Son o' t' Grand Whazoo

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

Reconstruction
I first performed some surgery, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 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). Well, blow me down! Blimey! I made t' small (4") conical nose cone from fiberglassed poster board salvaged from t' original rocket. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! A small foam board rin' and a chunk o' 32mm tubin' completed t' nose cone assembly. Begad! Well, arrr, blow me down! This assembly mates with t' dowel/eyebolt from t' original nose cone. Well, blow me down!

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

Finishing
I wanted a bit more decoration on this version so I decided on a pattern similar t' a real V2. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I looked in ROTW and came up with a hybrid marking scheme. Begad! Begad! T' tail section has a black and white roll pattern, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, t' nose cone is red, me hearties, 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. Ya scallywag! Finally, ya bilge rat, matey, me hearties, I added some text and graphics from me ink jet printer. Aye aye! Inspired by t' early V2's fired from White Sands, I created a 'cheesecake' style graphic o' a little lass riding a V2. Ahoy! And, in a feeble attempt at humor, shiver me timbers, I also added two labels written in German. Ahoy! Avast! One identifies t' bar code sticker, shiver me timbers, which unintentionally remained on the body (oops), ya bilge rat, and t' other tells t' launch technician where t' install the launch rail.

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

Once again, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, everyone was surprised that this big a rocket weighs so little, and thar were cheers when it boosted under G80 power. Ahoy! T' 4-second delay was just a tad long but t' chute deployed nicely. Begad! T' decent was still fairly slow, me bucko, arrr, and t' only 'damage' was a crease in one fin. Avast! No rework required. Avast, me proud beauty!

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