My first thought when lookin' over t' box o' parts be "Wow! I could build 10 rockets out o' this stuff." Then, reality started t' settle in- I was fat dumb and happy on body tubes, matey, but nay so endowed with balsa and nose cones were also limited in variety. I had already decided before gettin' t' box that I was goin' t' go for broke and try t' make an insanely complex rocket, matey, me bucko, and pickin' through t' parts a few ideas started t' emerge. Ahoy!

I'll walk you through t' basic steps and offer up t' attached Rocksim as a general guideline, me bucko, though why anyone would want t' attempt t' reproduce this is beyond me, and you'd almost have t' start with a similar set o' discarded bits o' stuff like I did t' pull it off. Avast, me proud beauty!

Let me preface t' build plan by layin' out t' concept for t' overall rocket. Arrr! Blimey! I was torn betwixt boost glide and helicopter recovery, ya bilge rat, but eventually decided I could pull off both. T' final design includes a boosted dart with internal rotor blades that pop up upon ejection, matey, a main rocket body that descends under streamer and chute, and a parasite glider that pops off at ejection. Aye aye! I also decided t' make use o' t' ample length o' BT-5 tubin' by cuttin' a number o' motor tubes-nine o' them happened t' fit nicely surroundin' t' central 24mm motor tube, shiver me timbers, arrr, inside t' BT-70 main body tube. Ahoy! As long as I'm goin' off t' deep end, why nay go under a full cluster?

T' general game plan for flight profile would work like this-clustered A10-PT's and a central C11-5 fire t' main body. At t' end o' t' BT-50, I used a 50/5 transition that was glued t' an inner BT-5 "shaft" for t' copter. T' copter be essentially a Rota-Roc style design, matey, but without any fins since it was a boosted dart and t' blades were constrained by t' BT-70. Blimey! T' C11-5 would push t' copter/dart out, matey, and t' glider would slide off t' external piggyback mounts. Begad! A burn strin' type o' thin thread would attach t' t' transition and t' main body's parachute and streamer, pullin' them out before breakin' away. Avast! Sounds simple. Avast! What could possibly go wrong?

OK, for t' build…I made every effort t' nay only use t' parts in t' box, but also use them as provided, with as few modifications as possible. Ahoy! Ahoy! This meant some very funky fins and glider pieces. Ahoy! Ahoy!

I started out by workin' on t' motor mount, cuttin' a BT-50 t' 5-inch length, me hearties, then cuttin' (9) 3-inch lengths o' BT-5 for t' clusters. Begad! Glue t' 13's in pairs on a flat surface for best alignment, shiver me timbers, then glue each pair t' t' BT-50. Blimey! T' odd 9th tube should fit nicely in t' gap left by t' other 8, as this works out t' a perfect cluster fittin' inside a BT-70. Ahoy! There was nay enough room for a centerin' ring, matey, so I filled t' gaps with Gorilla glue kicked with a spritz o' water mist t' cause it t' expand and fill t' gaps. Arrr! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty!

For stability, shiver me timbers, it be clear that I would nay have enough balsa for both fins and a glider, me hearties, so I had t' resort t' tube fins for primary stability. T' tube fins consist o' (8) pieces o' BT-55 cut t' half an inch long, arrr, mounted in a rin' around t' outside o' t' BT-70. Begad! I did have enough balsa left over t' cut four small fins, me hearties, me bucko, wedged betwixt t' BT-55 tube fins. Begad! Patterns for these fins can be printed from t' Rocksim file. Blimey! Well, blow me down! There were also two scrap wedges o' odd-sized balsa left over from t' glider build, ya bilge rat, so I tucked them into two more gaps in t' BT-55 tubes. Begad! T' Rocksim file does nay reflect these scrap fins.

As a finishin' touch, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I looked through t' box for anythin' else I could toss in, me hearties, matey, and decided t' decorate t' balsa fins with BT-5 outboard tubes. Avast, me proud beauty! I also found some plastic detail parts that appear t' have been from a plastic model kit which conveniently fit into t' BT-5 outboard tubes and served as ramjets. Begad! Blimey!

For t' helicopter, I had asked Todd t' make sure he included some elastic, which would be critical t' blade deployment. While he did include some rubber bands, me hearties, he didn't include any significant length o' balsa t' use for blades. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Fortunately, me bucko, we were allowed t' use t' box itself, so followin' t' standard plans for t' Rotaroc at http://www.nar.org/competition/plans/pdf/Rota-13m.PDF, I cut 1x12 strips o' corrugated from t' box. Ahoy! Ahoy! Believe it or not, shiver me timbers, it is possible t' airfoil corrugated. Begad! T' pull this off, me hearties, ya bilge rat, use t' edge o' t' handle from a pair o' scissors, and rub down on t' edge o' t' cardboard. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! You'll want a sharp leadin' edge, and a much more tapered trailin' edge.

