T' American Spirit

April 19th, 1999, arrr, t' Ultimate once again saw t' light o' Day, me hearties, launchin' on yet another G80 in Amesbury, Mass, me bucko, matey, at me first CMASS launch. Aye aye! At t' same launch, someone sold me a RMS 29/180 and 240 set for a real good price, and Steven Boy sold me a H97. Arrr! I loaded it into me Ultimate, me hearties, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and gained me level 1. T' Ultimate launched again with a G75, arrr, and then had its final flight… two F25-9W’s and a single G75-10J. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Beautiful flight, me hearties, but suffered a sep. Avast! The payload section drifted away, never t' be seen again. T' booster section came in ballistic, smashin' t' tubin' up t' t' forward centerin' ring, and knockin' a couple o' t' fins off.

After the events o' 9-11, I decided that I wanted t' build a patriotic rocket. Havin' no money t' buy a new large rocket, I decided t' repair use what was left o' the fin can o' t' Ultimate, and created a new rocket, me bucko, me bucko, which I called t' American Spirit. Avast, me proud beauty! I took t' fin can, and removed t' remainin' attached fins, and sanded down all t' epoxy. Arrr! Then I cut off t' damage tubin' above t' forward launch lug, which left about three inches o' damaged tubin' beyond t' forward centerin' ring. Ahoy!

Since t' original fins were still in good shape, shiver me timbers, I reattached them, and did the usual epoxy and bondo fillets t' give a good finish. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! Then I epoxied a tube coupler into t' airframe above t' centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, and then attached a two foot section o' LOC 4” dia tube t' it. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! I then took a razor blade, and cut off t' remainin' raised areas o' t' damaged body tube. Ya scallywag! Then I filled the valleys created with epoxy and bondo. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I used t' remainin' 4” tubin' to create t' payload bay, me bucko, which was attached via a standard tube coupler. Arrr! Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! For the nosecone, me bucko, I use t' NCR cone from me expired Archer. Begad! I also used t' parachute from me Archer for its recovery system. Begad!

Paintin' t' American Spirit was a challenge. I wanted t' do an American Flag theme. Well, blow me down! So I decided t' do t' stripes down t' body, and put t' stars on the payload section. Avast, me proud beauty! T' make things simple with t' nose and tail, matey, I decided to paint those gold. Aye aye! First step was t' paint t' entire rocket white. Avast, me proud beauty! Then I used maskin' tape t' mask t' stripes, shiver me timbers, thinkin' o' a white and red stripe between each fin (6 fins, that equals 12 stripes). Avast, me proud beauty! For t' starts, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I printed out a bunch o' stars on label paper, matey, cut them out by hand, me hearties, and painstakingly position them on t' payload tube. Arrr! I lined up t' top o' t' “arms” with one of t' fins, so thar are 6 rows o' stars, alternatin' betwixt three and four stars per row. Blimey! Arrr! There are 21 stars total. Begad! T' booster be then sprayed with red paint, shiver me timbers, and t' payload section with blue. Arrr! Begad! Then t' fin can, ya bilge rat, and nose was painted Gold. Shortly after this, matey, I learned that Gold Paint does nay take to well t' clear coat. Begad! Oh well…

First flight o' t' American Spirit took place on t' dark and cold day o' April 19th, ya bilge rat, arrr, 2002. I planned t' fly it on a H220-10T… perfect day for a Blue Thunder motor. Avast, me proud beauty! Then I noticed that both me bucko Ryan Sebastian and I had E23-8T loads. Begad! Wanna put them in t' American Spirit? Why Not? So we did. Arrr! We could nay see t' flames o' t' E23's, but it be cool to hear t' E23's thrustin' for a whole second after t' WHAM o' t' H220’s burn.

Second flight was on July 27th, shiver me timbers, 2002. Ahoy! Blimey! Loaded t' bear with more power. Blimey! Blimey! Ryan Sebastian and I once again collaborated together t' put this beast up on more then one motor. In t' center, ya bilge rat, me hearties, an H128-10W. On t' outboards, two G64-10W’s. Ahoy! Blimey! Three Magnelites were used t' get t' rocket going, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and it was an AWESOME flight. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Lots o' fire, matey, lots o' smoke, and lots o' noise. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It is also very interestin' t' see t' reduction o' t' fire and smoke once t' shorter burnin' H128 ran out o' fuel.

Some minor repairs were required after t' last flight; one o' t' fins stabbed t' payload section. Avast, me proud beauty! This was easily repaired by puttin' some masking tape underneath t' wound, and fillin' t' puncture with epoxy. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Blimey! Also, arrr, since the payload bay be gettin' a little surgery done t' it, I decided t' drill the holes and cut t' panels in t' aft end so it can accept me 4” electronics bay t' incorporate dual deployment into this rocket. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' 4” electronics bay has a $65 Transolve PK altimeter, me bucko, and it has performed flawlessly in my EZI-65 and MEGABLAST L2 rocket. Begad!

Next flight took place on April 19th, arrr, 2003. Well, blow me down! A central G35-7W surrounded by three G35-7W motors were instantly ignited by Magnelite igniters, and t' resultin' liftoff was very spectacular. Blimey! I plugged the ejection wells o' t' G motors, ya bilge rat, so recovery was provided by t' altimeter. Once again, me bucko, arrr, it function flawlessly.

T' most recent flight o' t' American Spirit took place durin' NSL 2003 in Clarks Summit, PA. Avast, me proud beauty! She was loaded t' bare seven G35-7W motors. Aye aye! T' largest cluster I have ever done. Aye aye! All seven motors ignited instantly with Magnelite igniters, and t' Transolve altimeter did its job. Ya scallywag! However, me bucko, t' main chute got tangled, matey, me bucko, and it landed with a thud in t' tall grass. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Fortunately, shiver me timbers, thar was no damage. Avast, me proud beauty! T' video o' this flight made it on t' NSL 2003 DVD.

I do plan t' fly t' American Spirit again in t' future, but as you can imagine, clusterin' composite motors can become pricey. Begad! Maybe one o' these days, when I have more loot t' burn, I will build a beefed up version, and launch it on a cluster o' seven I200’s. Avast, me proud beauty! Imagine t' size o' flame that cluster would produce! That will be equivalent t' a K1400! Almost a full K!