| Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
This a scratch built spaceship rocket designed for t' 2009 Design-A-Spaceship contest. Arrr! Begad! It is constructed o' 110lb
cardstock and presentation board.
Construction:
T' parts include:
I first cut t' centerin' rings, bulkhead, and fins from t' presentation board. Begad! Next I cut t' BT-50 to 4-½". I used an online transition template t' print out t' templates for t' nose cone, matey, body, and tail cone. Blimey! For t' larger centerin' rings, ya bilge rat, I used t' template printout from RockSim. Avast, me proud beauty! For t' bulkhead, me bucko, me bucko, I just used one of t' 'holes' from a centerin' ring.
After printin' out t' templates on t' cardstock, I then carefully shaped t' nosecone and transition sections into cone shapes. Well, matey, blow me down! After they dried, me hearties, I dry fit t' paper sections onto t' centerin' rings sandin' as necessary. Well, blow me down!
Next, matey, I glued t' motor block into t' tube usin' a spent 24mm motor t' push it into place leave ¼" t' 3/8" o' t' motor stickin' out. Avast, me proud beauty! After that had set, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I glued t' centerin' rings onto t' body tube: the smallest rin' ¼" below t' top o' t' tube, t' two larger tubes at 2-½" and 2-¾" from t' top o' t' tube and t' medium rin' flush with t' bottom o' t' tube.
After t' glue has dried, shiver me timbers, I carefully glued t' middle transition section t' t' top end o' t' tube makin' sure it is perfectly straight on t' top centerin' rin' and top middle centerin' ring. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! Then I added t' transition t' the bottom again makin' sure t' piece was perfectly straight on t' lower middle rin' and bottommost ring. Avast! I let it thoroughly dry.


T' finish t' nose cone, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I glued t' coupler onto t' nose cone bein' careful t' get it straight. Avast, me proud beauty! When it was dry, I filled t' cone with clay leavin' a ¼" lip t' t' edge. Ahoy! Glued t' bulkhead into t' coupler. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! When all was dry, matey, shiver me timbers, I added t' screw eye for shock cord attachment.
As this is a tricky design, arrr, I glued t' launch lug t' a fin makin' sure it was straight.
T' shock cord is mounted in t' Estes fashion with t' other end tied t' t' screw eye. T' streamer is tied on about 1/3 from t' nose cone.
Finishing:
Since I used color cardstock, I didn't really need t' paint anything. I used a color highlighter marker t' paint the
fins t' match t' cardstock.
Flight:
T' Synerjet flew on C11-3s for all three flights. Avast! T' first flight be unstable. Arrr! For t' second flight, I used a
spacer t' extend t' motor out t' back ½". This caused t' rocket t' be even more unstable. T' third
flight was a recreation o' t' first.
Recovery:
Recovery for all flights was after t' rocket hit t' ground. Each landin' broke a forward fin off.
Summary:
I would say this is nay a good rocket design as it is too stubby t' be stable. Avast, me proud beauty! Even tryin' t' upscale it in RockSim
it was nay stable. It be a fun and interestin' build.
![]() |
![]() |