Tempest

Tempest is a scratch built minimum diameter rocket for 38mm motors. I originally never planned to build it but I had a carbon laminated phenolic tube that I tried to sell but never did. It was sitting in my closet done and with a little convincing by my girlfriend, I began construction on it. We had always talked about the possibility of making a rocket for pure speed for the Loki 38/1200 motor we bought at MDRA's Red Glare VI, but as I knew, that would be a bit wild, even for my tastes.

Tempest is nothing fancy - just a standard rocket with a big motor. It has one layer of carbon fiber over the tube and a tip-to-tip layer of carbon over the 1/16" G10 fiberglass fins to help keep them on (if we do ever push the limits). The nosecone is a slightly modified LOC/Precision cone that is bonded to a short piece of tubing to extend its base to allow for more volume to house the electronics, as well as blend in the slight gap that existed between the cone and tube joint thicknesses.

Aside from the fin joints and nosecone section, there is pretty much nothing left. It is just a tube with fins and a nosecone - literally. I hate rail buttons on minimum diameter rockets so I built my own (very cheap, very ghetto) rail launcher out of some scrap wood and 1/2" EMT tubing. It cost about five dollars and works quite well.

Painting the rocket was probably the most fun out of the build. I really enjoyed designing the overall look of the rocket's color scheme and have to say I am happy with how it turned out. I also took advantage of Mark's vinyl skills to add a nice touch of the rockets name. (Check out Mark's work and products at stickershock23.com - it is top notch!) After the paint and vinyl decals, I applied a few coats of Future acrylic polish to give it a nice shine.