Prepping for Okctoberfest

Ordered:
Darkstar 2" 38mm FG kit
6G Pro-X 819J-354-16A White
Altimeter One
Kevlar, Nomex pads, ignitors, and misc. build items.

Construction:
Repaint Excel Plus nosecone
Rebuild Excel Plus e-bay
Build Darkstar in SD and DD setups
Finish Apogee Aspire

Fly:
Excel Plus on some I motors
Darkstar on an I then the J for my L2 Cert.
Aspire on a G80R trying to break Mach 1 and the Single Shot Sweepstakes at NCR

Tripoli Level 1 Certified!

I flew "Neurotic Ape" on a CTI I-345 White Thunder motor Friday afternoon. Due to wind there was a little bit of weather cocking and it was coning a little bit. However it flew up to 1998ft and deployment was just past apogee. I recovered it fairly close to the launch site, returned to the LCO got inspected and John W. signed off on my L1 Cert. Mailed it off to Tripoli yesterday, they should receive it soon.

Pictures, video and a big update about the Mile High Mayhem coming soon.

Planning on a minimum diameter 38mm rocket for my next one to get a little more performance.

Pictures & Graphics

I finally took a few quick snapshots of the rocket. Not the best pictures, but I needed something to post before I left for the launch.


Before the Vinyl was applied:




Full View:




Nose Cone Art:




Layed Out:

There will be video

Earlier in the month I picked up a Flip Ultra camcorder. I will be using this to video prep and the launch from the ground. It is also small enough to be mounted inside the e-bay if I so choose.

Today I picked up an Oregon Scientific ATC2K "Action Cam" This comes with several mounting options, one of which is a very strong silicon rubber strap. I plan on securing the camera to the mount with some Kevlar thread as suggested on EMRR's Rocket Review page. I'm hoping by the end of the weekend I should have some nice videos.

While purchasing the ATC2K I was offered an extended warranty which I initially declined, then the following conversation took place:
Me - "Well, what does that warranty cover?"
Cashier - "Everything, full replacement"
"So, say, if it was launched on a rocket and something happened?"
"That is awesome! It should be covered, let me check"
Manager comes over
Cashier - "So they are going to strap this to a rocket, would the extended warranty replace it if something happens?"
Manager - "Hell, I'll replace it!"
Me - "Sold"
$5 later, full warranty, just in case.

Graphics 75% complete

I ended up opting to paint the nose cone then apply the vinyl over it as opposed to just wrapping it in vinyl. Due to this change I won't have it finished up until tomorrow most likely. We did get the rocket wrapped from the nose cone shoulder down to the fin can however. It looks really, really good and it went on quickly. Learned a few lessons and the next one will be even better. Pictures soon.

Graphics are being printed

My friend who has a vinyl graphics company is doing some for my rocket. I worked out what I wanted this week and he printed/cut them last night. Sunday we will be wrapping the rocket, this is the first time either of us have done vinyl on a rocket. If this goes well, we'll be wrapping one other. I have some plans after that if these come out clean and look nice.

Build Progress

Saturday I got some good build time in and some assistance from my friend Kevin. I built the e-bay, 38mm motor adapter, 1/2 of the 54mm motor mount, and slotted the fin can. We also sorted out motor retention, recovery hardware and ejection charges. More building to come this week along with some pictures.