T' American Spirit

April 19th, me bucko, shiver me timbers, matey, 1999, t' Ultimate once again saw t' light o' Day, me bucko, launchin' on yet another G80 in Amesbury, Mass, at me first CMASS launch. Begad! At t' same launch, someone sold me a RMS 29/180 and 240 set for a real good price, arrr, and Steven Boy sold me a H97. Arrr! Blimey! I loaded it into me Ultimate, and gained me level 1. T' Ultimate launched again with a G75, and then had its final flight… two F25-9W’s and a single G75-10J. Beautiful flight, ya bilge rat, but suffered a sep. Well, blow me down! Begad! The payload section drifted away, never t' be seen again. T' booster section came in ballistic, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, smashin' t' tubin' up t' t' forward centerin' ring, and knockin' a couple o' t' fins off. Ya scallywag!

After the events o' 9-11, me hearties, arrr, I decided that I wanted t' build a patriotic rocket. Well, blow me down! Havin' no money t' buy a new large rocket, ya bilge rat, I decided t' repair use what was left o' the fin can o' t' Ultimate, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and created a new rocket, which I called t' American Spirit. I took t' fin can, matey, and removed t' remainin' attached fins, me bucko, matey, matey, and sanded down all t' epoxy. Well, blow me down! Then I cut off t' damage tubin' above t' forward launch lug, which left about three inches o' damaged tubin' beyond t' forward centerin' ring. Aye aye!

Since t' original fins were still in good shape, I reattached them, and did the usual epoxy and bondo fillets t' give a good finish. Arrr! Blimey! Then I epoxied a tube coupler into t' airframe above t' centerin' ring, arrr, ya bilge rat, and then attached a two foot section o' LOC 4” dia tube t' it. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I then took a razor blade, and cut off t' remainin' raised areas o' t' damaged body tube. Then I filled the valleys created with epoxy and bondo. Blimey! Blimey! I used t' remainin' 4” tubin' to create t' payload bay, me bucko, which was attached via a standard tube coupler. For the nosecone, I use t' NCR cone from me expired Archer. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I also used t' parachute from me Archer for its recovery system.

Paintin' t' American Spirit was a challenge. Avast! Arrr! I wanted t' do an American Flag theme. Ya scallywag! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! So I decided t' do t' stripes down t' body, arrr, and put t' stars on the payload section. Ya scallywag! T' make things simple with t' nose and tail, I decided to paint those gold. First step was t' paint t' entire rocket white. Then I used maskin' tape t' mask t' stripes, matey, thinkin' o' a white and red stripe between each fin (6 fins, that equals 12 stripes). For t' starts, matey, I printed out a bunch o' stars on label paper, cut them out by hand, and painstakingly position them on t' payload tube. Arrr! Begad! I lined up t' top o' t' “arms” with one of t' fins, so thar are 6 rows o' stars, me hearties, alternatin' betwixt three and four stars per row. Avast! There are 21 stars total. Ya scallywag! T' booster was then sprayed with red paint, me bucko, and t' payload section with blue. Ya scallywag! Then t' fin can, matey, and nose was painted Gold. Avast, me proud beauty! Shortly after this, ya bilge rat, I learned that Gold Paint does nay take to well t' clear coat. Avast, me proud beauty! Oh well…

First flight o' t' American Spirit took place on t' dark and cold day o' April 19th, 2002. Begad! I planned t' fly it on a H220-10T… perfect day for a Blue Thunder motor. Blimey! Then I noticed that both me bucko Ryan Sebastian and I had E23-8T loads. Wanna put them in t' American Spirit? Why Not? So we did. Blimey! We could nay see t' flames o' t' E23's, but it was cool to hear t' E23's thrustin' for a whole second after t' WHAM o' t' H220’s burn.

Second flight be on July 27th, 2002. Loaded t' bear with more power. Begad! Ryan Sebastian and I once again collaborated together t' put this beast up on more then one motor. In t' center, an H128-10W. Aye aye! On t' outboards, me hearties, ya bilge rat, two G64-10W’s. Arrr! Three Magnelites were used t' get t' rocket going, matey, and it was an AWESOME flight. Aye aye! Lots o' fire, lots o' smoke, matey, and lots o' noise. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! It is also very interestin' t' see t' reduction o' t' fire and smoke once t' shorter burnin' H128 ran out o' fuel.

Some minor repairs were required after t' last flight; one o' t' fins stabbed t' payload section. Begad! This be easily repaired by puttin' some masking tape underneath t' wound, and fillin' t' puncture with epoxy. Arrr! Also, matey, since the payload bay was gettin' a little surgery done t' it, I decided t' drill the holes and cut t' panels in t' aft end so it can accept me 4” electronics bay t' incorporate dual deployment into this rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' 4” electronics bay has a $65 Transolve PK altimeter, and it has performed flawlessly in my EZI-65 and MEGABLAST L2 rocket.

Next flight took place on April 19th, matey, 2003. Blimey! Blimey! A central G35-7W surrounded by three G35-7W motors were instantly ignited by Magnelite igniters, ya bilge rat, matey, and t' resultin' liftoff be very spectacular. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I plugged the ejection wells o' t' G motors, so recovery be provided by t' altimeter. Once again, me bucko, it function flawlessly.

T' most recent flight o' t' American Spirit took place durin' NSL 2003 in Clarks Summit, matey, PA. Avast! She be loaded t' bare seven G35-7W motors. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' largest cluster I have ever done. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! All seven motors ignited instantly with Magnelite igniters, and t' Transolve altimeter did its job. However, shiver me timbers, t' main chute got tangled, arrr, ya bilge rat, and it landed with a thud in t' tall grass. Begad! Blimey! Fortunately, thar was no damage. Well, blow me down! T' video o' this flight made it on t' NSL 2003 DVD.

I do plan t' fly t' American Spirit again in t' future, but as you can imagine, clusterin' composite motors can become pricey. Arrr! Maybe one o' these days, when I have more loot t' burn, I will build a beefed up version, and launch it on a cluster o' seven I200’s. Begad! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Imagine t' size o' flame that cluster would produce! That will be equivalent t' a K1400! Almost a full K!