Cant wait to see this baby fly Jeff. No better place than Airfest to do a cert flight. Happy landings!
I made one last minute addition to the rocket before packing it up for Airfest. I picked up a Mobius camera Friday from Amazon but I wasn't sure I could get a shroud in time for this launch. A few emails to Andrew at Additive Aerospace and it was on it's way, that was some great service...thanks! Hope to get some good on board video for a change.
Good luck on the flight Poker! I take you got the motor built with no issues.
Remind me to set up the GoPro at the pad for your L3 flight.
I tried to make it short but it is kind of a long story
Saturday morning at Airfest was a bit overcast with winds out of the south 7-12 mph. I began my prep/assembly of the rocket around 9:30 am and shortly after my two TAPS from North Texas showed up for a little moral support and to witness/sign off on the L3 flight. Thanks a million for making that long drive and for all of your help with launch and recovery.
Everything was going smoothly as I marked off items on my pre-flight checklist (I made 3 dry runs at home so this was going quickly) until I did a test on the altimeters. Turned the first schurter switch on and altimeter 1 began it's pre-flight check. Turned the second schurter switch on and altimeter 2 began beeping out the pre-flight check and then shutoff. I opened up the ebay and turned off altimeter 1, I began jiggling wires to see where the short was. It was in the post of switch number 2, moving the wire around caused the altimeter to come on and shut off. Not good.
Since I was getting a bit flustered at this point, one of my TAPS suggested cutting the wires from both switches and going to the tried and true method of twist and tape, I agreed it was the quickest and easiest solution being in the field without a soldering gun. I pulled the sled, I attached the wires, ran them trough two of the vent holes, taped them down and then put the sled back into the ebay and sealed it up.
We drove the rocket out to the away cells and got it on the rail, fired up the altimeters, turned on the mobius camera, installed the igniter and waited for the countdown. The M1315 lit immediately and lifted the rocket in a cloud of smoke and flame on it's way to 7000', beautiful straight boost even as the wind was picking up to around 15 mph. We watched it arc over at apogee and saw the deployment charge fire and it was under parachute, sweet! After a few seconds I realized something was wrong, that's not the drogue... the main was out with the nosecone but as it got lower I could still see the booster/payload in one piece? WTH just happened? At 1100' the second charge blew and the drogue came out...wow did I wire the altimeters backwards??? I know I didn't??? How is this even possible? I looked over at my TAP and said "well, I guess that's a fail" His reply "yep".
I recovered the rocket about 2 miles away with the help of the GPS (I never would have seen it again without the tracker), it was in the middle of a corn and sorghum field that was so thick it was nearly impossible to move through (nastiest stuff on the planet BTW, seriously)
After finally getting back and opening the ebay I realized I didn't wire the altimeters wrong...I PUT THE SLED IN BACKWARDS AFTER CHANGING THE SWITCHES (drogue charges facing up). Oh brother, that was a damn stupid mistake that was! After the initial disappointment and the "I can't believe this just happened" wore off, I'm really not too upset. After all it basically just made for a really long walk and a little embarrassment, but it does go to show you what one small brain freeze will do when you are assembling rockets and get distracted. The good news is The Grand Optimist is in perfect condition without so much as a scratch.
I will try to fly again in Asa Texas at the HOTROCs field sometime in October for my L3.
I have a pretty decent video from the Mobius onboard camera I will post up later. I also have a few a pre-flight pics but none of the lift off, waiting on my friends for those.
Oh, PS...don't use Schurter switches!!! I am going to replace all of the ones I have.
Here's a couple of pictures I got.
Jeff and son (Randy) hitching a ride with Paul out to the pads.
View attachment 300858
Lift off.
View attachment 300859
That was a bummer Jeff. I saw how tall that corn/milo field was and I don't envy you there. I know you'll succeed in Oct in Tex. Looking forward to seeing you at High Frontier. BTW CJ called me Sunday night and said he had my Punisher nose cone was found! I see you changed your avatar too. :wink:
I see you ended up using the Schurter 110/220 switches, correct?
Nice boost and flight!
BTW, I use wiring kits from Doghouse. They are color coded. So it is a quick visual check to say, "Purple to purple, blue to blue, orange to orange, brown to brown. Ready to roll!" I can shove my sled in any old way I want to, although I try to keep the battery leads pointed down so that the acceleration force helps keep them in contact with the connector.[/QUOTE
I also use the Doghouse colored wire with the locking connectors for my AV Bay, really good stuff. The layout really is pretty well marked for connections and direction.
The problem seems to be that the sled/all-thread/connected bulkhead can be inserted into the AV coupler from either end, my only reference for direction was the lettering on the rocket. I had this correct before I had to remove the sled and deal with the Schurter switch issue. Grrr!
That has been addressed by clearly marking the edges of the coupler for M & D. I have also made an addition to my pre-flight checklist that will prevent this from ever happening again. Check orientation!
AV/Bay Prep
Install (2) Altimeters on sled
Test (2) 9v batteries with meter, install on sled
Attach (4) e matches to (4) charge canisters, tape
Attach (4) e matches to terminal blocks
Test (4) e matches for continuity/resistance at Terminal Block
Measure, Load Primary (5G) and Back up (6G) 4F BP Charges
Connect (2) Batteries to the (2) Altimeters
Connect (4) E Matches to the Altimeter
Connect (2) Switches in OFF position to Altimeters
Seal and Secure the AV Bay CHECK ORIENTATION-MAIN UP
How is this even possible? I looked over at my TAP and said "well, I guess that's a fail" His reply "yep".
BTW, I use wiring kits from Doghouse. They are color coded. So it is a quick visual check to say, "Purple to purple, blue to blue, orange to orange, brown to brown. Ready to roll!" I can shove my sled in any old way I want to, although I try to keep the battery leads pointed down so that the acceleration force helps keep them in contact with the connector.[/QUOTE
I also use the Doghouse colored wire with the locking connectors for my AV Bay, really good stuff. The layout really is pretty well marked for connections and direction.
View attachment 300911
The problem seems to be that the sled/all-thread/connected bulkhead can be inserted into the AV coupler from either end, my only reference for direction was the lettering on the rocket. I had this correct before I had to remove the sled and deal with the Schurter switch issue. Grrr!
View attachment 300914
That has been addressed by clearly marking the edges of the coupler for M & D. I have also made an addition to my pre-flight checklist that will prevent this from ever happening again. Check orientation!
AV/Bay Prep
Install (2) Altimeters on sled
Test (2) 9v batteries with meter, install on sled
Attach (4) e matches to (4) charge canisters, tape
Attach (4) e matches to terminal blocks
Test (4) e matches for continuity/resistance at Terminal Block
Measure, Load Primary (5G) and Back up (6G) 4F BP Charges
Connect (2) Batteries to the (2) Altimeters
Connect (4) E Matches to the Altimeter
Connect (2) Switches in “OFF” position to Altimeters
Seal and Secure the AV Bay CHECK ORIENTATION-MAIN UP
Are you saying that you failed because the main came out at apogee?
I thought that the TAPs would have stopped enforcing that after it was removed from the official criteria. Which was at least seven years ago.
Are you saying that you failed because the main came out at apogee?
I thought that the TAPs would have stopped enforcing that after it was removed from the official criteria. Which was at least seven years ago.
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