T-minus 168 hours and Counting.....

The countdown has begun. I am hoping to launch my L2 bird Sunday Aug 31st.

Right now I am continueing to study for the test. I still have some more work I want to do to the Caliper. I have now finished with the coats of primer, and will put the first coat of paint in a little while.

I am also working on a new (new to me) ejection canister. 1/2" PVC caps!!!!

And finally, I still have to work on the motor retention.

A lot of work to be done, specially considering I will have to put in 60-70 hours at work this week........

Yes, I am a little nervious!!!!!

Hello,

If you are talking about certing in O-berg then I will *probably* get to see it go. -Depends on what time I leave here. I am working with marvSRG on his Pheonix for the launch too. We fiberglassed about half of the lower half. The upper tube/coupler, ect... still hasn't even arrived ! So I think that you will get it done and its gonna work...I have a sense of things like this. Anyways, good luck and maybe I'll see you down there. (And if all goes well maybe you can be his flight sponser

-Chris H.

Yeah, we'll get it done. We'd have the tubes if somebody didn't park next to my mail box *cough* Heh. Anyways, I'm flying it on a central J400SS immediately airstarting (2) H123W's or Pro38 I205's. Then I'll airstart (2) 3-grain Smokey Sams after burnout of all the motors...that's all with the help of my PET2 timer which should be arriving on Tuesday along with a nice new RRC2 (hey, that rhymed), which'll also be onboard. FHWC2 will fly as well (12 motor powered 2-stager). Can't wait!

The countdown is continueing. I think I might be a little behind, as I have only been able to paint the bottom section of the rocket. Work has not been good in the last few day (really nights)

The countdown goes on. I have done all of the painting. Now I am working on the clear coats.

Lots of hours have been spent at work which limits the "rocket work"

The latest set-back came tonight (thursday nite) when my little "rocket girl" broke (well cracked) her right elbow. Waiting on the specialists to come in morning and tell us if she needs a cast or not..............

Randy,
Hang in there! I hope your "little rocket girl" is ok. If you're doing clearcoats now, w/two days left, you'll be fine! I have way more on mine to do! Keep it up!

Well, it's crunch time......

I have installed my new motor retention system. I decided to go with two 10-24 insert nuts. I drilled the holes and screwed them in, leaving about a thread visible. Then I put a fair amount of 5 min epoxy around the insert nut. (I left the one thread visible to get some surface area for the epoxy to attach to) I will use 2 1/2 inche bolts to go into the insert nuts.

I am in the middle of working on the ejection canisters. And the paint job????? Well, I still need to put another coat of clear spray, but time is running out fast. (I still have to go to work today!!!!)


And the Test??? I will study at each break I get tonight.

Go! Go! Go!

One more coat of clear? Nah, it's flyable Go for it dude. Good luck!

Go for it Randy! We're all behind you!

Last update before heading to bed......

My wife just quizzed me on the pool of questions. I feel pretty good about it now......

I was able to get two clear coats of spray on the rocket. I wish I had time for another one, but it wouldn't dry in time. I will do some minor work on the electronics bay in the morning. (Before I painted I put a light layer of finishing epoxy around the edge of the main body tube, now I need to sand a little so the electronics bay fits in.....)

Also in the morning, I will post a picture of the finished rocket...... It was kind of a rushed paint job, plus my first real attempt.... The next one will be better...........

Awesome! I'll get to see it in person tomarrow I just finished the Phoenix (yeah, @ 3:30 in the mornin). It could have been a better finish, but for doing it in a day, I'm happy Monokote is a real life saver b/c if you don't have LOTS of epoxy, those GLR EZ-Glass socks are ROUGH. So a lot of the top of the rocket is Monokoted...oh well. It still looks neato See you in O-Berg...

I think this is the point in the countdown that NASA says "now on internal power"


Just packing up and ready to make the 45 min trip. I still have some work to do on the election canisters, if I use them. I might just build up a couple of regular election charges and fire it off. A number of my family members will be showing up later, but I am heading off to setup the site and get the test done. I am shooting for a 1:00pm to 2:00pm launch, so if about that time you hear some yelling coming from the SC direction......it's just me.

I will give you guys a report tonight. I leave you with one picture of the bird before she flies...........