Description:
Shockwave is a scratch-built high power rocket built for t' purpose of obtainin' Level 2 certification. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! It is 4" in diameter, shiver me timbers, arrr, 90" long, weighs 153oz loaded without motor, ya bilge rat, and has a 54mm motor mount.

Components:
Like me Level 1 rocket, arrr, I used mostly PML components for this build. This included t' body tubes, matey, shiver me timbers, centerin' rings, motor tube, me hearties, and altimeter bay components. Begad! T' .093" G-10 fins were custom cut by Red Arrow Hobbies. The 9/16" tubular nylon harnesses came from Giant Leap, and t' 72" main chute came from Sphereachutes.

Construction:
I started with t' motor mount. Well, blow me down! I used six PML centerin' rings, ya bilge rat, gluin' them together in pairs. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' top centerin' rin' was drilled for a U-bolt. Arrr! T' motor mount tube be cut t' 30" long, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and top and mid-section centerin' rings were epoxied on. T' fins were tacked t' t' motor tube usin' gel super glue then filleted in place with 30-minute epoxy. At this point, t' fin can was more or less complete. Well, blow me down! A 46" long piece of Quantum Tubin' be used for t' lower section, and a 26" piece o' QT was used for t' payload section. Aye aye! T' fin slots were cut with a Dremel tool and the motor mount/fin assembly installed. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Internal fillets from t' fins t' the inside o' t' body tube were completed before installin' t' aft centering ring. An Aeropack motor retainer finished off t' back end.

T' altimeter bay was fabricated from a standard 7" long PML coupler, two PML bulkheads, arrr, and two coupler bulkheads. Avast, me proud beauty! T' bulkheads and coupler bulkheads were glued together in pairs t' make a cap for each end o' t' bay. Both caps were drilled for U-bolts and permanent e-match terminals.

An 8 1/2" length o' 1/4" x 20-threaded rod be affixed t' the drogue end o' t' bay. Ya scallywag! This would serve t' tie t' entire bay together and provide a mount for t' RRC2 altimeter. Well, blow me down! A small slice o' body tube was placed on t' outside o' t' bay t' give a place t' mount an external switch for the altimeter. 3/4" PVC endcaps were mounted on each end o' t' bay t' contain the ejection charges. Avast, me proud beauty!

Three holes were drilled through t' altimeter bay with t' payload section installed on the main side on t' bay. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! 8-32 nuts were epoxied t' t' inside o' t' altimeter bay t' retain t' payload section. Avast! Three equally spaced 1/8" static ports were also drilled. Aye aye! Begad! T' finish t' bay, a thin skin o' 30-minute epoxy was poured in t' drogue side o' t' bay with t' cap installed. Avast! This step totally seals the drogue side o' t' bay, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and retains t' endcap. Avast! Begad! A mount for t' RRC2 altimeter be made by epoxyin' a copper tube t' a piece o' G-10 fiberglass. Ya scallywag! The mount slides in over t' center stud and is locked down with a washer and nut.

Finishing:
Shockwave be finished with a modified Estes Executioner-style paint job, shiver me timbers, in blue and sliver with black pinstriping. I made some custom decals with inkjet waterslide decal stock t' give it a nice finishin' touch.

Flight:
After slowly buildin' Shockwave most o' t' winter, matey, flight day finally arrived on March 20th, ya bilge rat, 2004. Aye aye! I arrived at t' launch and rounded up a few friends t' be my certification team. After acein' t' written L2 test, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I began careful prep of t' dual deployment recovery system. This flight would have a PML streamer deployin' at apogee with motor backup, and main deployment at 500ft. Arrr! Drogue and main harnesses are both 25ft in length. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! After t' recovery system was buttoned up, I turned attention t' loadin' t' motor. Well, blow me down! This flight would be on a CTI 3-grain Pro54 motor. Once t' motor was loaded and installed, matey, we took a few pictures and headed t' t' pad. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' day turned out t' be a real bummer weather-wise, with strong 20MPH winds. With t' help o' me test proctor and a friend, arrr, Shockwave was put on t' pad, me hearties, and t' igniter installed. I armed the electronics, verified t' RRC2 was beepin' right, shiver me timbers, arrr, and headed back t' LCO table.

Considering the strong wind and t' fact that me friend's L2 attempt earlier in t' day was a spectacular failure, I be gettin' nervous at this point. Arrr! Blimey! Countdown commences, ya bilge rat, I and crossed me fingers! Blimey! T' LCO pushes t' button....nothing. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Try again, ya bilge rat, nothing. Blimey! After fiddlin' with some wires on t' launch controller, arrr, shiver me timbers, the LCO tries again. Ahoy! Blimey! Finally, t' big J295 awakens with t' thunderous roar, and Shockwave is on its way! Blimey! T' rocket had a very straight accent considerin' the strong winds. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey!

Recovery:
T' streamer deployed right on queue, and t' descent began. Begad! Well, blow me down! After fallin' for what seemed like an eternity, shiver me timbers, me hearties, t' main chute deployed and Shockwave had a gentle touchdown about 1/2 mile away. Upon recovery, t' rocket had no damage except for a few scuffs on t' paint. T' RRC2 was beepin' out 4,686ft. Well, blow me down! A successful flight and Level 2 certification!

Summary:
This project sure has taught me a lot. Well, blow me down! Avast! Some will tell you that a certification flight should be as simple as possible, ya bilge rat, without electronics and with the smallest motor available for t' certification bein' sought. Ya scallywag! While thar is merit t' that opinion, me bucko, I felt that I was up t' t' challenge. Ya scallywag! Avast! This flight was full o' firsts for me. Arrr! Well, blow me down! My first experience with dual-deployment, altimeters, and CTI motors. Avast, me proud beauty! I also achieved a new personal altitude record. Avast, me proud beauty! I can't wait to fly it again on a calm day!

PROs:

• Cool lookin' rocket
• Can be flown single-stage deployment without t' payload section and altimeter
• Built tough
• Flies very stable

CONs:

• I can't think o' any except cost