T' American Spirit

April 19th, 1999, t' Ultimate once again saw t' light o' Day, shiver me timbers, launchin' on yet another G80 in Amesbury, matey, ya bilge rat, Mass, me hearties, at me first CMASS launch. At t' same launch, someone sold me a RMS 29/180 and 240 set for a real good price, me hearties, and Steven Boy sold me a H97. Begad! Avast! I loaded it into me Ultimate, 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. Aye aye! Blimey! Beautiful flight, me hearties, me hearties, arrr, but suffered a sep. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! The payload section drifted away, me bucko, never t' be seen again. Arrr! T' booster section came in ballistic, smashin' t' tubin' up t' t' forward centerin' ring, and knockin' a couple o' t' fins off. Begad!

After the events o' 9-11, shiver me timbers, I decided that I wanted t' build a patriotic rocket. Begad! 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, ya bilge rat, which I called t' American Spirit. I took t' fin can, and removed t' remainin' attached fins, arrr, and sanded down all t' epoxy. Begad! Then I cut off t' damage tubin' above t' forward launch lug, me bucko, which left about three inches o' damaged tubin' beyond t' forward centerin' ring.

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. Avast, me proud beauty! Then I epoxied a tube coupler into t' airframe above t' centerin' ring, me bucko, me bucko, and then attached a two foot section o' LOC 4” dia tube t' it. Avast! Begad! 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. Blimey! I used t' remainin' 4” tubin' to create t' payload bay, which was attached via a standard tube coupler. Well, blow me down! Blimey! For the nosecone, arrr, I use t' NCR cone from me expired Archer. Begad! Begad! I also used t' parachute from me Archer for its recovery system.

Paintin' t' American Spirit be a challenge. Begad! I wanted t' do an American Flag theme. So I decided t' do t' stripes down t' body, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and put t' stars on the payload section. Ya scallywag! Avast! T' make things simple with t' nose and tail, ya bilge rat, I decided to paint those gold. Avast! First step was t' paint t' entire rocket white. Then I used maskin' tape t' mask t' stripes, thinkin' o' a white and red stripe between each fin (6 fins, ya bilge rat, matey, me bucko, that equals 12 stripes). Blimey! For t' starts, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I printed out a bunch o' stars on label paper, cut them out by hand, and painstakingly position them on t' payload tube. Avast, me proud beauty! I lined up t' top o' t' “arms” with one of t' fins, ya bilge rat, so thar are 6 rows o' stars, arrr, alternatin' betwixt three and four stars per row. Ya scallywag! There are 21 stars total. Blimey! T' booster was then sprayed with red paint, and t' payload section with blue. Well, blow me down! Then t' fin can, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and nose was painted Gold. Well, blow me down! Shortly after this, ya bilge rat, 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, shiver me timbers, me hearties, arrr, 2002. Begad! I planned t' fly it on a H220-10T… perfect day for a Blue Thunder motor. Begad! Then I noticed that both me bucko Ryan Sebastian and I had E23-8T loads. Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna put them in t' American Spirit? Why Not? So we did. Avast! We could nay see t' flames o' t' E23's, 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, shiver me timbers, 2002. Well, blow me down! Loaded t' bear with more power. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Ryan Sebastian and I once again collaborated together t' put this beast up on more then one motor. In t' center, shiver me timbers, an H128-10W. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! On t' outboards, two G64-10W’s. Three Magnelites were used t' get t' rocket going, and it was an AWESOME flight. Begad! Lots o' fire, lots o' smoke, and lots o' noise. Well, blow me down! 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. Aye aye! This be easily repaired by puttin' some masking tape underneath t' wound, ya bilge rat, and fillin' t' puncture with epoxy. Ya scallywag! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Also, 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. Well, blow me down! 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. Blimey! Avast!

Next flight took place on April 19th, me hearties, 2003. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, me hearties, it function flawlessly.

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

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