Prologue:  In a modeler’s forum prior to the contest…

Sebulba:  I protest!  The human is cheating.  Solid rocket propulsion is not allowed under the rules of Descon 3610, Sub-contest 312.

Star-El:  Most illustrious Jabba, this is nonsense.  There is no such rule.

Sebulba:  No one has used it for over 1000 contest cycles!  It is ILLEGAL!

Star-El:  Ahh Sebulba, if it is so antiquated, why do you fear it so?

Sebulba:  I fear nothing!  Your pod racer has no chance…(broken off)

Jabba:  whi-tok! ze ami estahhh!  (silence! you should fear me!)

Sebulba:  I will protest to the Federation!

Jabba:  ju zui na nach bobbaaa fetttt (if you do you will deal with Boba Fett)

Jabba:  Starrr-Elll sup ri dah! (Star-El, your entry will be allowed!)

Scene 1:  Introduction

At first, I wasn’t sure I was going to enter this Descon.  After winning the LOC Bonanza, I have several projects on the drawing board.  When I saw a Gemini DC kit at a Michael’s craft store, however, I couldn’t resist.  You just gotta love those 40% off coupons!

To help me quickly visualize and tweak my design ideas, I entered the major components into the Visio drawing program.  After much iteration, my inspiration ultimately came from the pod racers in Star Wars Episode I.  I thought about trying to make a rocket that more closely resembled a pod racer, but decided I had no hope of getting it to work, so my racer has a long ‘booster’.  The result is my DC Pod Racer.  The ‘DC’, retained from the kit’s name, signifies my proximity to our Nation’s Capital.

Scene 2:  Construction

In addition to the kit components, I used 12” of 1/16” dowel (per the Descon 10 parts list), Kevlar® thread to beef-up the recovery system, my first homemade rip-stop nylon chute, and clay nose weight.

I cut the BT-20 tubes in half and they became the forward pods as well as the two tube fins in the rear.  The pieces that I cut off when angling the tube fins form the windshield and headrest in the racer’s open ‘cockpit’.

I looked at many odd fin configurations, but between worries about stability and the constraints of the pre-cut fins, I decided I would just stick with the kit’s 4-fin configuration.  I cut back the fin tabs so the fins would sit about a half and inch further forward.  I also added small balsa triangles to the root edges and tips. 

The two long sections of balsa that naturally split off the die cut fin stock became the pod mounts.  I laminated these with card stock from the packaging and reinforced them with 5” of the dowel.  The large tips of these mounts fit through slots cut in the side of the pods.  I used scraps of balsa and dowel to add trim to the pods.

To plug the pre-cut vent holes in the body tube, I used the 1” x ¼” tube that was included in the kit but not listed on the Descon parts list.  This tube forms a hole through the main body and provides a convenient place to attach the Kevlar® cord for the recovery system

I added clay nose weight to move the CG to 5 ½” from the tip of the main nose cone.  This position was chosen to agree with my Rocksim simulations and was confirmed via a swing test.

Finishing consisted of several coats of Krylon sandable primer and Krylon Chrome.  I reused the decals from the kit and added some blue ‘holographic’ contact paper to cover the ‘windshield.’  I also used a ¼” x 3/8” piece of red trim Monokote to hide the black lettering that overlaps the ‘DC’ on the kit’s decal.  Finally, I used some brush-on flat black for the ‘inside’ of the cockpit.

Scene 3:  The Race Results

I flew the DC Pod Racer on a C6-3 at the Maryland-Delaware Rocketry Association launch held on 4/6/2002 at Rhodesdale, MD.  All my worries of instability, shredded pods, and chute entanglement were unfounded.  Despite 10+ mph winds, the DC Pod racer flew straight with only a small amount of weathercocking.  My home-grown 12” chute deployed as planned, and the rocket landed in a field of some sort of newly sprouted vegetation.