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I loved EMRR's new "Spaceship Design Contest", arrr, matey, but in t' beginning, I wasn't excited by any o' t' designs. Begad! Blimey! But, me bucko, me hearties, over t' weeks that followed, I rotated t' pictures on me desktop wallpaper and studied each for a few days and finally settled on this design. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I thought that t' outboard motors would be an interestin' challenge that I had nay tried before. This design reminds me o' t' look o' t' ships o' Star Trek, though somewhat "lower tech" looking. Probably around t' time o' t' "Enterprise" series and an early Star Fleet tug or supply ship from its looks. Avast, me proud beauty! Workin' with that line o' thought, as many o' t' ships in t' Star Trek universe are named after famous scientists and scholars, I decided t' name this rocket t' USS Moebius.

I started out t' design process by firin' up me handy-dandy copy o' Rocksim. Begad! Aye aye! I got t' basic model built and lookin' pretty good, matey, I thought. Avast, me proud beauty! However, thar was one little problem... Avast! Arrr! Rocksim said it was totally unstable even with several ounces o' nose weight! At this point, me bucko, matey, I decided t' go ahead and build t' rocket that, with me many years o' experience, arrr, I was pretty sure would be stable.

I decided that I would use an old Estes Fat Boy nose cone that I had kickin' around after me last Fat Boy lost it's match with gravity. This provided t' scale for t' design and t' rest was scaled t' look proportional t' t' picture. Begad! I decided t' keep t' design as simple as possible and pop t' nose cone on each nacelle instead o' tryin' t' passport t' ejection charge t' push out t' main nose cone. Blimey! Begad! Due t' t' naggin' feelin' in t' back o' me head created by Rocksim, ya bilge rat, I decided t' go with 13mm motors instead o' t' larger 18mm t' cut back t' weight on t' tail end as much as possible.

This rocket provided me with an interestin' new challenge as well. Begad! T' get t' nose cones for t' nacelles t' look right, I would either need t' use a BT-5 stuffer tube inside o' t' BT-20 nacelles t' get t' correct look, arrr, or try t' turn t' cones. I up until this point had been highly intimidated by t' though o' tryin' t' turn cones for myself. Avast, me proud beauty! For some reason, arrr, me hearties, t' process seemed much more dauntin' than it actually (if you'll pardon t' pun) "turned" out t' be! I cut a chunk o' balsa t' 1"x1"x1" and CA'd a piece o' hard wood dowel into one end. Ya scallywag! I chucked this into me drill after it cured and locked t' drill in t' "on" position. Blimey! Blimey! I let t' drill rest on t' ground and held t' dowel as it turned (I'd recommend gloves for this...friction burns are nasty...) and used some 80 grit paper t' slowly round t' balsa into shape. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' first one came out amazingly perfect! I was floored! T' came t' harder part.... Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Makin' three more that were identical.... Avast! Heady with me initial success, it took a couple extras t' get four that were suitably close enough for use. Avast! If you have nay tried this because it seems t' "scary", ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, give it a shot. Avast, me proud beauty! T' process is reasonalby simple t' grasp, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but it is definitely an artform. Give it a little practice and it is really rewarding!

I also had t' turn t' tailcone for t' Moebius as well. This be somewhat easier as I was able t' trim t' diameter o' t' balsa t' match t' tube before I started turning. Well, blow me down! Begad! After turning, I glued t' cone flush without it havin' a shoulder. It seems t' be sturdy enough t' survive without t' extra weight that t' shoulder would have added.

T' rest o' t' build was fairly straight forward. Arrr! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I tacked t' fins t' t' nacelles with CA and Tite-bond, filletin' after t' root bond had cured. Begad! I eyeballed t' alignment o' t' fins onto t' main airframe since me fin alignment guide wouldn't fit under t' outboard pods, me hearties, usin' t' same gluin' technique. I finished up where I normally start, buildin' and insertin' t' mini-motor mounts into t' pods.

