This design was done by Stephen Corban and William Anderson. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I am 15 years old and have been in rockets for about a year, shiver me timbers, and William is 14 and has been in rockets for 3 or 4 years. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey!

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

T' idea came from... Blimey! Well who knows where it came from, arrr, but it was a good idea. Aye aye! We wanted t' build a rocket that would float and fly straight. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty!

We started out by gettin' a pack o' small party hats from t' local variety store. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Then we got together and CAed a piece o' BT 5 t' t' top o' t' cone. We then filled t' rest o' t' void areas with 2 part foam. Arrr! This is party hat number 1. Ya scallywag! 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. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! T' we loaded up an A10-3 and took it outside t' fly. Avast! 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... Blimey! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Liftoff. T' rocket went no more than 75 feet in t' air doin' loops. It hit t' ground about 50 feet away. T' ejection charge fired and sent t' hot motor flyin' back at us. Avast, me proud beauty!

Well, arrr, we went back inside his house and knew a few things. It was SERIOUSLY underpowered, matey, it needed noseweight, and we needed some way t' keep in the motor. Begad! Arrr! So we got another hat, matey, packed clay in t' top and stuck a chunk o' BT 50 in it. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! We again pored t' foam, matey, rammed a launch guide, arrr, and shoved a bit more clay down t' BT 50. Aye aye! Arrr! 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. Well, blow me down! This time t' rocket had a marginal flight t' a couple hundred feet, hit t' ground and t' ejection charge fired. T' engine stayed in place, arrr, but our clay packed tip went flying across t' yard. Avast, me proud beauty! We laughed and went back inside. Avast!

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

Well, t' weekend came when I took William, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and another fiend Jason t' our cabin at Lake Mattoon for 3 days. Begad! Blimey! If you remember t' original idea be for this t' float : ) Well, on t' Sunday we arrived t' family be still there (more than usual as it was a family reunion, matey, and we couldn't make it). So we went out into t' half a cornfield lot that we own behind our house. Well, blow me down! We set up next t' t' knee high corn and did a test fire. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' rocket flew as straight as an arrow, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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. Ya scallywag! We then went tubin' behind t' speed boat. That night we were wound so went out on a night cruise. 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. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Hooked William launcher t' t' 12v battery in t' boat, and had continuity. Begad! Well, blow me down! We couldn't get too far away for this flight! I armed t' Q-Beam and William began a countdown. Blimey! 5...4...3...2...1 LIFTOFF. T' rocket screamed into t' air. Well, blow me down! It looked so cool havin' a B motor leave at night from feet away! I lost it with t' Q-Beam, arrr, arrr, but got sight just as it hit the water. Blimey! It did more than float, it bounced back up another 3 feet. Ahoy! We recovered t' rocket and headed in. Begad! Well, matey, blow me down!

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

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