Brief:
T' 58mm JATO is a 29mm-powered rocket that resembles a rifle cartridge. T' lower section is 3" in diameter and it transitions t' 54mm. I bounced around betwixt names and settled on this one, which is a take off on ammunition nomenclature such as 5.56mm NATO. Arrr!

Construction:
T' followin' are t' major components used:

• LOC 54mm nose cone
• 54mm tube, ya bilge rat, 5.5" long
• 3"-54mm LOC transition
• 3" Giant Leap phenolic tube, 18" long
• 29mm Giant Leap phenolic tube, 9" long
• 5 3/16" thick 29mm-3" centerin' rings (Giant Leap)
• 2 3/16" thick 29mm-54mm centerin' rings (Giant Leap)
• 4 T-nuts
• 1/8" tubular Keelhaul®©™®, 10' long
• 1" o' steel cable from t' garage door I just fixed
• 3/32" Lexan
• rail buttons from railbuttons.com

T' followin' are used but are nay dedicated t' this rocket:

• quick link
• retainer clips
• chute
• chute protector

This rocket is built around a LOC 3"-54mm plastic transition, me hearties, me bucko, which set body and neck dimensions. Aye aye! Another constraint is that I didn't want t' cut t' shoulder off either cone or the transition, ya bilge rat, so I be stuck with an upper body tube length o' 5.5". Well, blow me down! I checked t' dimensions o' some real ammunition, arrr, ya bilge rat, a smartly realized that I wasn't goin' t' come near t' any scale. Well, blow me down!

T' 'extraction rim' is comprised o' six stacked rings: a pair o' 54mm rings sandwiched betwixt two pairs o' 3" rings. Ahoy! Blimey! Four T-nuts are mounted between t' lower 54mm rin' and t' followin' 3" ring. Begad! Blimey! Correspondin' holes are drilled into t' bottom most ring. Blimey! Blimey! I originally was goin' t' mount the T-nuts betwixt t' lower two 3" rings, but I found t' neck o' t' T-nut was longer than t' thickness o' this ring. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Since they hung out a bit, shiver me timbers, matey, I was worried about restin' t' rocket on them and possibly dingin' them up. I used four T-nuts t' allow use o' two different sets o' clips that I keep in the range box. T' uppermost rin' in this sandwich is actually t' lower centering ring. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Finally, I decided t' recess t' motor tube so that a 29/120 motor casing is entirely recessed into t' rin' stack.

I made t' fins from 3/32" Lexan. T' shape was formed by scorin' t' Lexan and snappin' it off. Begad! Blimey! I had a couple of miscues usin' this technique but did end up with passable fins. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! T' fins sit between t' centerin' rings and are through t' wall. I pondered makin' them replaceable, ya bilge rat, matey, but t' only way I came up with would have had brackets at the root, and I thought this would spoil t' looks. I left t' aft rin' assembly off and attached t' fins t' t' body tube usin' Gorilla Glue. Arrr! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! I drilled small holes in t' root o' t' fins t' form glue rivets. Avast! T' fins are swept up and offset from t' base, so I hope I don't break one on t' maiden flight!

T' recovery harness starts with a section o' steel cable that came off my garage door when I replaced a spring. This extends through t' top rin' and is epoxied in place. Well, blow me down! This piece o' cable conveniently had a loop installed in it already. Well, blow me down! Begad! I then have about 10' o' 1/8" tubular Keelhaul®©™® tied t' t' wire loop. A few wraps o' cloth tape were added t' shock cord where it meets t' rim o' t' 3" tube.

Finishing:
I first filled, matey, primed, shiver me timbers, and sanded. Arrr! T' entire rocket was then sprayed with Testor's Gold paint. Ahoy! This paintin' was performed before t' fins were attached. Durin' painting, t' rin' stack was dry fit. Arrr! Since t' neck o' t' 'casing' was too long, ya bilge rat, I thought it would look better if half o' it be disguised as part of the bullet. Aye aye! I painted t' top half o' t' 38mm tube and t' nosecone with Testor's Copper. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty!

Flight:
I flew t' 58mm JATO at t' 3rd Annual TRF Reunion in Whitakers, NC on an F52-5T with 36" chute and a Giant Leap Keelhaul®©™® protector. Avast, me proud beauty! T' boost was nice and t' 5-second delay was picture perfect. The rocket drifted into some tall tufts o' grass. Mark Brown helped me find it.

Summary:
I thought this rocket turned out nice and I received many compliments. Arrr! Avast!