Astron Skydart 2 FAILURE

So I flew My Astron Skydart 2 for the first time yesterday; totally stock, and what a failure it was!! :fly:
It lifted off ine, but at about 25 ft. It arced over and shot towards the ground under thrust at approx a 35 degree angle before the ejection charge fired approx. 8 in. from the ground shooting the motor pod out and catapulting the glider into the ground causing the NC to dig in aout an inch, and the upper BT to fail entirely. it is now crumpled up with everything mangled up to the intakes. :cry:
Any ideas???
Why?
How?
What can I do to prevent this in the future?

Did you use all of the metal washers that came in the kit for the power pod. Was the elevator in the flat position during boost?


John Boren

I used every last metal washer, and the elevators were essentially flat, possibly a touch of deflection, but the rocket keeled over in a direction perpendicular to that of the deflection.

nute said:

I used every last metal washer, and the elevators were essentially flat, possibly a touch of deflection, but the rocket keeled over in a direction perpendicular to that of the deflection.

Click to expand...

I have one and it flies well most of the time. When building I upgraded to larger diameter launch rod. I also bought a longer 3' or 4' single piece metal rod from a home improvement store to use as a launch rod. The small 1/8" two piece rods don't cut it. I think the key to flying rockets that are not symmetrical, is provide them a longer, straighter launch. This rocket also needs to be flown on a relatively calm day. Wind will really move this rocket around.

That makes sense, and sounds like a good idea. Maybe I should do this for my Semroc Orbital Transport?

The small 1/8" two piece rods don't cut it. I think the key to flying rockets that are not symmetrical, is provide them a longer, straighter launch. This rocket also needs to be flown on a relatively calm day. Wind will really move this rocket around.

Click to expand...

We Test fly all Estes Models using Estes Launch Pads, Launch Controllers and Rods. Have also flown this bird in high winds with no problem.

With this said I haven't a clue to what your problem may be unless your model is sticking on the rod so it launches at a much lower airspeed then it should.

I hope you find out what's going on and post it here, so if it happens to someone else they know what to look for.


John Boren

Well the rocket is totalled, and I doubt I'll build another one, but I think the elevator may have caused some issue, although it doesn't make sense.
The rocket looked really nice though. a good kit, it just didn't fly that well for me.

Who would of guessed a rocket called Skydart would... lawndart!
Haha but no seriously Im sorry that happened

haha, that's actually moderately funny...
Well you can't win them all. I had two beautiful flights of my Argent that day; my first two MPR flights at that, and it was supposed to rain but didn't, so I guess the rocket gods needed some repayment...

I built a clone of the original Skydart several years back, before the current re-boot. I've got about a dozen flights on it with varying degrees of success. It's a tricky design but good results are within reach. We had a 2 turn in an outstanding flight at our last club launch in 5+ mph winds. Some thoughts based on my experience and your description:

Wind is the enemy, a gust hitting it right at the moment it left the rod or higher wind speeds 25 feet above you could have been the culprit. What was the recovery pattern like for other flights/models that day ?

The elevator must be dead flat, not essentially flat. The hold down mechanism must be engaged for the entire boost phase.

The big rudder/vertical stabilizer could have been misaligned. Did you notice any turning tendency during test glides ?

The weight and/or balance were off; how did yours compare to the spec weight and balance points ?

Most of the other models drifted in the direction that this one crashed actually.
The weight was a bit higher than Estes said it should be, as with most other Estes models.
The CG was where it should be.

Did you build it with different glues than recommended? I ask because if you add significant weight with the use of heavy epoxy or an absurd amount of filler and paint the center of gravity will be WAY too far aft for stable flight. Also, if you added wiehgt, it may have exceeded the motor maximum liftoff weight.

Finally, exactly what motor was used? If you use a very low thrust motor, it will fall out of the sky if too heavy or draggy or if there is a cross wind.

Some motors have lower average thrust than you might think.

I used the normal wood glue I use with all of my models, However Looking back I do think I may have added one too many coats of paint...
I used a B6-2, and after crunching the numbers I got a 5.1 TTW ratio.

Estes B6-2 or Quest B6-2?


If Quest, was it German or Chinese?

nute said:

I used the normal wood glue I use with all of my models, However Looking back I do think I may have added one too many coats of paint...
I used a B6-2, and after crunching the numbers I got a 5.1 TTW ratio.

Click to expand...

It was an Estes B6-2 from an authorized dealer where I buy most of my motors.

Oopsadaisy...
I just used the 6 in B6-2 which should refer to the average thrust...
However, It didn't look like an underpowered issue. It left the 4 ft. rod at a decent speed.

An Estes B6 motor has pretty good lifting ability. The big issue would most likely be stability - specifically related to a boost center of gravity just a bit too far aft if the large surface area of the wing was covered with too much paint .

Consider stability in all planes (looking at the rocket from each side). If there is little effective fin area in one plane it may be unstable in that plane. If large wings extend forward of the c.g., then that forward portion destabilizes AND if there is an angle of attack it can be severe.