Hello. i made 6 launches today at a local community park with a pond. i didnt get any pictures because i wanted to concentrate on my first day lol. i got a rascal and hi-jinks launch kit. i used 3 A8-3 engines and 3 b4-4 engines. the first three went very smooth, they gave me the idea of where the wind was going.
i then got to the b4-4 and didnt bother to adjust the launch rod at all accordingly. the first launch suprised me at how high it was, next thing i know the parachute opens and it was so high up that as it drifted it managed to make its way far from where i wanted it to be. i was in quite a large field, there was one road speed limit 40 1 lane in each direction which i wasnt very close to at launch. for a little bit i thought the rocket was going to make it over the highway and into someones yard accross the street, where i thought i may not get it back if it was on someones roof lol. as it got lower i started to realize it wasnt going to reach the house, instead what happened was it landed in the road. when i saw it wasnt going to go to the house i started running to get it. by the time i got to it it was littleraly on the yellow lines in the middle of the road, cars were going by not even swerving to avoid it really and the drift would catch the parachute and move it. i thought it was going to be crushed, eventually when traffic wasnt around i ran out and grabbed it and it was completely unharmed. launched it again too.
ok so after realizing the wind was like that, i angled the launch rod more. and made the second 2 b4-4 shots which both landed in the field for me.
now i will talk about the things that happened, that i could use some advice about.... i read in the intructions to use 3-4 sheets of recovery wadding in these, i started with 3, noticed some burn marks in the parachute... i used 4.... with 4 sheets, one of my parachutes was literaly melted together by the time it hit ground, to the point it would rip a big hole if i try to separate it, and it is no good, i need a new parachute completely. i am wondering how people avoid this happening every time?
also after 5 launches, on my 6th launch my controller wouldnt work, so i went to the clips at the engine and realized they were so covered in black stuff, so i scraped them together to get it off a bit, then tried again and off it went. i am wondering more professional methods for cleaning that between launches?
i had a blast though, im not sure what to say, if those b4-4 engines were rocketing 450 feet, then i cant imagine what it will be like when i get the engines that take this 1200 feet. thats going to have to be a very accuaratly planned launch for it to land in the field. i suppose ill buy some b4-4 again to test the wind and then buy the next step up.
any methods for judging the wind besides just starting with a smaller engine to get an idea?
i then got to the b4-4 and didnt bother to adjust the launch rod at all accordingly. the first launch suprised me at how high it was, next thing i know the parachute opens and it was so high up that as it drifted it managed to make its way far from where i wanted it to be. i was in quite a large field, there was one road speed limit 40 1 lane in each direction which i wasnt very close to at launch. for a little bit i thought the rocket was going to make it over the highway and into someones yard accross the street, where i thought i may not get it back if it was on someones roof lol. as it got lower i started to realize it wasnt going to reach the house, instead what happened was it landed in the road. when i saw it wasnt going to go to the house i started running to get it. by the time i got to it it was littleraly on the yellow lines in the middle of the road, cars were going by not even swerving to avoid it really and the drift would catch the parachute and move it. i thought it was going to be crushed, eventually when traffic wasnt around i ran out and grabbed it and it was completely unharmed. launched it again too.
ok so after realizing the wind was like that, i angled the launch rod more. and made the second 2 b4-4 shots which both landed in the field for me.
now i will talk about the things that happened, that i could use some advice about.... i read in the intructions to use 3-4 sheets of recovery wadding in these, i started with 3, noticed some burn marks in the parachute... i used 4.... with 4 sheets, one of my parachutes was literaly melted together by the time it hit ground, to the point it would rip a big hole if i try to separate it, and it is no good, i need a new parachute completely. i am wondering how people avoid this happening every time?
also after 5 launches, on my 6th launch my controller wouldnt work, so i went to the clips at the engine and realized they were so covered in black stuff, so i scraped them together to get it off a bit, then tried again and off it went. i am wondering more professional methods for cleaning that between launches?
i had a blast though, im not sure what to say, if those b4-4 engines were rocketing 450 feet, then i cant imagine what it will be like when i get the engines that take this 1200 feet. thats going to have to be a very accuaratly planned launch for it to land in the field. i suppose ill buy some b4-4 again to test the wind and then buy the next step up.
any methods for judging the wind besides just starting with a smaller engine to get an idea?
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