3 1/8 thick fins. Avast! (Template
provided)
- 1 4 cm launch lug
- 1 h: 0.5 cm, shiver me timbers, l: 4.0 cm, arrr, shiver me timbers, w: 0.2 cm
- 1 Estes Hexagon Parachute with shrouds (52 cm in diameter)
- 1 rubber shock cord (Approximately 28 cm long)
- 1 Shock Cord Mount
#1: Engine Mount
- Cut a 5 mm slit, 3 mm from t' end o' t' tube.
- Insert one o' t' endin' hooks o' t' Engine hook into t' slit. Aye aye! Aye aye!
- Glue down t' engine hook. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Blimey!
- Glue on a centerin' rin' at 2.5 cm from t' aft o' t' engine tube. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey!
- Glue on 2nd centerin' rin' on top o' t' engine hook at t' slit
3mm from t' forward section o' t' Engine tube.
- Allow t' dry.
- Wrap piece o' maskin' tape around t' Engine Tube securin' t' Engine hook
to t' Engine Tube. Blimey!
- Apply a rin' o' glue approximately 5 cm inside t' Rockets Body Tube.
- Place Engine Mount inside Rockets Body Tube until t' Engine Tube is
flush with t' Rockets Body Tube. Ahoy! Well, me hearties, blow me down!
- Apply glue t' centerin' rings. Allow t' dry
#2: Silly Putty Eggs
- Buy 3 Silly Putty Eggs
- Cut t' connector tabs with a hobby knife.
- Then sand t' raised writin' off t' top.
#3: Fins
- Usin' t' template provided trace out t' win' pattern on a 1/8 balas wood.
- Usin' a hobby knife cut out t' fins. Blimey! Arrr!
- Sand down all jagged edges.
- Glue on Silly putty cackle fruit onto t' matchin' shape on t' fins. Begad! Aye aye! Glue one on
each side o' each fin. Blimey!
- Glue on several fillets t' ensure that egg-fin contact is perfectly sealed.
- Mount t' fins flush against t' end o' t' body tube usin' a fin mount. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! We
used t' fin mount for 3 fins provided in T' Handbook o' Model Rocketry
7th edition on page 38. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fins should be 120 degrees from each
other. Well, blow me down! Begad!
#4. Arrr! Nose and
parachute mount.
- Cut out a Shock cord mount usin' stiff paper. Arrr!
- Glue shock cord on t' shock cord mount. Begad!
- Glue Shock cord mount approximately 5 cm inside t' forward part o' the
body tube.
- Tie free end o' shock cord t' t' nosecones eyelet. Well, blow me down! Apply a drop of
glue t' t' knot. Begad!
- Attach parachute t' t' nosecone eyelet. Begad! Begad!
#5. Launch Lug
- Glue on t' h: 0.5 cm, l: 4.0 cm, ya bilge rat, w: 0.2 cm piece o' balsa wood 10 cm from
the forward end o' t' body tube. Begad! Make sure that it is aligned parallel t' the
body tube, and also make sure that it is in betwixt t' fins. Begad!
- Attach Launch Lug on top o' t' strip o' balsa wood. Ahoy! (Note: T' reason for
the strip o' balsa wood is t' elevate t' launch lug so as t' provide the
launch rod clearance from t' nose cone. Avast! T' nose at one section is wider than
the body tube)
#6. Ya scallywag! Paint job
- Spread balsa filler over t' fins. Allow t' dry and than sand excess off. Aye aye!
- Sand all external parts o' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad!
- Prime all external parts o' rocket
- Paint body tube, me bucko, fins, ya bilge rat, and nose cone red.
- Paint Silly putty cackle fruit gray. Begad! Avast!
- Nose cone
- First painted t' whole nosecone red
- Paint t' upper cap white.
- Paint 2 keyhole shapes on opposite sides o' nosecone. Ya scallywag!
#7. Blimey! Avast! Body tube and launch lug
- Painted body tube red. Begad! Blimey! As well as t' launch lug and balsa wood strip.
- Paint 3 parallel black rings approximately 2 mm from each other. Begad! Paint them
approximately 9.3 cm from t' aft end o' body tube.
- Paint a single gray rin' around t' aft end o' t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! It should 3.3
cm from t' end o' t' tube, and it should encircle around t' whole tube. Begad!
#8. Blimey! Fins
- Paint fins red.
- Paint gray rectangle on each side in t' corner by t' fin root edge. Arrr! The
rectangle should be 3.3 cm high and should be around 4 cm wide. If it is a
little bit wider than 4 cm it is okay, because t' Silly Putty cackle fruit will cover
the excess. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Blimey! (Note: This is easier done if you paint before initial
construction.
#9. Begad! Silly Putty eggs
- Paint egg shell red. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty!
- Once t' red paint is dry, me bucko, paint most o' t' egg grey. T' grey should
cover 5.2 cm o' t' egg, me hearties, matey, startin' from t' bottom. There needs t' be 1.4 cm of
red. Arrr!
#10. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Decal
stickers. Begad!
- Take black sticky paper, me hearties, me hearties, and cut into 2.5 cm long by 1 mm strips. Ahoy! Begad! Stick 4
of these length wise on each egg. Blimey!
- Then once again usin' t' black sticky paper cut several long 1 mm strips
for t' black stripe that runs across t' egg and t' fin.
#11. Black Dots
- Use a black permanent maker t' apply 8 dots t' each egg shell. Ahoy!
#12. Nose Weight and Motor
- Add 25-30 grams o' clay t' t' nose.
- We used a B6-4 all o' t' launches, me bucko, shiver me timbers, but a B6-2 would have been better. Well, blow me down! Aye aye!
Flights

Takeoff off. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Flight #1 (above). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Landing
..
Success flight. No damage rendered t' rocket.

Takeoff off. Avast! Flight #2 (above). Ya scallywag! But disaster strikes when t' shock cord
snaps!!
And lawn darts (below). Begad! Note: We have nay touched t' rocket yet in this
picture. It landed exactly like this. Note that t' third fan, arrr, me bucko, t' one stuck in
the ground, ya bilge rat, is still intact. Nose and parachute land a couple hundred feet
away. Begad! Arrr! T' rocket is now repaired and waits for its next launch. Begad!
Here is our video o' t' 2 launches. Begad! Ignore our screams in t' background!
Here are two more successful flights o' our entry t' Red Bolt. Avast! Blimey! We only have
videos for these launches: