I really liked the shape of the Estes Optima/Shadow rocket and decided to build one with four 24mm mounts in it. After a while I decided that I'd rather put a 29mm mount in it but it was too far through the construction to change. About this time PML brought out their Quantum Tube and I'd just purchsed a R.A.T.T. Works 29mm H70 motor.

So I decided to combine all these things and build a rocket capable of flying on all 29mm motor that I had available, that is all the Aerotech one and the R.A.T.T. Works H70. Since I was going to fly it on the hybrid motor I needed to use altimeter ejection and since I wanted to keep it semi scale to the original Estes Optima/Shadow I could only have single deployment.

So I built the thing for K-Lob in October 1999, but just hadn't finished the altimeter bay or painted it, in the end it didn't matter as the event was winded out. I never bothered finishing it until March 2000, just in time for the first Thrust launch of the year, but still with out a paint job. The H180 I loaded it with chuffed on the first attempt so I waited until later in the day to launch it.

I was rushing a bit as it was the last flight of the day and I forgot to arm the AltAcc before launching the rocket. Doh! The rocket lawn darted from somewhere over 1,500 feet and tore it's self to bits on landing completely wasting the AltAcc in the process. So now I'm in the market for another altimeter and another rocket!

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Last update: Tuesday, 30-Mar-2004 03:46:08 EST