Personal Launch report - Feb 12 2017

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gdjsky01

gdjsky01

Kim's Rocketeer
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This would be the second launch in 8 days. Once again it was in the shadow of Mount Wilson. I always picture Hubble toiling away taking plates long before L.A. had grown into such a monster.

TARC teams and Boy Scouts were everywhere. And I thought it might be more relaxed... still with a few rack clearing drag races, there were 10 rounds. For SCRA (Section 430) that is a decent number of rounds.

Of course I had more rockets prepped than I could launch. Some ask "Why not bring you own pad so you can launch every round?"
1) That assumes you can get it checked in for every round, and be back from recovering in time. Which I think is doable provided you know where the last rocket landed, it's not too far out, and you can get the next rocket to pad in time.
2) Hard to launch and take a decent picture all at the same time. I need a safe controller with a foot switch.


Since the wind was almost calm I started with what I though would go the highest. My Quest High-Q with an Estes F15-6. The High-Q is a great, honest flying, kit. Not sure what I paid, not retail of course, but it flies well. The decals are my vinyl cut design.

32055388193_3e830efe6d_k.jpg


​


Of course the Estes Altimeter said the flight was to 0 feet. I get that more than once. Which is now why I replaced lost or damaged ones with Jolly Logic Altimeter Ones. Much more reliable.

The estimate from ROCKSIM is 1400' and one previous flight on a F15 got around 1200.

https://www.rocketreviews.com/jeffrey-gortatowskys-high-q.html

I'd say I got most of that.

32828869656_7625416739_k.jpg

Recovery was uneventful.
 
Next I had a maiden flight for a rocket I named on the spot since I had to put something on the flight card. So I called it Rings. Its my own design but clearly a knock off of the old MRN 3 Stage Ring Rocket. It's a A10-0 to 13mm burner. The little tubes on the top are left over tip protectors from e-matches.



32869951485_026ce932c2_k.jpg

It flew very well. Except the booster stayed with the sustainer and the sustainer thrusted threw it with the expected result. Still it seems like it would be flyable again. Its charred a bit, but I sanded the heck out of the inside so an A10-0 would fit again....

32055444103_ebe1872cb9_k.jpg

​

I used a Altus Metrum MicroPeak... aparently I am just too stupid to figure it out as I am pretty sure what is it blinking out is no correct (yes I know its decimeters)

The rocket dragged the streamer down with it, so it looks like a 10 inch chute is more in order
 
Next I had the Quest Stiletto. It's a Shrox design if I am not mistaken, tho I think Doug said it's shrunken a bit from his kit. In any case it has one of my most proud finishes. I call it the "Migletto" because it is suppose to be in the style of the Mig-29 of the 80's and 90's. The decals are a mixture of the kit and mine made on an ink jet.
32055447833_7ab1b912e9_k.jpg

​


It flies, well it always seems not that great. It looks good but it's almost always a low arcing breath-holding flight. A C6-3 did the honors.

32055457903_f801d239ff_k.jpg

​
Fortunately with a short delay, all ended well. Altimeter One says it never got above 200 ft or so. Yikes.
But consistent with these flights:

https://www.rocketreviews.com/migletto.html
 
The Edmonds Ecee had been prepped forever. Years literally.

32746413091_4c44a9e51e_z.jpg

​

And 10-3 did the honors. It boosted well and transitioned in a nice flat glide. Probably 15 seconds if I was lucky. It arced a bit and lost altitude doing a sort of half loop with the transition at the bottom.


32746415401_e6e784efae_k.jpg

Its better on A3-2Ts - Edmonds stuff is almost fool proof. A tiny bit of time spend in a park trimming and they just work. This has been true of Deltie's, the Ecee, and the CiCi. I have lost Delties and a Cici to long flights.
 
Another rocket that sat for a few years prepped was one of my favorites. The Gyroc. Built from the BMS (I think?) kit. It sat so long I had to replace the tape hinges and the elastic thread. I used an A8-3... it took off so quick, I missed the shot. But the recovery was spot on. Spinning nice and safe all the way.



