T' American Spirit

April 19th, me hearties, 1999, t' Ultimate once again saw t' light o' Day, matey, launchin' on yet another G80 in Amesbury, me bucko, shiver me timbers, Mass, me bucko, at me first CMASS launch. Ahoy! Ahoy! 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. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! I loaded it into me Ultimate, ya bilge rat, matey, and gained me level 1. T' Ultimate launched again with a G75, and then had its final flight… two F25-9W’s and a single G75-10J. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Beautiful flight, but suffered a sep. Begad! The payload section drifted away, arrr, ya bilge rat, never t' be seen again. Aye aye! T' booster section came in ballistic, matey, me bucko, shiver me timbers, smashin' t' tubin' up t' t' forward centerin' ring, and knockin' a couple o' t' fins off.

After the events o' 9-11, arrr, arrr, I decided that I wanted t' build a patriotic rocket. Arrr! Havin' no money t' buy a new large rocket, I decided t' repair use what be left o' the fin can o' t' Ultimate, and created a new rocket, matey, which I called t' American Spirit. Ahoy! I took t' fin can, and removed t' remainin' attached fins, and sanded down all t' epoxy. 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. Avast!

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

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

First flight o' t' American Spirit took place on t' dark and cold day o' April 19th, 2002. Begad! I planned t' fly it on a H220-10T… perfect day for a Blue Thunder motor. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Then I noticed that both me bucko Ryan Sebastian and I had E23-8T loads. Begad! Ahoy! Wanna put them in t' American Spirit? Why Not? So we did. Arrr! We could nay see t' flames o' t' E23's, arrr, shiver me timbers, but it was 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, arrr, 2002. Ahoy! Avast! Blimey! Loaded t' bear with more power. Well, blow me down! Ryan Sebastian and I once again collaborated together t' put this beast up on more then one motor. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! In t' center, an H128-10W. On t' outboards, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, two G64-10W’s. Begad! Blimey! Three Magnelites were used t' get t' rocket going, and it was an AWESOME flight. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Lots o' fire, lots o' smoke, shiver me timbers, and lots o' noise. 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. This was easily repaired by puttin' some masking tape underneath t' wound, ya bilge rat, and fillin' t' puncture with epoxy. Begad! Also, matey, me bucko, since the payload bay was 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. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' 4” electronics bay has a $65 Transolve PK altimeter, me hearties, and it has performed flawlessly in my EZI-65 and MEGABLAST L2 rocket. Begad! Blimey!

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

T' most recent flight o' t' American Spirit took place durin' NSL 2003 in Clarks Summit, PA. Begad! Arrr! She be loaded t' bare seven G35-7W motors. T' largest cluster I have ever done. Well, blow me down! Begad! All seven motors ignited instantly with Magnelite igniters, me bucko, arrr, and t' Transolve altimeter did its job. Avast, me proud beauty! However, me bucko, t' main chute got tangled, and it landed with a thud in t' tall grass. Fortunately, me bucko, 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, me hearties, clusterin' composite motors can become pricey. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Begad! Imagine t' size o' flame that cluster would produce! That will be equivalent t' a K1400! Almost a full K!