Description:
Shockwave is a scratch-built high power rocket built for t' purpose of obtainin' Level 2 certification. Ya scallywag! It is 4" in diameter, me bucko, 90" long, weighs 153oz loaded without motor, me hearties, and has a 54mm motor mount.

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

Construction:
I started with t' motor mount. Arrr! I used six PML centerin' rings, me bucko, gluin' them together in pairs. Avast, me proud beauty! T' top centerin' rin' be drilled for a U-bolt. Blimey! Ahoy! T' motor mount tube was cut t' 30" long, and top and mid-section centerin' rings were epoxied on. Ahoy! 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. Arrr! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' fin slots were cut with a Dremel tool and the motor mount/fin assembly installed. Internal fillets from t' fins t' the inside o' t' body tube were completed before installin' t' aft centering ring. Begad! An Aeropack motor retainer finished off t' back end.

T' altimeter bay was fabricated from a standard 7" long PML coupler, two PML bulkheads, me hearties, and two coupler bulkheads. Blimey! 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 was affixed t' the drogue end o' t' bay. Ahoy! Blimey! This would serve t' tie t' entire bay together and provide a mount for t' RRC2 altimeter. Arrr! Blimey! 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. Begad! Blimey! 3/4" PVC endcaps were mounted on each end o' t' bay t' contain the ejection charges. Begad!

Three holes were drilled through t' altimeter bay with t' payload section installed on the main side on t' bay. Ahoy! Arrr! 8-32 nuts were epoxied t' t' inside o' t' altimeter bay t' retain t' payload section. Begad! Three equally spaced 1/8" static ports were also drilled. Avast! T' finish t' bay, matey, a thin skin o' 30-minute epoxy was poured in t' drogue side o' t' bay with t' cap installed. Blimey! Begad! This step totally seals the drogue side o' t' bay, and retains t' endcap. Well, blow me down! Begad! A mount for t' RRC2 altimeter be made by epoxyin' a copper tube t' a piece o' G-10 fiberglass. 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, in blue and sliver with black pinstriping. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! 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, me bucko, flight day finally arrived on March 20th, me hearties, 2004. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I arrived at t' launch and rounded up a few friends t' be my certification team. Blimey! Blimey! After acein' t' written L2 test, I began careful prep of t' dual deployment recovery system. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This flight would have a PML streamer deployin' at apogee with motor backup, shiver me timbers, and main deployment at 500ft. Aye aye! Blimey! Drogue and main harnesses are both 25ft in length. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! After t' recovery system be buttoned up, me hearties, I turned attention t' loadin' t' motor. Ahoy! Blimey! This flight would be on a CTI 3-grain Pro54 motor. Once t' motor was loaded and installed, we took a few pictures and headed t' t' pad. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' day turned out t' be a real bummer weather-wise, arrr, me hearties, with strong 20MPH winds. With t' help o' me test proctor and a friend, me bucko, Shockwave was put on t' pad, and t' igniter installed. I armed the electronics, matey, verified t' RRC2 be beepin' right, ya bilge rat, and headed back t' LCO table. Begad! Blimey!

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! Avast, me proud beauty! Countdown commences, I and crossed me fingers! T' LCO pushes t' button....nothing. Arrr! Try again, nothing. After fiddlin' with some wires on t' launch controller, me bucko, the LCO tries again. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Finally, shiver me timbers, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' big J295 awakens with t' thunderous roar, and Shockwave is on its way! T' rocket had a very straight accent considerin' the strong winds.

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

Summary:
This project sure has taught me a lot. Ahoy! 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. Arrr! While thar is merit t' that opinion, I felt that I was up t' t' challenge. Avast! This flight was full o' firsts for me. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me bucko, blow me down! My first experience with dual-deployment, altimeters, and CTI motors. Ahoy! I also achieved a new personal altitude record. Begad! Blimey! 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