To All:

Here is the latest update:

Fins & Wings - The entire group spent most of the day working on the F&W project. First, the forward section of the outboard taper on the wings was sanded to match the tapered leading edge. Then the overall wings were

finish-sanded with power sanders. The motor mount was temporarily installed in the airframe and all of the fins and wings were test fitted into their respective slots. Each fin and each wing was then custom-fitted to a specific slot and marked for later identification. Dan Littmann and Tim Blume again spent most of their time on the table saw, cutting out more sections of the wing fairings from blue foam.

At the end of the day, with all four fins and all four wings temporarily installed in the rocket, we had reached a major milestone. For the first time all the sub-assemblies had been brought together and -- amazingly --

they all lined up! The slots in the airframe tube matched the channels on the motor mount. The fins and wings all seated correctly through their respective slots and into the channels. For the first time in four months, we were able to stand back and get a glimpse of what the finished rocket will look like.... (it's cool).

Avionics & Airframe - Mike Doyle and the Avionics team sanded both the coupler/avionics section and the glassed inner surface of the forward airframe tube. By the end of the day, a smooth mating surface had been achieved and the completed avionics section was turned over to Joe Grasso and the Nose Cone team for integration into the nose cone.

Next time, we will be gluing up the pieces of foam fairings and starting the process of filling and sanding to achieve a smooth surface for glassing. We will also be priming and sanding the fins and glassing the wings. Eventually, the completed fairings will be attached to the wings. Also next time, we will be installing the "backbone" for the rail guides.

T-shirts - If you haven't already signed up for your Phoenix T-shirts, please contact Tom Savoie immediately. We will need to place the shirt order very soon.

That's it for now, see everyone next Saturday in Claremore.

Hal