Heavenly Rider - 2nd Quarter 2017 TRF Contest

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Hope he as good health insurance. You are looking at serious potential for rotator cuff injuries in the current config
 
Hope he as good health insurance. You are looking at serious potential for rotator cuff injuries in the current config

The pose-able PREXTEX Skeleton has plastic ball in socket joints that required a wire to be run through and a tape job for more strength. I have wired him up for little to no swinging, better to fly good and have some upper body breakage on landing. Do to the launch rod position and the back of the skull protruding out I had to wire him on backwards, so he will be looking at the rod on the pad.

Skully is going to make it to Heaven so he thinks he is never coming back down, no need to worry about landing.:)
 
You can rebuild him. You have the technology. You can make him better than he was. Better, stronger, faster.
 
With the recent rain and snow the dry weather restrictions were lifted. Clusters of low to moderate questionability could fly and The Heavenly Rider was deemed in the moderate category. Although there may have been some slight RSO apprehension, the kids certainly were not afraid of Skully.

HRL 6.jpg

The final countdown is approaching. Oh look, Skully is praying. Thy Rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Someone's praying, Lord, Kumbaya. . . Precious moments!

HRL 7.jpg

Even though time is short and the end is near, Skully made a new friend! More precious moments!

HRL 5.jpg

She inquired as to the embossed paper finish. She helped me clean all the connection surfaces and to get Skully on the pad and all hooked up. She said her dad was going to launch a three motor cluster later in the day. We then discussed the finer points of mid cant clustering. Some of the other kids came over and I told them about Skully going to Heaven and what the keys glued to the nose cone were for. They all seemed to get it and get excited, not at all being scared of the skeletal bone payload, so much for the scary Halloween rocket.
 
Launch Video:

[video=youtube;ldHolBHa30E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldHolBHa30E&feature=youtu.be[/video]


You can always count on immediate and honest flight assessments from the crowd. It is amazing what these new fangled fancy phones pick up. Hush, hush, keep it down now, voices carry.
 
The kids were quick and the old man slow to approach the landing site. Got out the fancy phone and yelled out "Thumbs up if Skully made it!"

HRL 4.jpg

There was no chance of resuscitating Skully, he had passed. Le Morte d'Skully. He lies in green pastures.

HRL 3.jpg

HRL 2.jpg

With the passing of Skully the rocket will now simply be called Bone Aire. Aye, that Skully always looked on the bright side of life and death!
 
Skully started the flight with his legs together and ended it with his legs apart. The rocket scientists can discuss at what point the three corkscrew oscillation occurred, but I like to think it might have been Skully using the three keys to open the Pearly Gates. Things happen awfully quick on a rocket flight, so we might have missed him passing into Heaven from the ground.

HRL 1.jpg
 
He might not have been the best of characters, with all the drinking, smoking, indulgences and living on the verge of heresy, but in the end Skully went out on his own terms and in a real classy way. I guess that is the most any of us can ask for. Looking back I am more and more convinced he made it. RIP and thumbs up to Skully, it was good knowing you. The sky was blue and the air was calm, and a rocket flew though it. Stay tuned for Heavenly Rider Rider part deux: Bone Daddy returns!

P.S. The Sharknader was deemed a highly questionable cluster, so I'm headed on down to South Park to see some friends of mine. I'm headed on down to South Park going to have a real good time.
 
Sharknader Launch:

After review I set Sharknader up on the pad. Had to rewire to prevent the igniter wires being caught up on the rocket. Went over all disasters that could potentially happen with a CATO or uneven ignition. But that is not going to happen, these are trust Estes BP motors!

SN 4.jpgSN 5.jpgSN 6.jpg

[video=youtube;-LGE35G-lYY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LGE35G-lYY&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
Post flight photos. Recovered all the motors. No damage as the scorch was expected. Twelve motors clustered and CHAD staged with a little CATO thrown in the mix; No problem!

SN 1.jpgSN 2.jpgSN 3.jpg

Rip the cord and the clips out of the plug and take them for a ride too. Makes the rocket more stable! No problem.

Uneven burn and staging; no problem with lovely tractor motors!:)
 
Lots of motors looked to go sideways but there were still enough to get it up there. Good show!
 
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Lots of motos looked to go sideways but there were still enough to get it up there. Good show!

The first bits were the CATO, the second bit flying off was the second stage motor with the CATOED first stage casing still attached, thus blowing off out of sequence and still smoking! All the motors stayed straight and the rocket was always stable despite all the malfunctions.
 
The first bits were the CATO, the second bit flying off was the second stage motor with the CATOED first stage casing still attached, thus blowing off out of sequence and still smoking! All the motors stayed straight and the rocket was always stable despite all the malfunctions.

That's awesome :)
 
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