Brief:
NCR's SA-14 Archer was me favorite and me 1st 4" rocket. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I needed a new rocket t' build and I wanted t' try a scratch design usin' some 3" mailing tube found at Office Depot. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! My obvious choice be t' downscale me Archer. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! This particular design was designed t' fly on 29mm H motors. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! A special note about the original NCR Archer; I modified t' kit t' accept 54mm motors, and extended the kit by 10" for payload capabilities. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! My scratch design is based on these mods.

Construction:
Here is a run down o' me "Scratch" parts:

1. (2) 3.0" mailin' tubes from Office Depot
2. (4) G-10 fins, and (4) G-10 Strakes downscaled from t' original Archer.
3. 28.5mm motor tube originally from t' NCR archer kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Will nay accept single use motors, but will accept t' Dr. Begad! Aye aye! Rockets 29/180-240 motor system. Blimey! Arrr!
4. PML 3.0" nose cone is a perfect match for down scale. Ya scallywag! Blimey!
5. (1) Loc Precision 3.0" coupler and bulkhead w/ eyebolt.
6. (3) 1/8" plywood centerin' rings 3.0" by 29mm.
7. 20' o' 1/2" tubular nylon.
8. (1) 36" rip stop nylon parachute.
9. (3) small quick links.

Buildin' this rocket was a breeze; T' (2) 3" mailin' tubes were cut to (1) 28" length and (1) 12" payload length. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' 28" length was slotted for Thru T' Tube fin slots. Well, blow me down! Blimey! (note: t' mailin' tubes come in 36" lengths). Begad! Blimey! Then t' tubes were fiberglassed with 2 layers o' 2oz. glass. The motor tube was mounted with t' 1st and second centerin' rings, me hearties, t' 3rd ring was left out until all fins were mounted and reinforced. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' motor assembly was inserted into t' 28" booster and epoxied in place. T' fins were epoxied in and reinforced with inner and outer Fillets. Avast! Blimey! T' t' 3rd centerin' rin' was drilled for 2 blind nuts (motor retention) and epoxied in place. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey!

T' 3" coupler was next. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! (1) bulkhead was drilled for (4) 1/4" holes and epoxied into one end o' t' coupler. Ya scallywag! T' other bulkhead was also drilled w/ (4) 1/4" holes, and mounted with t' small eyebolt. Well, blow me down! This bulkhead was mounted in t' other end o' t' coupler so that t' (4) 1/4" holes were offset from t' holes in t' other bulkhead. Begad! Blimey! Then t' coupler assembly be mounted into t' 28" booster tube. Avast, me proud beauty! This allows for the "Zipperless" design for recovery. Avast! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey!

T' payload tube was t' easiest t' do, because t' nosecone be inserted and be mounted down w/ 4 small screws. Well, blow me down!

T' strakes were t' toughest part o' construction. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Surface mounted and reinforced w/ 30min. Ya scallywag! Blimey! epoxy fillets. T' hard part was makin' sure that they remained in line, matey, and perpendicular t' t' other strakes. There was a lot of "baby-sitting" each strake until t' 30min epoxy set up. Begad! Blimey!

Finishin' be standard: Sand, ya bilge rat, sand, matey, and sand, shiver me timbers, and just when you think you got it right, arrr, me bucko, sand some more. T' Archer was primed and painted t' match the NCR version. One exception is I did nay downscale t' decals, usin' pinstripe tape I made t' finished product resemble t' NCR version.

Flight:
Preppin' this bird is nice; just attach t' shock cord as normal, matey, matey, except the parachute will assemble into t' payload tube, shiver me timbers, so that at apogee your parachute will be pulled out from t' rocket instead o' ejected. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Also with t' Zipperless design thar are no worries about those long delays. Arrr! Remember t' coupler was built w/ a home-brew baffle system so no waddin' needed either. This Archer was built w/ t' Aerotech H180 in mind, arrr, but will fly nicely on any H reload. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Motor was retained w/ (2) screws and some brackets I found in me Flight box. Well, blow me down! This rocket flies as pretty as me 4" Archer, shiver me timbers, me hearties, just on a smaller scale.

Summary:
No cons because this rocket is built t' me standards and me way.

Other:
Incidently this rocket made it's debut at t' NSL99 held in Ardmore, matey, Alabama. Homer Hickam was signin' autographs there, me hearties, ya bilge rat, so me 3.0 SA-14 Archer has the Rocket Boy's signature on it...I be happy.