This design was done by Stephen Corban and William Anderson. Arrr! Avast! I am 15 years old and have been in rockets for about a year, and William is 14 and has been in rockets for 3 or 4 years. Ya scallywag!

This rocket is called t' Flyin' Birthday Party Hat o' Death. Ahoy! It was a conglomerate idea betwixt William and I. Aye aye! We had a great idea, shiver me timbers, and had t' do a LOT o' explorin' t' get t' machine t' work. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' idea came from... Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Well who knows where it came from, but it be a good idea. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! We wanted t' build a rocket that would float and fly straight. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey!

We started out by gettin' a pack o' small party hats from t' local variety store. Begad! Then we got together and CAed a piece o' BT 5 t' t' top o' t' cone. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! We then filled t' rest o' t' void areas with 2 part foam. This is party hat number 1. Blimey! After gettin' this filled, arrr, and lettin' it set we shoved a 3/16" launch rod through t' foam t' make a 1/8" launch lug. Avast! Blimey! T' we loaded up an A10-3 and took it outside t' fly. Blimey! We set up our launch controller, ya bilge rat, and William backed up and I stayed low. Avast, me proud beauty! We check t' make sure t' area be clear and gave an audible countdown because we didn't know what be goin' t' happen. 5...4...3...2...1... Avast, me proud beauty! Liftoff. Begad! T' rocket went no more than 75 feet in t' air doin' loops. Arrr! Begad! It hit t' ground about 50 feet away. Arrr! T' ejection charge fired and sent t' hot motor flyin' back at us. Avast, me proud beauty!

Well, me bucko, we went back inside his house and knew a few things. Begad! Arrr! It was SERIOUSLY underpowered, it needed noseweight, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and we needed some way t' keep in the motor. Aye aye! So we got another hat, arrr, packed clay in t' top and stuck a chunk o' BT 50 in it. We again pored t' foam, me hearties, rammed a launch guide, shiver me timbers, and shoved a bit more clay down t' BT 50. Aye aye! Blimey! We wrapped 2 baskin' tape rings around a B6-4 and took it outside again. Arrr! Ya scallywag!

We again took t' procedures t' make sure t' launch are was clear, ya bilge rat, and gave another countdown. Arrr! 5...4...3...2...1...Liftoff. Begad! This time t' rocket had a marginal flight t' a couple hundred feet, me hearties, hit t' ground and t' ejection charge fired. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' engine stayed in place, me bucko, me bucko, but our clay packed tip went flying across t' yard. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! We laughed and went back inside.

This was t' one. Ya scallywag! Excuse me, t' two. Blimey! We went ahead and made 2 this time as we were sure he had it down. We packed t' nose with clay again, ya bilge rat, and put some more around t' tube. Begad! Avast! We then poured in t' foam, ya bilge rat, and rammed t' launch guide. This time we inserted little pieces across t' motor tube for positive motor retention. We also drilled holes from each side above that for vents. Ya scallywag! Arrr! This was sure t' work!

Well, me bucko, t' weekend came when I took William, arrr, and another fiend Jason t' our cabin at Lake Mattoon for 3 days. Arrr! Begad! If you remember t' original idea was for this t' float : ) Well, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, on t' Sunday we arrived t' family was still there (more than usual as it be a family reunion, shiver me timbers, arrr, and we couldn't make it). Aye aye! Arrr! So we went out into t' half a cornfield lot that we own behind our house. Avast! Begad! We set up next t' t' knee high corn and did a test fire. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket flew as straight as an arrow, arrr, and landed on me Aunt's camper : ) We also used an Estes igniter to light a bottle rocket : )

Well once t' family left we took our fishin' stuff, arrr, and t' launch equipment into t' pontoon boat. We then went tubin' behind t' speed boat. That night we were wound so went out on a night cruise. Aye aye! We were cruisin' around the lake at about 9 o' clock at night and we had an idea. We set up the launchpad on t' front o' t' boat. Blimey! Hooked William launcher t' t' 12v battery in t' boat, ya bilge rat, and had continuity. Blimey! Aye aye! We couldn't get too far away for this flight! I armed t' Q-Beam and William began a countdown. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! 5...4...3...2...1 LIFTOFF. T' rocket screamed into t' air. It looked so cool havin' a B motor leave at night from feet away! I lost it with t' Q-Beam, but got sight just as it hit the water. Aye aye! It did more than float, shiver me timbers, matey, it bounced back up another 3 feet. We recovered t' rocket and headed in. Arrr!

T' next day we were too busy fishin' and swimmin' t' shoot. Ya scallywag! However, that nigh we again cruised out about 9 o'clock and loaded a C motor. Aye aye! This could be great. Ya scallywag! We loaded everythin' up, matey, set t' rocket on t' pad in t' front o' the boat and pushed t' button. Ya scallywag! T' cone stuck a bit, ya bilge rat, nearly pullin' our pad into the water, shiver me timbers, matey, ya bilge rat, but it flew and was successfully recovered. Avast!

T' next day we decided t' launch it durin' t' day, so we could see the whole thing. Begad! We went out, me hearties, set up everythin' as before, but loaded a D12 motor. This would be great. Aye aye! 5...4...3...2...1...Liftoff. Blimey! Begad! T' rocket shot up t' about 1000 feet and plummeted down for a picture perfect splash landing.