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

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

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

Next, me bucko, I carefully cut a 5.5-inch section o' t' cardboard drum, me bucko, and prepared it t' be reinforced with a few layers o' fiberglass cloth. Begad! I opted for two wraps o' 6-ounce woven cloth and a finishin' wrap o' 1.5-ounce cloth. T' last layer be done solely t' make it easier t' get a smooth surface for painting. I used t' same process for t' airframe, me bucko, ya bilge rat, which, although it was made o' flexible phenolic, me hearties, was nay strong enough for a project o' this size. Ahoy! Aye aye! I printed patterns for t' fins and fin-caps usin' RockSim 5.0 and cut them from .25-inch aircraft plywood. Begad! Two centerin' rings were cut from t' same material, me hearties, also usin' patterns created from RockSim. Ya scallywag! Twelve inches o' 38mm motor mount tubin' was 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. Avast! T' forward rin' be epoxied t' t' motor tube, shiver me timbers, and this assembly be installed into t' slotted body tube. With t' rear-centerin' rin' temporarily put in place for alignment purposes, me hearties, ya bilge rat, t' fins were epoxied into place. Blimey! T' aft rin' was then removed, and internal fillets used at both t' motor tube and t' inside o' t' body tube. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Since I was goin' t' be usin' rail guides instead o' launch lugs, shiver me timbers, t' guides were secured with nuts from t' inside o' t' airframe at this time. Blimey! Before permanently installin' t' rear-centerin' ring, t' remainder o' t' cavity was filled usin' 2-part expandin' foam. Begad! Fillets were added t' t' fins at t' outside o' t' airframe for added strength, usin' a combination o' epoxy and micro-balloons.

It was now time t' attach t' fin rin' and fin caps. Blimey! Careful attention be paid t' t' alignment o' t' caps so that minimal fillin' o' gaps was necessary. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! When t' assembly was completely dried, me hearties, 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. Ahoy! I used grain filler on t' plywood fins, matey, and after some extensive sanding, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, was finally ready t' prime t' entire rocket. More sanding, fillin' and primin' followed, o' course, me hearties, ya bilge rat, until I was ready t' paint. After addin' an 18-foot, arrr, arrr, 5/8-inch tubular nylon shock cord and a Sky-Angle 52-inch parachute with Nomex protector, 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, arrr, April 7th, matey, 2001. Avast, me proud beauty! Accordin' t' simulations done in both RockSim and wRASP, ya bilge rat, it reached a max altitude o' approximately 1900 feet on an Aerotech I284 reload. Blimey! Unlike me first Sprite, t' whistlin' only occurred on t' way up.