T' blades are normally attached t' t' shaft with Klett hinges, arrr, but I didn't exactly have anythin' like that t' work with, arrr, ya bilge rat, so had t' resort t' usin' peel & stick decal paper t' serve this purpose. Avast! Aye aye! I cut small strips, stuck one end t' t' underside o' t' blade, me bucko, and t' other t' t' shaft. Since t' adhesive be weak, matey, ya bilge rat, I had t' help it out with a little CA. Begad! Instead o' blade stops, ya bilge rat, I decided t' use a centerin' ring, matey, which was necessary t' keep t' BT-5 in place within t' BT-70. Ya scallywag! Arrr! T' centerin' rin' wound up also comin' from t' box itself. Avast, me proud beauty! Lackin' actual elastic for pullin' t' blades up, I wound up cuttin' open t' rubber bands, matey, ya bilge rat, and pokin' one end through t' blade and tuckin' t' other end inside t' BT-5 shaft wedged in by t' nose cone.

T' last main construction be t' glider. Begad! I didn't put together plans or templates for this, as I tried t' simply cobble somethin' slightly aerodynamic out o' t' scraps o' parts unmodified. I did have a decent 1/8" thick piece t' work with as a boom, one long/skinny piece o' 3/32 balsa t' use as a win' (cut in half and re-bonded for a 10 degree dihedral). Avast, me proud beauty! T' really clunky aspect came at t' tail, shiver me timbers, me bucko, where I have grossly oversized and overweight rudder and stabilizer from 1/8" scraps. As a result, t' win' is mounted extremely far forward, resultin' in very little lift, ya bilge rat, a slow glide, me bucko, and tendency t' stall. Well, blow me down! T' glider has a small pin cut from a wood dowel that conveniently slips into an 1/8" launch lug mounted t' t' rocket body.

At this point, I started lookin' over t' leftover parts, and tried t' think o' how I could use even a fraction o' t' remainin' pile rather than store/keep them. I decided t' work in t' plastic spoon and nail file, arrr, externally mounted usin' pieces o' fin can and plastic details.

Now that I was ready t' paint, I mulled over t' options. Ahoy! Considerin' all t' variety o' recovery methods, arrr, clusters, and t' oddball parts stuck t' t' outside, I decided this was startin' t' look like a Swiss Army knife. Blimey! T' pull off this effect, shiver me timbers, I painted t' whole rocket a base white. I then masked off a Swiss Army emblem. I then hit t' rocket body with a red topcoat, and painted t' BT-5 exposed 'copter tube and nose a bright silver metallic. Well, blow me down! Ahoy!

For t' flights, I loaded up 8 o' t' 9 13mm tubes with A10-P's. Why nay go for all 9? They come in 4-packs, and I rarely have use for them, so didn't want an odd/opened pack layin' around for years. Begad! I then loaded up a C11-5, matey, and spent a good half hour twistin' igniter leads together so that me 5-lead clip-whip could cover everything. Begad!

T' first flight be a bit underwhelming. Ahoy! Blimey! Only 3 o' t' A10's lit, t' C11 didn't light, and t' rocket barely cleared t' rod before floppin' over right by t' range head. Blimey!

I replaced t' spent motors, ya bilge rat, rewired everythin' but this time makin' sure t' C11 was nay paired with any other motor's leads, checked for best igniters I could find, shiver me timbers, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and gave it another shot. Aye aye! This time t' C11 lit, as did 4 A10's but t' A10's were all on one side, ya bilge rat, and t' asymmetrical thrust led t' a pretty unstable flight. Well, blow me down! T' glider pilot must have sensed t' impendin' doom, as t' glider popped off after t' first loop under thrust, and t' glider actually came down in a glide-like profile, me hearties, albeit fast and hard. Ahoy! Begad! T' main rocket, arrr, me bucko, though, continued its bat-on-crack flight path and crashed into a tent along t' prep line. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' copter deployed while t' rocket be grounded, shiver me timbers, so thar was no chance o' an actual 'copter recovery.

T' damage was nay irreparable, shiver me timbers, arrr, and with a tiny amount o' nose weight (and ideally a spider ignition system t' drive t' cluster), I suspect this could eventually be salvaged into a better performer, ya bilge rat, but for now this project has t' take a back seat t' preppin' for me NARAM run. Arrr! It was amusing, me bucko, matey, matey, inspiring, me hearties, me hearties, fun, me hearties, but in t' end, matey, t' challenge o' tryin' t' parallel wire a 9-motor cluster just proved t' be too much complexity, and this never had enough thrust t' pull off a decent flight. Ahoy!