32746418261_28da8bf74f_z.jpg

 
My Final flight was my Estes Vector Force. I did a halfway decent job of finishing it. Prepped with a Quest C6-5...

32746417601_a0d8596c39_b.jpg

It had a long arcing flight. It recovered fine but did not gain the altitude I would have expected for a C6 in this model getting only 459 feet. Good recovery. Meaning it all held together since it was arcing...

32027150014_0c52179e39_b.jpg
 
Whelp... that is it. It took a week to write up because I started a new Gig Monday and just had zero time as I put in the hours to get some skin in the game.

The rest of the pictures are here.

https://flic.kr/s/aHskNSpz8h


As usual comments, critiques, suggestions, and adoration :lol: welcome.


Time to prep something bigger as I hope to get out to the desert next weekend if its dry... or dried out.

 
all of them are very cool! but my personal fav is your Migletto....that is just beautifully done! awesome!


gdjsky01 said:
Whelp... that is it. It took a week to write up because I started a new Gig Monday and just had zero time as I put in the hours to get some skin in the game.

The rest of the pictures are here.

https://flic.kr/s/aHskNSpz8h


As usual comments, critiques, suggestions, and adoration :lol: welcome.


Time to prep something bigger as I hope to get out to the desert next weekend if its dry... or dried out.
Click to expand...
 
NJRick said:
all of them are very cool! but my personal fav is your Migletto....that is just beautifully done! awesome!
Click to expand...

Thank you! Nice to know people look. The Migletto sort of screams... 50% upscale... to a 24mm or 29mm MMT. Nothing rad. Just a bit more... impulse. :wink:
 
qquake2k said:
You are a rocket launching machine, Jeff!
Click to expand...

Nah...
Things just happen to work out. Both SCRA launches were sort of in 'Calms before the storms'. And the prior Edwards launch, also in a calm, has terrain that drains better than a lake bed (I guess there is a reason they call it a lake bed!)

Jan and Feb ROC launches were cancelled due to the lake bed, especially the 'entrances' being... well... a lake!

I guess if you are a SoCal HPR person, and refuse to
A) Launch with SCRA because of certain personalities, or
B) refuse to launch anything below a G

then you have been screwed the last few months. Me? I'd rather launch rockets than worry about the club or any perceived issues. Rockets, from 1/4A to L are just plain fun.
If you think 1/4A or 1/2A is boring, you've not tried Helis, or BG, or RG recovery.

It's one of those things I'll never understand. Rocketry IS rocketry. Get a kick out of it. Find a challenge. 3FNC or 4FNC and a big motor is not a challenge. It might be fun... but I am not about the size of the boom. But the effectiveness. :)

Case in point. I just paid $3 a motor to get a hold of some A3-2Ts I can use with the Expired Motor Program... because they'll be perfect for the Ecee instead of A10-3s. The A10s are a second too long! :)
YMMV
 
Last edited:
gdjsky01 said:


It's one of those things I'll never understand. Rocketry IS rocketry. Get a kick out of it. Find a challenge. 3FNC or 4FNC and a big motor is not a challenge. It might be fun... but I am not about the size of the boom. But the effectiveness. :)

Click to expand...

Excellent point! That's been on my mind for a few weeks now. When I was younger I belonged to a club in Ft. Wayne, IN, and competed in a few NAR Regional events as a teen. When not at a club launch my friends and I would launch in a nearby field near the house. That was back before HPR was as prevalent as it is now. We learned how to fly the field we were in, and how to avoid obstacles like trees and houses if we could... Not that we always did. It was a challenge to try to retrieve our models as close to the launch pad(s) as possible.

Last month I went to a club launch in southeastern Alabama on a 400 Acre Sod Farm. There were LPR, MPR, and HPR rockets. It was fun, but I noticed that there wasn't much thought being put into where the models would land, unlike when I was a kid. I guess having all that space available made it too easy (lazy?). I was actually disappointed that the club launch racks could only be adjusted in elevation and not azimuth. I couldn't adjust according to the prevailing winds. I still managed pretty well and only had to walk a great distance once or twice. One model actually hit the side of my van. If I had parked with the back end toward the pads it would have gone right in the back of the van. :wink: https://flic.kr/p/RAESqy

I miss the competition events and have started building a few competition models just for the fun/challenge of it.
 
gdjsky01 said:

Nah...
Things just happen to work out. Both SCRA launches were sort of in 'Calms before the storms'. And the prior Edwards launch, also in a calm, has terrain that drains better than a lake bed (I guess there is a reason they call it a lake bed!)

