I'm almost done with my build and I want to give credit to Kent and GLR.
It's one thing to get a rocket with some new thoughts and design elements to bend your head. Even better is a design that still allows some modifications. I've really enjoyed this build and the 25 pages of instructions that caused me to think "how could I make this even better?".
I made 3 mods to the GLR instructions:
1. Permanent mount in bread box and fiber glass sled that mounts to it with Raven and LiPo battery. Note: this also required changes to where bread box access hole and static port is drilled
2. Detachable nose cone from breadbox so transmitter can be inserted in nose cone.
3. Reduced overall length by 2" for performance improvement by cutting off 2" from top of main airframe, chute cannon AND the glue stick.
Mod #1: Raven and Sled Mount
Raven mounted on sled which attaches securely to inside of breadbox
I built a small fiber glass sled. The Raven mounts on the top side. The lipo battery and screw switch mounts on the reverse. The lipo battery is epoxied onto the sled.
The sled mounts are attached with epoxy to the inside of the bread box, opposite the opening. Each sled mount has a threaded insert. The glass sled then attaches to the two mounts.
Between each sled mount is some padding which the lipo battery rests snugly against.
The whole breadbox internal sleeve rotates nicely to shut the Raven away. One note: the static port which will also function as the whole to access the screw switch is 180 degrees away from what the instructions indicate.
Mod #2: Removable breadbox for transmitter capsule access in nose cone
Instead of epoxying the breadbox into the short piece of airframe, I wanted the nose cone to be accessible so I could house my Big Red Bee. I discovered that standard orange pill containers are very close to 38mm in diameter. I cut off about half an inch from the top and drilled a hole in the bottom so that the antenna could stick up into the nose cone. The pill capsule then inserts into the nose cone.
The breadbox is attached to the nose cone section (nose cone + pill capsule + short airframe piece all epoxied together) with machine screws which screw, through recessed holes, into threaded inserts which can be inserted into the pre-existing bulkhead at the forward end of the breadbox outer tube.
Mod #3: 2" reduction in length
This required cutting the main airframe by 2", cutting the chute cannon by 2" and reducing length of included glue stick by same 2". There are some other instruction mods required to make this work.
How did I reduce overall length by 2": By using a Fruity Chute rather than standard chute. This requires less space. As it turns out, and other parts of this thread indicate, reducing length helps performance but, for the bigger 38mm motors, increasing weight helps more!
I'll share pics of this later. I've already tested the Fruity Chute and reduced compartment requirements which made me brave enough to hack off the 2". I'll show some comparison pics later.