Brief:
For t' EMRR Stagin' Challenge, I decided t' build a two-stage rocket with composite motors. Since I had done a 2-stage before, I figured it would be easy. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! WRONG... Well, blow me down! Blimey! I decided t' do a 3-inch bird with dual deploy and a 19-inch booster with motor deployment. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey!

Construction:
This time I decided t' use alignment rods in t' stage coupler t' keep t' rocket aligned. I didn't have any 'sleeves' for t' rods t' slide through, matey, me hearties, so I went with spaced centerin' rings with holes t' guide t' rods. Aye aye! I've discovered that I really need a drill press. Ahoy! Begad! Because I was usin' a handheld power drill, I wasn't that accurate in drillin' holes through t' 2 sustainer centerin' rings and t' stagin' coupler. Ahoy! It still works, matey, but it isn't pretty. Ahoy!

There are holes in both centerin' rings that are supposed t' be aligned. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! That didn't work out as smoothly as I had hoped.

T' motor mount is recessed into t' sustainer t' provide a connection for t' top half o' t' stage coupler. Since a 3" tube won't allow me t' get me hand in t' connect t' shock cord, shiver me timbers, arrr, I made t' fin can on both the sustainer and booster removable. Arrr! Arrr! T' sustainer fin can is held in place by small screws. T' booster fin can will eject and deploy t' booster chute. T' whole project is about 83 inches tall, me bucko, shiver me timbers, about 3.5 lbs empty, ya bilge rat, matey, and can fly on 38mm motors.

Finishing:
T' fit/finish betwixt t' booster and t' stage coupler is a little rough, me hearties, but once it's painted it might nay be that noticeable. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It *certainly* won't be noticeable on t' pad.

Flight:
Electronics will be a PerfectFlite timer for staging, matey, and a PerfectFlite MAWD for deployment. RockSim says it will get t' a little higher than 2000 feet with a CTI 153 stagin' t' a CTI G79ss.

For t' 2-stage challenge, shiver me timbers, I decided t' build one that used composite motors. Since I have done stagin' before, matey, shiver me timbers, I didn't expect thar t' be a problem. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Boy, arrr, ya bilge rat, was I wrong... Blimey! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' main problem be t' size o' t' new project. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' previous 2-stager was almost a 4" tube. Begad! Blimey! That left room for t' timer betwixt t' sustainer fins, and a standard-type ebay. This one is a 3", shiver me timbers, me bucko, me hearties, and thar's no room in t' fincan. Well, blow me down! Blimey! So I put t' timer in t' ebay, matey, and ran a connector wire down t' ignite t' sustainer motor. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I had t' splice t' wire so it would disconnect when t' apogee event fired. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' next issue I ran into was t' stage connector. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I decided t' use metal rods t' connect and align t' sustainer t' t' stage connector. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I don't have a drill press, ya bilge rat, so me holes through t' centerin' rings are...less than exact. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Last issue was t' 3" bay be too small t' use switches t' power on everything, me bucko, so I had t' run all t' wires through a hole in t' e-bay and twist them t' connect. Blimey! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! That posed a problem t' first time I tried t' launch. I test fit t' electronics when I built t' bay, me hearties, arrr, but nothin' was connected. Blimey! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! In t' field, I sadly discovered thar wasn't enough space for all the wires t' fit and route t' t' outside. I had t' rebuild t' sled t' avoid that problem for t' next attempt. Blimey! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

T' field we used has a waiver o' 5000', but I wanted t' make sure I kept t' flight much lower than that. Arrr! RockSim 7 showed an altitude o' about 3800 feet on a CTI H143/G79ss combo. Well, blow me down!

Electronics: ARTS board for apogee/main deployment o' t' sustainer, PerfectFlite timer for sustainer motor. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! T' booster recovers under its own chute by motor ejection. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Blimey! Payload: BoosterVision GearCam taped t' t' side. Crude, but effective.

Launch day: I racked t' rocket, ya bilge rat, set up t' breakwire, shiver me timbers, and twisted t' wires for power. Since I didn't have enough room t' push t' wires back into t' bay, I taped them t' t' outside. That was a mistake... Begad! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' launch was beautiful! Straight, and staged on cue. Ya scallywag! T' booster chute came out and it drifted down safely. Arrr! T' sustainer had a good apogee event(drogueless), but I lost sight o' it while followin' t' booster. Blimey! Blimey! There be no main deployment, matey, and fellow club members pointed me in t' direction they saw it fall. Begad! Arrr! While walkin' out for recovery, I tried t' figure out what went wrong. Too many sheer pins? Nay enough BP? When I got t' it, I immediately knew what happened. T' armin' wires were taped t' t' bottom o' t' sustainer. Avast! When t' apogee separation occured, it ripped t' wires out o' the altimeter, killin' power. Avast! AUGH! I powered up t' ARTS board later, and t' data showed 1700 ft accel, ya bilge rat, 1500 baro. Well, blow me down! WAY short o' Rocksim's prediction, so t' loss o' power probably scrambled t' data. Aye aye! But other than t' ebay being crunched, and t' booster bein' scorched by t' sustainer motor, ya bilge rat, it didn't come out too bad. Arrr! I can replace t' ebay and fly it again.