What do you get with two good days of flying and 12 rockets to fly? A Hellava mess:
After the April launch was cancelled, Sharon and I prepped for the last launch of the season with a vengeance. I had already prepped two rockets for April, and had seven more that I wanted to fly.
Sharon wanted to get another 75mm motor under her belt before her L3 attempt in Airfest, so the Stinger had to be prepped with a CTI L995 Red Lightning.
I had three minimum diameter rockets, the carbon fiber Mongoose 75 with a L395 Mellow load, my old Blackhawk 54 "Silver Streak" and the new thin wall Blackhawk ready for it's first flight.
Plus an assortment of other rockets that had been repaired or we were just desperate to get into the air.
We left Goodyear at 10 am Friday for the two hour drive to Eagle Eye. Had a tire blow out before we got to Wickenburg, but found a replacement and were on our way in less than an hour. Arrived at the launch area around 12:30 to set up camp. The wind was blowing, but the forecast for Saturday and Sunday was good. I set up two launch pads and a tower out on the flight line. The wind settled down late in the afternoon and we both got one rocket off. Sharon flew her AT Arreaux on a G64 to 2400 ft, and I flew my DD Argent on an H115 Dark Matter to 2200 ft. Both rockets were within walking distance for recovery, with mine closer thanks to the dual deploy.
Saturday started early with Sharon flying her Stinger first at 6;30 am, a great flight with calm conditions to 8150 ft. and a short walking recovery which she did solo while I finished prepping the Mongoose. I had modified my tower with 10 ft. poles just for this flight, and still expected a launch speed of only 54 fps. Maybe a 5 mph wind with the pad tilted about 5* South to compensate for upper winds. The rocket came off slowly, started laying over immediately, and headed South as it boosted forever.... We had Eggfinder data and a CSI tracker on board, so following the GPS coords, we drove three miles, hiked another mile and found the rocket intact. Watching the Eggfinder data slowly descend, I was pretty sure the main chute deployed at apogee. Downloading the data from the Stratologger and RRC3 verified this later. Even with the bad angle on the flight, the rocket still went to 17,300 ft. Hiking out was a chore, but we were back in camp by 9:30.
Next up was Sharon's "Jimbo Jart", a 4" rocket with a 54mm MMT. It flew on a CTI K454 Skidmark to about 6000 ft. Another walking recovery she did solo while I prepped my 3" Blackstar. It flew on a CTI K750 Red lightning to 10,897 ft. Eggfinder data put it only 300 meters away, but we lost sight of it on the flight. It surprised us with an easy walking recovery.
Lunch time was catered by Rafael, a special treat for all with pulled pork on a bun, macaroni and cheese, cole slaw and the best beans I have ever eaten. I wanted a nap after eating way too much, but Sharon goaded me into getting another rocket up. She was quick to get her 3" Darkstar up on a CTI K515 Skidmark to 7107 ft. Another easy Eggfinder recovery for this rocket.
Next flight of the day for us was Sharon's Dark Jart, a custom 54mm rocket with DD and a 38mm MMT. It flew on an AT H178 Dark Matter,flying to 2562 ft. ..
I was out on the flight line rebuilding the tower for the next flight, taking off the 10 ft. rods and installing the 6 ft. rods while adjusting the size down to 54mm. It was a surprisingly easy job, done in about 30 minutes.
Last fight of the day was the first flight on the new thin walled Blackhawk 54 with a J250 Skidmark went well, adding another 6321 ft. to our total.
Saturday's totals were 8 rockets, seven of which were redundant dual deploy, so we used 30 ematches, flew one H, one J, four K's and two L motors for a total altitude of 58,337 ft. :grin:
Add in the two flights on Friday for two more motors, a G and an H and another 4600 ft. for a grand total of 62,937 ft.
We were fairly early to bed, because we were beat! Then came Sunday, with another perfect day for flying.
To be continued....
After the April launch was cancelled, Sharon and I prepped for the last launch of the season with a vengeance. I had already prepped two rockets for April, and had seven more that I wanted to fly.
Sharon wanted to get another 75mm motor under her belt before her L3 attempt in Airfest, so the Stinger had to be prepped with a CTI L995 Red Lightning.
I had three minimum diameter rockets, the carbon fiber Mongoose 75 with a L395 Mellow load, my old Blackhawk 54 "Silver Streak" and the new thin wall Blackhawk ready for it's first flight.
Plus an assortment of other rockets that had been repaired or we were just desperate to get into the air.
We left Goodyear at 10 am Friday for the two hour drive to Eagle Eye. Had a tire blow out before we got to Wickenburg, but found a replacement and were on our way in less than an hour. Arrived at the launch area around 12:30 to set up camp. The wind was blowing, but the forecast for Saturday and Sunday was good. I set up two launch pads and a tower out on the flight line. The wind settled down late in the afternoon and we both got one rocket off. Sharon flew her AT Arreaux on a G64 to 2400 ft, and I flew my DD Argent on an H115 Dark Matter to 2200 ft. Both rockets were within walking distance for recovery, with mine closer thanks to the dual deploy.
Saturday started early with Sharon flying her Stinger first at 6;30 am, a great flight with calm conditions to 8150 ft. and a short walking recovery which she did solo while I finished prepping the Mongoose. I had modified my tower with 10 ft. poles just for this flight, and still expected a launch speed of only 54 fps. Maybe a 5 mph wind with the pad tilted about 5* South to compensate for upper winds. The rocket came off slowly, started laying over immediately, and headed South as it boosted forever.... We had Eggfinder data and a CSI tracker on board, so following the GPS coords, we drove three miles, hiked another mile and found the rocket intact. Watching the Eggfinder data slowly descend, I was pretty sure the main chute deployed at apogee. Downloading the data from the Stratologger and RRC3 verified this later. Even with the bad angle on the flight, the rocket still went to 17,300 ft. Hiking out was a chore, but we were back in camp by 9:30.
Next up was Sharon's "Jimbo Jart", a 4" rocket with a 54mm MMT. It flew on a CTI K454 Skidmark to about 6000 ft. Another walking recovery she did solo while I prepped my 3" Blackstar. It flew on a CTI K750 Red lightning to 10,897 ft. Eggfinder data put it only 300 meters away, but we lost sight of it on the flight. It surprised us with an easy walking recovery.
Lunch time was catered by Rafael, a special treat for all with pulled pork on a bun, macaroni and cheese, cole slaw and the best beans I have ever eaten. I wanted a nap after eating way too much, but Sharon goaded me into getting another rocket up. She was quick to get her 3" Darkstar up on a CTI K515 Skidmark to 7107 ft. Another easy Eggfinder recovery for this rocket.
Next flight of the day for us was Sharon's Dark Jart, a custom 54mm rocket with DD and a 38mm MMT. It flew on an AT H178 Dark Matter,flying to 2562 ft. ..
I was out on the flight line rebuilding the tower for the next flight, taking off the 10 ft. rods and installing the 6 ft. rods while adjusting the size down to 54mm. It was a surprisingly easy job, done in about 30 minutes.
Last fight of the day was the first flight on the new thin walled Blackhawk 54 with a J250 Skidmark went well, adding another 6321 ft. to our total.
Saturday's totals were 8 rockets, seven of which were redundant dual deploy, so we used 30 ematches, flew one H, one J, four K's and two L motors for a total altitude of 58,337 ft. :grin:
Add in the two flights on Friday for two more motors, a G and an H and another 4600 ft. for a grand total of 62,937 ft.
We were fairly early to bed, because we were beat! Then came Sunday, with another perfect day for flying.
To be continued....
