PLUNGERROC!!!
by Alex Immerman

	As I walked up to the flightline for the first time with this rocket I generally got the same response- "are you really gonna fly that thing???"  Yes, it really is a flying plunger!  The "airframe" is made out of an orange Master Plunger that I found in my basement.  The nose cone is fitting- a toilet tank ball.  The fins are of clear plexiglass so to be less obvious in flight.  Plungerroc is built with a 24mm motor mount.  I had to sand the outside in order to make it fit into the handle.  Even so, an F32/F72 sticks a couple inches out the back.  I then used another piece of 24mm tubing for a coupler between the spot where I cut the handle and the big, fat, flimsy part.  I used a home-made mylar chute from a "space blanket" and a 3 foot elastic shock cord for recovery.
The initial flight went OK...  It boosted nice, slow, and stable on an E15 (see picture right) but weathercocked due to very high wind and the big fins.  That combined with a "bonus delay" resulted in deployment about 5 feet from the ground.  But damage was very minor and easily repaired.  The second flight was on an F32.  this was a very straight, fast boost but at max-Q two fins ripped off and the rocket plummeted to earth under a half-deployed chute.  Both fins were recovered, and re-attached with PC-7 epoxy paste (the strongest stuff I have ever used or seen) and the Plungerroc was ready for yet another flight.  This time, I chose an F72.  I believe this flight would have been a success had the coupler tube not tore in half 20 feet off the ground, causing both sections to rocket into the ground about twenty yards or so from the spectators.  Perhaps someday soon, I will fully repair it, and Plungerroc will fly again!
This is a picture of me on the way up to the RSO at CATO before Plungerroc's maiden flight.	About 20 feet off the ground it is already beginning to go into the wind...

Who I am:  I am Alex Immerman, I live in Northampton, MA and I'm 16 years old.  I fly with CATO, CMASS, and CTRA.  I have been in mid-high power for about 2 years and this was my first true "oddroc."  I consider the Plungerroc a partial success and leaves lessons to be learned and inspiration for future projects.  If you have any questions or comments, or would like to build a Plungerroc, contact me: Bigemo131@AOL.com.