Tinkerbell is goin' t' be a scratch built 38" long, matey, 2" dia. rocket with a 29mm motor mount. She will have a custom 8" nose cone that is a plastic pencil cup holder that I bought on clearance at Wal-Mart for a buck (actually I bought 2 as I was goin' t' build one for me daughter as well). Ya scallywag! BT will be slotted for TTW fin construction and will be wrapped in self adhesive prismatic paper. Begad! Fins will be custom made in t' shape o' fairy wings. Begad! I'm usin' Open Rocket 15.03 for layout and sims. This will be me 2nd mid-power scratch build but 1st with a 29mm MM.

T' parts for this build will come from me stock pile o' balsa and tubes and will all be hand cut with t' exception o' t' NC which be t' inspiration for this rocket. Here's a shot o' t' NC.

T' truth is that I build this MM specifically for G or possibly a 29mm H motor this past winter before I knew what it would end up in. Blimey! I had made several different size centerin' rings t' fit t' different size tubes that I have on hand so once I found t' NC for this build I just had t' grab t' right rings and glue them on. While buildin' t' MM I be nay thinkin' about recovery so I had t' go back after it all dried and drill a 1/16" hole in t' top rin' so I could thread some Keelhaul®©™ through and tie around t' MM. Ya scallywag! For this I used 30" o' 300# kevlar and will be knotted on t' other end so that it is just inside t' end o' t' BT for attachin' elastic cord to.

29mm MM

Finished MM

I cut a 1 3/4" disc out o' some 1/8" plywood t' aid as anchor support for t' screw eye. Arrr! A hole was then drilled in t' center and screw eye installed. Aye aye! T' bottom o' t' screw eye will also allow me t' add washers for nose weight t' aid in balancin' rocket with different size motors. 2 layers o' green painters tape were wrapped around top o' base collar t' give it a snug fit in t' BT.

Screw eye attachment

Next up I went t' t' web in search o' Tinkerbell for t' win' design. After lookin' at several photos I drew up t' pattern for me wings t' copied it t' cardboard. After cuttin' it out I then used this pattern t' trace out t' 8 parts for t' wings. These were then glued together with superglue in their respectful pairs with wood grains goin' in opposite directions. Ya scallywag! They were then lightly brush coated with white glue and paper covered. T' four wings were then stacked and placed under two 6# bags o' corn cob pet beddin' overnight t' press them out flat.

Win' Pattern

Win' pieces

Glued together & paper coated

Work on t' BT started with fillin' t' spirals with HobbyLite and then a light sandin' after that dried. Next step was t' cut t' fin slots in t' BT. First I made a template for t' fin location and marked t' BT where t' slots would be. Aye aye! Then I used a small piece o' aluminum angle moldin' t' use as a guide for me Exacto knife and cut out t' slots. After t' slots were cut I then wicked some superglue around t' openings and then sanded them smooth when dry.

Fin Slots

After slots were finished I did a test fit o' all parts t' ensure all would go together as designed. Fin tabs will need be t' be sanded down for proper fit but all looks good so far.

Test Fit

Wings were given a final gloss coat o' white and after dry were given 2 coats o' Dupli-Color Clear Effex so they look like they are dusted with fairy dust. Avast!  Now for t' fun part. T' BT is nay goin' t' be painted but instead will be cover with some contact prism wrap that I found in t' clearance isle at Wal-Mart. Blimey! After makin' measurements I cut a piece o' wrap 31" x 6 3/4" t' give me a 1/2" overhang on both ends. Avast! BT was then marked with a line t' length o' t' tube t' aline t' wrap. Ahoy! After tube was wrapped overhang was trimmed in 1/4" strips and folded over. Slots were then reopened with an Exacto knife. Blimey! After that everythin' was test fitted again. Launch lugs were also covered at this time. Ahoy! I then glued them t' a 1/8" balsa strip and after measurin' and notchin' t' coverin' on t' rocket where they were t' be mounted they were glued on.

Top o' BT

Bottom o'  BT

Wrapped BT (picture dosn't do it justice)

Final Test Fitting

Launch Lugs

Now I just have t' glue it all together once I figure out what epoxy I'm goin' t' use for t' fillets. Begad! This will be t' first time I've built one this way so nay sure what t' use (I'm thinkin' probably some 10-15 min. Well, blow me down! epoxy). Begad! Will have t' do some research first.

