Rocket Launch Logs

I am new to the field, but noticed that many people seem to keep a log of their launches. I am interested in doing so as it could be nice to look back at one day. I have found some paper log sheets out there. Can anyone point me to software to track such things?

Or, another question could be: What would people want in logging software if there isn't a good solution already out there?

Try RocketReviews.com for an online tracking function with all the bells and whistles.

Rocket Reviews

You'll need to create an account for yourself (free) and you're good to go.

Welcome to TRF and sport rocketry (money going up in smoke...LOL!)

I have tried to use my own paper logs. (Problems: what data do I capture? how to give myself enough room for data without it getting out of hand; now where did I put that darned thing?)

I have tried to use spreadsheets that I created. (Problems: most of above, plus loss of data due to computer crump.)

Currently I use the Flight Log feature at rocketreviews.com. (Data is safe; accessible from any computer; captures good information; interesting data analysis tools; can add multimedia - pics and vids - to entries; allows me to share data with other members.) It works for me.

For years I didn't bother to log my flights at all. And then for awhile I wasn't at all faithful about doing it. So what I have on rocketreviews is by no means complete, especially in the earlier years. The Flight Log feature in the previous incarnation of the site (EMRR's Rocket Reviews) wasn't as easy to use, either. My flights during my earlier phase of model rocketry in the late 60s isn't represented there at all, because I don't remember enough details (e.g., dates) of them. But my log is pretty good for the most recent 3 or 4 years.

My flight logs are in two places. Rocket reviews and in a spreadsheet by rocket.

You can't be a rocket scientist if you don't collect data.

I use composition books to write things down in the field. Not just flight data either. I write down any and everything I want to remember. The flight data then gets transferred to the flight logs on EMRR. Everything else stays in the book, or might migrate to other forms of storage.

same here I have a binder filled with flight log sheets., and I also have the motor assembly drawings in back.

like this

https://www.aerotech-rocketry.com/c...s_assy_dwgs/29mm_mr_rms/29-40_g64-4w_assy.pdf

I don't have the discipline to keep a journal or diary for my rocket flights, although I have occasionally thought of trying. When I am at the field I am in constant motion, either prepping rockets, retrieving them or chatting with and helping other flyers. The only time I ever sit down is when I get behind the wheel to drive home.

Early on, I never collected any data from my flights, but then, I never thought of myself as any kind of rocket scientist, either. Back then, I had absolutely zero interest in learning about the science behind any of it. (I have next to no background in physics or math.) Building rockets was an artistic effort and launching them was an opportunity for adventure. Although I have developed much more interest in the physics of rocketry in recent years, I still haven't lost my earlier approach to the hobby, and frankly, it is still the primary one. I am very much a builder/craftsman and a flyer, and not so much a theorist. I record some data from each flight, but I really don't do anything with it afterward. I have no hypotheses that I want to test, nor any relationships that I want to uncover. Building rockets and flying them are ends in themselves for me. Perhaps it is quite an irony then that the types of rockets that I am most interested in and inspired by are sounding, or research, rockets.

I keep track of what worked , what didn't , what was under powered, how it flew in wind... notes to remember .
I can go thru it the night before the next launch and make different motor choices,, change chute sizes.. really handy.

I also keep flight cards so I can have them pre filled out and ready for what I plan to fly.

I record the date of launch, time and weather, plus, flight data...such as the duration of flight and what went right or wrong. Besides the duration time, I keep a running total of the times of flights. I blame the air force for teaching me this, but it does in the long run help at being a better builder and flyer of rockets.

For me, any online log is a non-starter. If I want to use logs (I used to), I want to do it my way, and I don't want to double-enter into someone else's system.

When I've done it in the past, I've used Excel, as that gave me the flexibility and control I was after.

-Kevin

I used to keep paper logs with my dad for all the flights we did. My issue with that technique was keeping all the altimeter data files organized, not to mention photos and videos of the flight. I ended up writing a mini-CMS to handle flight logging via a MySQL database; it takes care of associating all of my photos, videos, data files, and text recollections of the day, plus has fields for things that I find pertinent (location, motor, pad weight, avionics config, etc.). I also set up the system to query the ThrustCurve API to fetch motor total impulse and stats. Having it in a database lets me easily output it in ways that make sense to a rocketeer (sorted by date, launch, rocket, motor vendor).