Jan and Feb ROC launches were cancelled due to the lake bed, especially the 'entrances' being... well... a lake!

I guess if you are a SoCal HPR person, and refuse to
A) Launch with SCRA because of certain personalities, or
B) refuse to launch anything below a G

then you have been screwed the last few months. Me? I'd rather launch rockets than worry about the club or any perceived issues. Rockets, from 1/4A to L are just plain fun.
If you think 1/4A or 1/2A is boring, you've not tried Helis, or BG, or RG recovery.

It's one of those things I'll never understand. Rocketry IS rocketry. Get a kick out of it. Find a challenge. 3FNC or 4FNC and a big motor is not a challenge. It might be fun... but I am not about the size of the boom. But the effectiveness. :)

Case in point. I just paid $3 a motor to get a hold of some A3-2Ts I can use with the Expired Motor Program... because they'll be perfect for the Ecee instead of A10-3s. The A10s are a second too long! :)
YMMV
Click to expand...

DART San Diego (LPR/MPR launches on Fiesta Island) has somehow lucked out and the rain has missed every launch date so far this season. The Tripoli HPR launches in the desert had one cancellation (December) due to wind. Other than that, launches have gone as planned. Again, we’ve lucked out.

We’re fortunate that both our sites are on sandy ground that seems to drain well. Once the rains stop it doesn’t take long for the field to be flyable. The trade-off is we don’t have the wide open space with little or no desert brush ROC has. We have hills, gulleys, and desert shrubs the rockets can hide behind where at ROC you can see for a mile.

We’ve been getting fliers from up north. HPR fliers that’ll do the long drive to Holtville and LPR/MPR and TARC teams at Fiesta. All are welcome.
 
TangoJuliet said:
https://flic.kr/p/RAESqy
Click to expand...
TangoJuliet those are some fine photos. And you have a fine lens!!! Crank that baby up in shutter priority. Stay at 2500th or better. Raise the ISO if need be. The 7D's noise levels should be just fine at ISO400-600. That way you can keep the higher F/ number for decent DOF.

JMO of course.

And thanks for the reply. Always nice to hear from others.
 
Exactimator said:
We’ve been getting fliers from up north. HPR fliers that’ll do the long drive to Holtville and LPR/MPR and TARC teams at Fiesta. All are welcome.
Click to expand...


Holtville is quite a haul from Redondo Beach unless I am staying the night. And that requires a weekend commitment. Not always possible. DART? Seriously I have no idea how to keep rockets out of the ocean. Low power I guess. :) Practice?

 
gdjsky01 said:
TangoJuliet those are some fine photos. And you have a fine lens!!! Crank that baby up in shutter priority. Stay at 2500th or better. Raise the ISO if need be. The 7D's noise levels should be just fine at ISO400-600. That way you can keep the higher F/ number for decent DOF.

JMO of course.

And thanks for the reply. Always nice to hear from others.
Click to expand...

Thanks. The lens is a rental from BorrowLenses.com. I'd love to own it, but I just don't shoot enough to justify the cost. This was also my first time shooting rockets. I usually shoot full scale and R/C airplanes - I know what kind of shutter speeds I need to get sharp images with just the right amount of prop blur on those. I shot the rockets in AP mode, but probably would have been better in TV mode. It was a new learning experience and I hope to get more opportunities again this year.
 
gdjsky01 said:
Holtville is quite a haul from Redondo Beach unless I am staying the night. And that requires a weekend commitment. Not always possible. DART? Seriously I have no idea how to keep rockets out of the ocean. Low power I guess. :) Practice?
Click to expand...

You guys have trees at Santa Fe Dam, right? (I honestly don't know because I've never been, but Im assuming there's probably a line of trees there somewhere).

How do you stay out of them?
 

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