Brief:
For t' EMRR Stagin' Challenge, ya bilge rat, I decided t' build a two-stage rocket with composite motors. Since I had done a 2-stage before, I figured it would be easy. Blimey! WRONG... Begad! I decided t' do a 3-inch bird with dual deploy and a 19-inch booster with motor deployment.

Construction:
This time I decided t' use alignment rods in t' stage coupler t' keep t' rocket aligned. Well, blow me down! I didn't have any 'sleeves' for t' rods t' slide through, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, arrr, so I went with spaced centerin' rings with holes t' guide t' rods. Begad! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I've discovered that I really need a drill press. Aye aye! Blimey! Because I was usin' a handheld power drill, I wasn't that accurate in drillin' holes through t' 2 sustainer centerin' rings and t' stagin' coupler. Arrr! It still works, shiver me timbers, but it isn't pretty.

There are holes in both centerin' rings that are supposed t' be aligned. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! That didn't work out as smoothly as I had hoped.

T' motor mount is recessed into t' sustainer t' provide a connection for t' top half o' t' stage coupler. Since a 3" tube won't allow me t' get me hand in t' connect t' shock cord, me bucko, arrr, I made t' fin can on both the sustainer and booster removable. Aye aye! T' sustainer fin can is held in place by small screws. Ahoy! T' booster fin can will eject and deploy t' booster chute. Avast! T' whole project is about 83 inches tall, about 3.5 lbs empty, arrr, shiver me timbers, and can fly on 38mm motors.

Finishing:
T' fit/finish betwixt t' booster and t' stage coupler is a little rough, me bucko, but once it's painted it might nay be that noticeable. Avast, me proud beauty! It *certainly* won't be noticeable on t' pad.

Flight:
Electronics will be a PerfectFlite timer for staging, arrr, and a PerfectFlite MAWD for deployment. Begad! RockSim says it will get t' a little higher than 2000 feet with a CTI 153 stagin' t' a CTI G79ss.

For t' 2-stage challenge, me hearties, I decided t' build one that used composite motors. Begad! Since I have done stagin' before, I didn't expect thar t' be a problem. Boy, was I wrong... T' main problem be t' size o' t' new project. Arrr! T' previous 2-stager was almost a 4" tube. Arrr! That left room for t' timer betwixt t' sustainer fins, and a standard-type ebay. This one is a 3", and thar's no room in t' fincan. Begad! So I put t' timer in t' ebay, and ran a connector wire down t' ignite t' sustainer motor. Begad! I had t' splice t' wire so it would disconnect when t' apogee event fired. Blimey! Begad! T' next issue I ran into be t' stage connector. Well, blow me down! I decided t' use metal rods t' connect and align t' sustainer t' t' stage connector. I don't have a drill press, shiver me timbers, so me holes through t' centerin' rings are...less than exact. Ahoy! Last issue was t' 3" bay was too small t' use switches t' power on everything, so I had t' run all t' wires through a hole in t' e-bay and twist them t' connect. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! That posed a problem t' first time I tried t' launch. I test fit t' electronics when I built t' bay, but nothin' be connected. Ya scallywag! Begad! In t' field, I sadly discovered thar wasn't enough space for all the wires t' fit and route t' t' outside. Ahoy! I had t' rebuild t' sled t' avoid that problem for t' next attempt. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag!

T' field we used has a waiver o' 5000', matey, but I wanted t' make sure I kept t' flight much lower than that. Ahoy! RockSim 7 showed an altitude o' about 3800 feet on a CTI H143/G79ss combo. Avast!

Electronics: ARTS board for apogee/main deployment o' t' sustainer, shiver me timbers, PerfectFlite timer for sustainer motor. Avast! Begad! T' booster recovers under its own chute by motor ejection. Ya scallywag! Payload: BoosterVision GearCam taped t' t' side. Crude, matey, shiver me timbers, but effective. Avast!

Launch day: I racked t' rocket, shiver me timbers, set up t' breakwire, and twisted t' wires for power. Avast! Blimey! Since I didn't have enough room t' push t' wires back into t' bay, I taped them t' t' outside. That was a mistake... Ahoy! T' launch was beautiful! Straight, me bucko, and staged on cue. T' booster chute came out and it drifted down safely. Well, blow me down! T' sustainer had a good apogee event(drogueless), me bucko, shiver me timbers, but I lost sight o' it while followin' t' booster. Ahoy! Begad! There be no main deployment, me bucko, and fellow club members pointed me in t' direction they saw it fall. Well, blow me down! While walkin' out for recovery, I tried t' figure out what went wrong. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Too many sheer pins? Nay enough BP? When I got t' it, I immediately knew what happened. Ahoy! T' armin' wires were taped t' t' bottom o' t' sustainer. Aye aye! Begad! When t' apogee separation occured, it ripped t' wires out o' the altimeter, matey, killin' power. AUGH! I powered up t' ARTS board later, ya bilge rat, arrr, and t' data showed 1700 ft accel, ya bilge rat, me bucko, 1500 baro. Ahoy! WAY short o' Rocksim's prediction, so t' loss o' power probably scrambled t' data. But other than t' ebay being crunched, and t' booster bein' scorched by t' sustainer motor, me bucko, it didn't come out too bad. I can replace t' ebay and fly it again.