For My level 2 rocket I decided to fashion a rocket after a well know phallic symbol; a cigar -  a Cohiba Cigar! 

Back in 1988 I purchased a LOC Magnum and Bruiser. They laid dormant in my closet for ten years! I vowed to build them some day, however, I didn't have the tools to do so. After meeting Fred Scarrone (TRA#????) in 1995, I found that Fred was an outstanding craftsman and had all of the tools we needed to build my dormant giants.

During the construction process, I had purchased some components for Fred to build a high-power rocket. When I brought the components over to Fred's workshop I noticed that the body tube and the nose cone were identical to my Magnum. The stock Magnum design from LOC sported a cluster design with a central 54mm with two outboard 29s and a tube coupler. After reviewing their design and noting that the parts I purchased were identical in size, I determined that I could build two rockets the identical size. Hence the birth of my Level II rocket and Fred's rocket: "Fred's Banana."

In replace of the LOC clustered design I installed a longer 54mm tube with no outboards. (KISS) The rocket utilizes a single motor with motor ejection.

Level II certification requires passing Tripoli's written exam. After graduating from college, I knew that passing exams was no problem. Moreover, when you join Tripoli they give you the complete pool of questions on the exam! Couple hours of memorization and your done. I believe I missed one question out of 50. Ok, I'll I need to do now is fly the rocket and recover it successfully.  I decided to fly Cohiba at Tripoli Vegas's Turkeyshoot 2000.

We had flight perfect conditions for the launch. I used a Aerotech J90 which is a long-burn motor. The long-burns are always crowd pleasers.  After giving David Pacheco a heads up to the cert. flight I launched. Perfect flight and perfect recovery! Because I had no electronics, I didn't have any flight data on the flight. 

On to my level III! 

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