Brief:
A simple clone of the birdie from years ago. It's a badminton shuttlecock with a motor mount tube.

Construction:
To build you will need:

• a shuttlecock
• a small section of BT-5
• a 1/2 inch length of launch lug

After reading a thread on TRF I decided to build a birdie. The whole process takes about five minutes. First, I removed the plastic shuttle from the nosecone, the center part of the plastic is removed. The nosecone is then hollowed out and a small section of BT-5 is added. The BT sits very snuggly into the nosecone so I did not feel the need to add a centering ring, which I believe the original birdie had. The plastic shuttle is then glued back into place.

For the launch lug, I removed a small part of the shuttle and then glued the lug onto the outside of the nosecone. Then she's ready to fly.

I've built three so far as I've got a six pack of shuttlecocks. I guess I've got three more to build.

Finishing:
None.

Flight:
Flights were made on September 27, 2009. I loaded the birdie up with a A10-3T with tumble recovery. Prepping takes about 3 seconds. She flew straight off the pad and then gracefully floated back to earth.

She made a second flight and on recovery the motor had melted part of the plastic shuttle. This is mainly because I purchased really cheap shuttlecocks. If I had spend a few pounds more and got the feathered versions, which would suit the name of the rocket better, then the melt probably would not have happened.

Summary:
PROs: Really quick build, very cheap rocket, good flights.

CONs: Cheap shuttlecocks don't last.