My personal website (in the signature) is really just a small frontend that queries this database by launch event and/or by rocket. The code is in pretty poor shape -- I haven't touched it since it was first hacked together -- but it seems to hold up decently and gives some nice polish to the log. Plus I can track worthless things like my personal total impulse consumed and whatnot.

My really bad BAR technique is to do what I did when I was 12. I record every flight after the launch day is done in the margins of an Estes catalog. Just a hash mark with a sharpie, maybe a little arrow off to a motor or flight comment, maybe a smiley face or a frown, or a RIP. The 2007 Estes catalog is quite a mess now with well over 1,000 flights, but everything is still there and a long with the old 70's catalogs I have not yet lost them.

I would love to see an iPad/iPod Touch/iPhone app for logging your flights.

I've tried a Database for the iPad as well as Docs2Go spreadsheet, and both have been less than helpful. The nice thing about using the iPad is that I have it with me at every launch and can log the flights right after they happen. If anyone knows of a better database/spreadsheet program for iPad, I'd love to know about it.

I agree with Old Dude, Mark II and GDJSKY01 about using
www.rocketreviews.com
for keeping flight logs.

Enter a few flight sessions and check your stats.
You might be surprised by the results!

I am obsessive compulsive about documenting my flights. I plan my launches on my computer, transfer the line up to a note pad, take notes at the launch and then....

I log my flights in a launch report blog post and keep a spreadsheet that lists my active and RIP rockets. I enter the flights on EMRR and then copy the logs onto a page on my blog.

My typical launch involves 1.5 to 3 hours of driving, 4-5 hours of flying, and 12 hours on the computer. (just kidding on the latter)

Mine is pretty simple. For my larger kits I have a little table built on the page for each rocket on my Google Sites...

gpoehlein said:

I would love to see an iPad/iPod Touch/iPhone app for logging your flights.

I've tried a Database for the iPad as well as Docs2Go spreadsheet, and both have been less than helpful. The nice thing about using the iPad is that I have it with me at every launch and can log the flights right after they happen. If anyone knows of a better database/spreadsheet program for iPad, I'd love to know about it.

Click to expand...

Mario Perdue is working on a rocketry app for the iPad, and one of the things he plans on implementing is flight logs.

-Kevin

Stymye said:

I keep track of what worked , what didn't , what was under powered, how it flew in wind... notes to remember .
I can go thru it the night before the next launch and make different motor choices,, change chute sizes.. really handy.

Click to expand...

That's pretty much what I do (and why). It's done in a spiral bound notebook, hardly high tech. But I can look back and see what delays and chute sizes I used and what results I got, and then adjust accordingly.

Granted, I have to do lots of page flipping sometimes, but it's not too much trouble.

Maybe one of these days, I'll move up to sometime higher tech Mario's iPad app sounds very interesting.

Doug

.

troj said:

For me, any online log is a non-starter. If I want to use logs (I used to), I want to do it my way, and I don't want to double-enter into someone else's system.

When I've done it in the past, I've used Excel, as that gave me the flexibility and control I was after.

-Kevin

Click to expand...

See, the only things I care about are date, location, rocket and motor(s) used. The rocketreviews flight log feature has things that I never would have thought of, like adding notes, attaching photos and calculating annual statistics. These may all seem to be really basic, but they are things that I doubt that I would have ever bothered with otherwise. Keeping a log of my flights has never been much of a priority for me, so if I am going to do it at all, the process has to be as painless as possible.

I have always really liked the fact that after reading a review on the site and its predecessor, I can view flight log entries by people who have actually flown the rocket. If I benefit from being able to see other peoples' log entries, then I think that it is only fair that I return the favor and add to the database by entering in my own flights for my rockets.

plano-doug said:

Mario's iPad app sounds very interesting.

Doug

.

Click to expand...

Got that right - I'll buy one when it comes out!

Anyone interested in a Filemaker database to track you launch logs? It will be usable on a laptop or ipad / iphone. I could probably wriet a pretty good one. What data woudl you want in one?

Mine is one of the simpler ones..keep a notepad in my range box..oh and a pencil

I've been working in a rockets/flight logs database for iOS devices. I got sidetracked with my calculator app. I'm hoping to have the database app out soon.