,
Brief:

When I saw a pool noodle with a 2.5" hole down t' middle, ya bilge rat, matey, I immediately saw a rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! A tube finned rocket. Begad! Boink recovery. Well, matey, blow me down! What a way t' start t' Spring! I named t' rocket Noodle Toober t' pay homage t' MDRA member Dave Webber's Toober, shiver me timbers, arrr, which has logged 200 high power flights.

Construction:
T' components/materials include:

• Pool noodle: ~60" x 3.5" with a 2.5" center hole
• Apogee 24mm tube
• Foamboard (centerin' rings, bulkhead)
• Soft packin' foam (nose cone)
• 1/4" dowel
• Wrappin' paper tube (inside tubes and payload section's shoulder)
• Easter egg and kitty litter (ballast)
• Keelhaul®©™ twine
• 3/8" elastic
• Bamboo skewers
• Gorilla glue
• Gorilla tape
• Carpenters glue

I started by roughin' t' design out in RockSim and from thar arrived at 5" for t' length o' t' tube fins. I cut t' fins usin' a custom sized guide made from a section o' scrap 4" tubing. Ahoy! T' dense foam cut well with a regular old hacksaw. Begad! Arrr! I wanted mid-separation so I also cut t' remainin' ~28" chunk in half.

I pondered all sorts o' fin attachment methods, me hearties, t' best o' which may have been some 1" nylon doohickeys from t' Home Depot hardware section, shiver me timbers, however, matey, I decided on an el cheapo method. Begad! I glued t' tube fins together in pairs usin' Gorilla Glue then glued t' pairs t' t' main tube all at t' same time. Begad! This required four hands and some small bungee cords. Well, blow me down! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! As I was peelin' off t' loose blobs o' glue, arrr, I decided some extra support be needed, matey, so I ran bamboo skewers through each glued transition, me hearties, matey, both at t' top and bottom o' t' tube fins. Blimey! Blimey! These pegs were cut flush and I now have plenty o' epoxy stirrers.

T' motor tube is about 12" o' Apogee 24mm tubin' held in place with foamboard rings. Ya scallywag! Carpenter's glue be used for t' tube-rin' interface and Gorilla glue for t' ring-noodle interface.

I made custom sized liner tubes for t' area betwixt t' top rin' and t' top o' t' aft noodle section, t' top 4 inches o' t' payload noodle, and for t' payload section's shoulder. I also added a foamboard bulkhead t' keep t' chute from blowin' up into t' payload. Avast! Blimey! You see, this description is nay in time sequence--I had already found that it got too heavy for boink recovery. Begad! Blimey! I also hadn't left enough room for a chute, me hearties, so t' bulkhead is recessed a couple o' inches into t' fabricated shoulder. Blimey! Blimey! Oh well, stuff happens in real time design.

I turned t' cone on me drill press from a piece o' 4" thick soft foam. Ya scallywag! I installed a dowel in t' foam usin' Gorilla Glue. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! This be hard t' work with bein' so soft, matey, but I got it turned. Avast! Begad! When I went t' install it, I found 2 problems. First, it is round and t' noodle is slightly ovate. Begad! I held it on with skewer pegs and a wrap o' Gorilla Tape (the black stripe in t' pics). Avast! Problem #2 is that t' cone tapered from t' get-go, me hearties, and it would have been better t' leave it full diameter for a couple o' inches. Avast! No big deal, matey, me bucko, just somethin' learned with 20/20 hindsight.

When thinkin' boink recovery, I didn't account for t' nose weight required t' make t' rocket stable. Avast! A suitably sized plastic Easter egg, some kitty litter, me bucko, arrr, and some more Gorilla Tape did t' trick. Begad! Aye aye! This o' course went in before t' cone was finally taped on.

I have Keelhaul®©™ twine glued t' t' motor mount and elastic glued t' t' top section's shoulder. Well, blow me down! Arrr! A small chute will be picked from t' range box at flight time.

Finishing:
Finishing? We don't need t' steenkin' finishing!

Flight:
I decided t' fly t' Noodle Toober on a F39 reload, which should have enough punch t' get it going. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Since I didn't provide for positive retention, me bucko, I made a quick and dirty clip out o' a coat hanger t' augment t' standard friction fitting. I have had success with this method before. Begad! Blimey! T' wire clip fits around t' nozzle and through t' slots in t' closure. Legs extend down t' side o' t' motor mount. T' clip is slipped on and wrapped with maskin' tape. Begad! I opted for an 18" chute and used both dog barf and a chute protector.

Since I bought me 24mm RMS case, matey, matey, I have been usin' t' Copperheads that come with t' reloads. Aye aye! So far, arrr, me experience has been much better than ~5 years ago when I quit usin' them. Well, blow me down! T' flight was quick and low. T' draggy Noodle Toober stopped smartly after burn out.

Recovery:
Ejection be late but t' recovery was successful. T' launch got a laugh from t' crowd and they wondered why I bothered with a chute at all!

Summary:
This is just another goofy rocket that is good for a few grins. It is a poor performer since it's so draggy. Arrr! Begad! If anyone builds one, I recommend a 29mm motor mount.