Long before I was buildin' rockets, ya bilge rat, a very small, arrr, ya bilge rat, tumble recovery rocket was introduced by Estes. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! It was t' 1/2A powered Astron Sprite. Begad! T' those nay familiar with this rocket, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I would like t' explain a very unique characteristic o' this design. Arrr! When scaled up enough t' be powered by a high impulse motor, matey, t' air flowin' past t' fin rin' creates a high-pitched whistle when launched. This is sometimes drowned out by t' initial noise o' t' motor, me hearties, but is quite audible as t' motor burns out and continues durin' t' coast phase.

Back in 1999, me bucko, durin' t' second launch o' me 4-inch airframe based Superscale Sprite, ya bilge rat, arrr, me bucko, t' whistle be clearly heard by all those in attendance. As t' rocket arced over, even before t' ooh’s and aah’s had subsided, it was obvious that I had a major deployment problem…there be none! T' Sprite raced back t' earth, and a fact that I was previously unaware of, ya bilge rat, became perfectly clear. Begad! Ya scallywag! This amazin' rocket whistled comin' down, ya bilge rat, louder than when it was goin' up. In fact, matey, me hearties, it whistled right up until it impacted with t' rock-hard Pennsylvania soil at our Jones Farm launch site. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Naturally, me fellow rocketeers were quick t' offer their condolences, me hearties, but I be more amused by t' memory o' it whistlin' back t' Earth. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I collected t' remains, includin' diggin' t' nosecone out o' t' ground, and went back t' me truck t' prep me next rocket.

My son, Chris, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, almost immediately began urgin' me t' build another one. Well, blow me down! Due t' t' amount o' work that be involved in t' project, I was unwillin' t' commit t' such an ambitious undertaking. Ya scallywag! Over t' next twelve months or so, me hearties, I did acquire a piece o' 15-inch diameter cardboard drum, ya bilge rat, which would make a fine fin ring, (my first one was 11.5-inch diameter) and a 24-inch long section o' 5.5-inch airframe. Arrr! This would amount t' a 7.3X version o' t' original Estes model. Ya scallywag! I also purchased a 3 x 6 x 36-inch block o' balsa wood, that I planned on usin' t' turn a scale nosecone. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I cut t' block in two and laminated them together t' make a nice 6 x 6 x 18-inch blank, shiver me timbers, and then set it aside, me bucko, where it would sit for almost another year. Begad! One weekend in February o' 2001, me hearties, me hearties, I was turnin' a couple wooden nosecone patterns for a Tripoli Pittsburgh group project, t' Gloria Mundi III. Begad! After completin' this task, me hearties, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I decided t' go ahead, me bucko, and turn t' new Sprite nosecone from t' balsa block that had been collectin' dust. Well, blow me down! After finishin' t' outside form, it be necessary t' hollow out a large section o' t' cone so that I would be able t' add t' one-pound o' weight needed for stability. I cut a bulkhead from .5-inch plywood t' seal t' openin' that was epoxied into place after fillin' t' cone with expandin' foam. Begad! Before I knew it, t' nosecone be complete, matey, and I be plannin' me next steps o' t' project, that would soon come t' be known as "T' Lord o' t' Rings."

Next, I carefully cut a 5.5-inch section o' t' cardboard drum, and prepared it t' be reinforced with a few layers o' fiberglass cloth. Ya scallywag! I opted for two wraps o' 6-ounce woven cloth and a finishin' wrap o' 1.5-ounce cloth. T' last layer was done solely t' make it easier t' get a smooth surface for painting. Ahoy! Ahoy! I used t' same process for t' airframe, shiver me timbers, which, arrr, ya bilge rat, although it was made o' flexible phenolic, was nay strong enough for a project o' this size. I printed patterns for t' fins and fin-caps usin' RockSim 5.0 and cut them from .25-inch aircraft plywood. Aye aye! Two centerin' rings were cut from t' same material, also usin' patterns created from RockSim. Aye aye! Twelve inches o' 38mm motor mount tubin' be cut and I had all t' parts necessary t' complete t' project.

A large T-nut was installed in t' forward centerin' rin' for recovery system attachment, as well as two in t' aft rin' for motor retention. Arrr! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' forward rin' be epoxied t' t' motor tube, and this assembly be installed into t' slotted body tube. Well, blow me down! Blimey! With t' rear-centerin' rin' temporarily put in place for alignment purposes, shiver me timbers, t' fins were epoxied into place. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' aft rin' be then removed, shiver me timbers, and internal fillets used at both t' motor tube and t' inside o' t' body tube. Since I be goin' t' be usin' rail guides instead o' launch lugs, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, t' guides were secured with nuts from t' inside o' t' airframe at this time. Aye aye! Blimey! Before permanently installin' t' rear-centerin' ring, t' remainder o' t' cavity be filled usin' 2-part expandin' foam. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Fillets were added t' t' fins at t' outside o' t' airframe for added strength, me bucko, arrr, usin' a combination o' epoxy and micro-balloons.

It be now time t' attach t' fin rin' and fin caps. Arrr! Careful attention was paid t' t' alignment o' t' caps so that minimal fillin' o' gaps be necessary. When t' assembly was completely dried, shiver me timbers, I once again used t' epoxy/micro-balloon mixture t' create fillets both inside and outside t' fin rin' at each fin and fin cap. I used grain filler on t' plywood fins, matey, and after some extensive sanding, shiver me timbers, was finally ready t' prime t' entire rocket. Ya scallywag! More sanding, fillin' and primin' followed, arrr, o' course, me hearties, until I was ready t' paint. Blimey! After addin' an 18-foot, 5/8-inch tubular nylon shock cord and a Sky-Angle 52-inch parachute with Nomex protector, ya bilge rat, t' total weight without motor is just over 8-pounds.

I launched t' completed project at our first Dragon's Fire launch o' t' season, me hearties, April 7th, matey, matey, 2001. Blimey! Accordin' t' simulations done in both RockSim and wRASP, it reached a max altitude o' approximately 1900 feet on an Aerotech I284 reload. Ya scallywag! Unlike me first Sprite, t' whistlin' only occurred on t' way up.