Son o' t' Grand Whazoo

Brief
This update provides a description o' how I rebuilt me Grand Whazoo after its second fateful flight. T' top o' t' original Grand Whazoo was *completely* destroyed. Blimey! However, t' aft section, me bucko, shiver me timbers, includin' t' boat tail and fins, matey, was intact. Arrr! Arrr! I decided t' take a different approach t' t' rebuild. T' minimize the volume that had t' be pressurized, me bucko, I decided t' use an inner 4" diameter tube extendin' through t' body. Well, blow me down! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! After some pondering, I also decided to eliminate t' large nose cone in favor o' a smaller one that would mate t' this 4" tube. Arrr! I was hopin' this design would still stay within t' 3.3 lb. limit. Ya scallywag!

Reconstruction
I first performed some surgery, me hearties, arrr, adaptin' a 4" mailin' tube t' the survivin' tail section. Ya scallywag! I then added foam rings and poster board t' form the body (includin' transitions). Blimey! Aye aye! I made t' small (4") conical nose cone from fiberglassed poster board salvaged from t' original rocket. A small foam board rin' and a chunk o' 32mm tubin' completed t' nose cone assembly. Aye aye! Arrr! This assembly mates with t' dowel/eyebolt from t' original nose cone. Begad! Begad!

On me old scale, t' finished rocket weighed in at 51oz with a G80 installed. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' 60" chute that I used with t' original Grand Whazoo pushed the weight over 3.3 lb. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! limit. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' use this chute or a smaller one? Ahh, me hearties, that is the question.. Well, blow me down! Blimey!

Finishing
I wanted a bit more decoration on this version so I decided on a pattern similar t' a real V2. Begad! Begad! I looked in ROTW and came up with a hybrid marking scheme. Avast! Avast! T' tail section has a black and white roll pattern, t' nose cone is red, me bucko, and t' transition section directly below t' nose is painted silver (Krylon hammered silver). Since most o' t' rocket is poster material, I decided t' mark t' fins usin' a large permanent black marker. Well, blow me down! Finally, I added some text and graphics from me ink jet printer. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Inspired by t' early V2's fired from White Sands, I created a 'cheesecake' style graphic o' a little lass riding a V2. And, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, in a feeble attempt at humor, ya bilge rat, I also added two labels written in German. Ahoy! Arrr! One identifies t' bar code sticker, which unintentionally remained on the body (oops), and t' other tells t' launch technician where t' install the launch rail.

Launch
Since t' rocket was potentially over t' 3.3 lb. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! limit, me hearties, I took it t' an HPR launch, with t' intent o' usin' t' 60" chute. Aye aye! Ahoy! Well, shiver me timbers, at t' last minute, I opted for a very light 48" chute, me hearties, me bucko, hopin' it would come in under 3.3 lb, and recover without significant damage. Well, blow me down! Well, on t' highly calibrated scale at the RSO table, me bucko, ya bilge rat, it weighted in at 3 lb. Arrr! Aye aye! even. Begad! It can also fly at t' NARHAMS V2-themed launch later this year!

Once again, everyone be surprised that this big a rocket weighs so little, and thar were cheers when it boosted under G80 power. Blimey! Arrr! T' 4-second delay was just a tad long but t' chute deployed nicely. Ya scallywag! T' decent be still fairly slow, and t' only 'damage' was a crease in one fin. No rework required. Arrr!

Conclusion
Usin' an inner 4" stuffer tube with t' smaller nose cone seems t' be the way t' go. Begad! It was easier t' construct, me hearties, and I think recovery should be more reliable (100% true based on a statistical sample o' one :-) ). Well, blow me down! I'm glad it is still classified as a large model rocket!