At this point, ya bilge rat, I decided it would be a good time for a swin' test t' make sure that I was goin' t' have a rocket t' flew in straight lines instead o' loops! With a couple o' ounces o' sand glued into t' front o' t' Fat Boy cone, t' rocket seemed stable enough for flight! Nice t' see that I haven't lost me eye for stability, even though t' software said otherwise....

I took a page from t' Master o' t' Dark Art o' Rocketry, Shrox, t' add t' details t' t' nose...Pin' pong balls! I cut t' ends off a couple o' balls, as a full half o' a ball was much too large for t' look o' t' design. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I had a couple o' old Alpha III cones in me parts box, so I halved them and trimmed them down t' about a third o' t' length so that they would match up nicely with t' pin' pong balls. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Gluin' these t' t' airframe helped disguise t' seam betwixt t' body and t' nose somewhat.

I filled t' seams with Elmer's Fill-n-finish, shiver me timbers, me bucko, sanded and primed with Kilz and sanded again. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' tailcone got a coat o' Rust-o-leum Metallic Blue and t' airframe got a coat o' gloss grey. After maskin' t' grey stripes, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I sprayed t' whole model with Rust-o-leum Metallic Black. Begad! T' design for t' contest had a bit o' a pixelated pattern t' t' lighter grey areas, so I laid a piece o' loose weave fiberglass over t' grey areas and sprayed them with t' metallic black t' give them a little bit o' t' texture from t' image.

T' day o' t' launch, shiver me timbers, I had decided t' nay tempt t' wrath o' t' Rocket Gods and didn't want t' fly t' rocket in it's finished paint. It flew in primer only... Blimey! Blimey! Pretty rockets make ugly flights!

My initial flight was on 4 A10-3T's. Blimey! I loaded t' motors up and installed t' igniters with and borrowed a whipclip from a buddy. Begad! Aye aye! All four motors lid and it jumped into t' sky perfectly thanks t' t' high initial thrust spike o' t' A10's. Arrr! Begad! All four nosecones popped in series, shiver me timbers, much t' t' delight o' several children who were lookin' on. Blimey! I had installed two streamers and a parachute, leavin' one o' t' cones t' just pop. Arrr! This brought t' model down reasonably quickly, shiver me timbers, but with no damage as t' flight was nay very high and our launch field here in San Diego is sand.

I waited until another day t' get me additional flight in. Both me second and third flights were near disasters. Begad! Only 2 or 3 o' t' 4 motor lit on these flights. With t' reduction in thrust, matey, t' model be terribly underpowered, barely clearin' t' rod on t' 2 motor burn. Aye aye! Arrr! At this point, shiver me timbers, I had burned through most o' me supply o' A10-3t's, so I loaded only two on t' next flight as well as 2 A-10PT's! This one lit perfectly, but seemed t' nay fly quite as high as t' first flight had. After another failled flight, me bucko, with this motor combination, I switched t' me final flight configuration, me bucko, arrr, 2 A10-3T's and 2 A3-4T's. Luckily, as these were t' last mini-motors that were left in me flight box, all t' motors lit. Well, blow me down! This combination be again underpowered. Ya scallywag! My thought had been that it would get more altitude because o' t' longer burn o' t' A3's, me hearties, but without t' initial thrust spike from 4 A10's, me hearties, t' flight barely ejected before impact.

I enjoyed t' experience o' buildin' this rocket because o' t' challenge o' it's outboard cluster and havin' t' learn t' new skill o' turnin' cones. Ya scallywag! Overall a very satisfyin' experience. Avast! Ya scallywag! I am goin' t' continue flyin' t' Meobius after t' contest, me bucko, but in a modified configuration. Begad! Ya scallywag! I am goin' t' glue in t' nacelle nose cones. Arrr! Blimey! Lightin' all 4 motors is more o' a challenge than I would rather deal with every time I want t' fly it. Well, blow me down! Since t' tail cone is only surface glued t' t' end o' t' main airframe, it should be easy t' remove. I'm goin' t' install a central 24mm motor mount that will aft eject, me hearties, me bucko, as t' nose details are glued securly over t' seam at t' front, ya bilge rat, makin' a standard ejection impossible.