Here is the latest project update:

Wings and Fins - The W&F team spent a large part of the day last Saturday working on the final construction step, gluing the foam fairings onto the rocket. This required a lot of patience, a lot of 15-minute epoxy and several people to "clamp" each fairing while it dried. After a fairing or two, we ran out of 15-minute epoxy and Dave Towers saved the day by driving back to his house and retrieving several bottles of epoxy. By the end of the afternoon, all eight fairings were in place and we had also applied putty to the outboard edge of each fairing, where it meets the wing.

Airframe - Before the fairings were applied, the Airframe Team sealed each wing slot and fin slot with epoxy. This process took about half of the day, but was necessary for structural reasons and also to "seal" each slot prior to the application of expanding foam. The expanding foam was applied in two stages. First the rocket was tipped at about a 45-degree angle and a small amount of foam was poured down into each quadrant. When that was complete, the rocket was set up on its' nose outside the shop and the remainder of the internal cavity was filled with foam from the top. Finally, after the foam set up, it was trimmed flush with the rear of the fins so the aft bulkhead could be fitted.

Nose Cone - The Nose Cone team applied two layers of 8-ounce fiberglass to the cone. The glass was almost dry a few hours later and was then finish-sanded. Finally, the coupler/avionics bay was attached to the cone for purposes of the ejection charge test. Both the coupler and the interior of the rocket was sanded to insure a smooth fit.

Cradle - Cradle Team Captain Terry Drake delivered the finished cradle to the job site Saturday. The cradle was assembled and made ready for the ejection charge test.

Ejection-charge Test - Given that both the rocket and the nose cone were complete but not painted and the cradle was on-site, we finally had all the requirements for an ejection-charge test. Calculations were performed and a black-powder charge was prepared. The rocket was mounted on the cradle outside the shop and the test charge was fired. Suffice it to say, we had enough powder. The nose cone was propelled about 40 feet out into the field behind the shop. The rocket suffered some minor cosmetic damage which was repaired before we left the site Saturday evening. The nose cone was unscathed.

Given the "vigorous" ejection we achieved, new calculations have been performed and we will be firing a second test shot this Saturday using less (much less) powder. Such tests are a necessity on any rocket and especially on a rocket of this size. A wise man once said "...It is much better to fail on the ground in Claremore than in the air over LDRS." :)

Trailer - We have located and purchased a used 5 x 10 foot "Iron Ox" brand enclosed trailer. The trailer will be on-site in Claremore by Saturday and we will work on fitting the rocket and cradle into the trailer. After LDRS, this trailer will become our Club trailer and will be used to store and transport all of our "stuff".

Next week our main tasks will be the second (and hopefully last) ejection test and the painting of the rocket. We have decided to paint the rocket at the shop in Claremore rather than at Flight Safety as was originally planned. This change was necessary due to the amount of drying time needed for the flat paint we will be using and our subsequent inability to handle and remove the rocket from the Flight Safety paint room in a timely manner.

See everyone next Saturday in Claremore,

Hal