Today I made a trip t' me local Hobby Lobby and purchased some Ultrafast Crystal Clear epoxy cement made by Hammer Head America. Begad! Package says that it sets in 5 min! and cures in 24 HRS! and it was mis-priced at $3.47 (the rest were priced at $7.99) so decided t' try it. Will be doin' some mock-up fins first t' see how it works before doin' t' actual rocket as I want t' try t' avoid any mistakes at this stage o' t' build. Aye aye! Fins were now tacked in place with a bead o' superglue on t' root edge before maskin' for t' fillets.

Yesterday I taped off t' fins and BT leavin' an 1/8" gap in preparation for t' epoxy fillets. I did two fins at a time as I didn't mix enough epoxy t' do all four at once and as it turned out was a good thin' because this epoxy sets fast. Begad! As epoxy set on each fin I removed t' tape for a nice clean line down t' fin and BT. Avast! Rocket be then set aside t' cure for a couple hours. Looks great!

I then went and installed t' 24" parachute by attachin' it t' 9' o' 1/4" elastic cord which was tied t' t' NC and t' Keelhaul®©™ loop inside t' BT. After that rocket was set aside t' allow epoxy t' finish curing.

Masked for fillets

Rocket is now ready for its maiden flight which will be on either a 24mm Estes E9-6 with an adapter or me last 29mm econojet F27-8 that I found in t' bottom o' me range box. Aye aye! Open Rocket says 650' for t' Estes E motor and 1133" for t' F motor. I may also try one o' t' new Estes E or F 29mm Pro motors if I can come up with a little extra cash. Wind on launch day and launch site will determine which motor I use.

Made it out t' Hobby Lobby yesterday with a 40% off coupon and purchased a twin pack o' t' new Estes Pro Series E16-6's. Arrr! End price, $15.90 with tax. Ya scallywag! God I Love Hobby Lobby! As soon as I got home I took one out and checked it for fit in t' rocket. Arrr! Needed 2 wraps o' tape t' get a good friction fit. Checked balance and its right on t' loot. Just need t' add some dog barf and she's ready for her maiden flight on t' 30th at Michigan International Speedway with t' J.M.R.C. Avast, me proud beauty! bunch. Begad! Re-ran t' sim for this motor and it says 786'. Blimey! Sounds good t' me. Can't wait. T - Seven days and counting.

Maiden flight took place at 12:21 pm on 5-30-15 with t' J.M.R.C. Avast, me proud beauty! club in Brooklyn, MI at Graves Farm Campground by M.I.S.. Engine used be one o' t' new Estes 29mm E16-6 motors and was launched in betwixt rain showers with a low wind o' maybe 4 mph. Blimey! Flight was perfect t' betwixt 700-800' as predicted by sims. Parachute deployed at apogee and decent was just right with rocket landin' down range for a nice long walk o' at least a couple hundred yards or so. Recovery showed no damage at all. All-In-All, an excellent first flight and motor choice for this rocket.

Tinkerbell in 5...4...3...

Tinkerbell launch

Tinkerbell recovery

(Lookin' back on this photo it looks as if I only have about a foot or so o' shock cord but trust me, t' cord is 9' long)

This rocket now has 3 flights under its belt and is provin' t' be a beautiful flyer on t' Estes E-16's. Nay sure I want t' tempt fate and try an F motor as I'm startin' t' get some damage t' t' bottom o' one fin from landin' on hard surfaces. And if I don't want t' lose it would need t' downsize t' parachute which o' course will result in more damage from faster descent. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Should have made t' fins from plywood. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! When I get around t' its sister ship (as I said, I bought 2 different color pencil holder cups) I may do just that. Arrr! Blimey! This one was just an experiment t' see if I could do it with what I had on hand and it's provin' t' be a blast. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I also like t' comments that it gets from other fliers at club launches.

Well I tempted fate on Saturday Sept. 23, me bucko, 2017 and flew it on an F20-7W. Arrr! I added rail buttons t' t' rocket and it was a beautiful launch. Altitude was around 1100'. Begad! Wind be light but enough t' blow it across t' range and out into a farmer's alfalfa field. Lost sight o' it as it came down behind a tree line. Spent an hour lookin' for it t' no avail. M.I.A.

Last shot o' Tinkerbell