Inspired by a thread on OldRockets, I came up with this.  I didn't know what to call it, but since the fins are on upside down (more or less) I decided to call it the reciprocal of the Tangent - Cotangent

	The upside down fins give it a retro look, as well as rekindle in me some childhood memories.  New fins were cut with properly oriented grain.  Simply turning the stock fins would result in them snapping off easily. This rocket has interchangeable motor mounts.  Here it is with a triple 18mm mount.  A double 18mm mount and a single 24mm mount are also in the arsenal.
On the right is the nosecone.  I hollowed the base out and installed a removeable screweye.  Washers will be added as necessary for stability. The Cotangent had its first flight on Sunday (Aug 29, 2004) on a D12-7. She suffered a separation, but both sections were recovered in pristine condition.

Here's a close-up of the finished nosecone.  The RustOleum looks great!

The recovery harness features kevlar to the motor mount with nylon ribbon thru the open and then kevlar on to the nosecone.  Having the ribbon thru the opening spreads the shock load of any early or late deployments thereby helping to avoid zippers.

A loop of kevlar with masking tape wrapped around it functions as a shock absorber at deployment.  If it's a late or early, a hard jerk on the recovery harness may occur when the chute opens.  This tape along the loop will tear thus dissipating the force which helps to prevent zippers, broken shock cords and shredded chutes.

Here's a liftoff shot from a launch a while back.

Here's another liftoff shot at a more recent launch.

8-15-2010