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

This rocket is called t' Flyin' Birthday Party Hat o' Death. Aye aye! Begad! It was a conglomerate idea betwixt William and I. Ya scallywag! We had a great idea, and had t' do a LOT o' explorin' t' get t' machine t' work.

T' idea came from... Well who knows where it came from, but it was a good idea. Blimey! Arrr! We wanted t' build a rocket that would float and fly straight. Begad!

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

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

We again took t' procedures t' make sure t' launch are be clear, and gave another countdown. 5...4...3...2...1...Liftoff. Avast, me proud beauty! 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! T' engine stayed in place, but our clay packed tip went flying across t' yard. Begad! Begad! We laughed and went back inside.

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

Well, shiver me timbers, t' weekend came when I took William, matey, and another fiend Jason t' our cabin at Lake Mattoon for 3 days. Begad! If you remember t' original idea was for this t' float : ) Well, arrr, on t' Sunday we arrived t' family be still there (more than usual as it was a family reunion, and we couldn't make it). Blimey! So we went out into t' half a cornfield lot that we own behind our house. Begad! We set up next t' t' knee high corn and did a test fire. Well, blow me down! T' rocket flew as straight as an arrow, 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, 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. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! We were cruisin' around the lake at about 9 o' clock at night and we had an idea. Aye aye! We set up the launchpad on t' front o' t' boat. Hooked William launcher t' t' 12v battery in t' boat, shiver me timbers, and had continuity. Ahoy! We couldn't get too far away for this flight! I armed t' Q-Beam and William began a countdown. Ahoy! Aye aye! 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. It did more than float, it bounced back up another 3 feet. We recovered t' rocket and headed in. Blimey! Arrr!

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

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