swatkat
Down these mean skies, a kat must fly!
So the Solar Warrior *finally* flew on a crystal-clear afternoon at Godlewsky Farm today, and I was relieved to see that she flew straight as an arrow, warped fins and all. The blue metallic paint got some appreciation.
For the early flights, the wind was a bit strong, so most of the rockets were weathercocking a fair bit, and the Solar Warrior was no exception (not too bad though).
First flight: C11-3, deployment almost exactly at apogee, rocket landed on the launch control table. Not super high but otherwise perfect. This engine is a reasonable choice for small fields (although not too small).
Second flight: D12-5, deployment a bit after apogee (not too bad though), rocket landed about 40 yards from the pad.
I had cut a spill hole in the chute because I really don't think this rocket needs a full 18"er. I'd say it was a good choice, descent was still totally fine.
Later in the day, the wind died down so I got brave and stuck in an Aerotech E15-7W (my first composite engine). And up it went... and up... and up... Hard to know how high it went, but it was way over 1000', possibly over 1500'. Need to sim it and get an estimate. I don't know how close to apogee the ejection was, because frankly it was a bit hard to see up there. And then began the descent... took about 3 minutes, spill hole and all. I didn't know if it was ever coming down. It eventually landed, after all that time, about 50 yards from the pad. This flight was definitely the highlight of the day for me. I would definitely only use that engine in a large field on a very calm day, though.
Overall, it flew fantastically and looked great doing so. It's a winner. I expect it to see a lot of flights in the future.
Oh, and after the three flights the only damage (if you can call it that) was slight scuff on the nose cone from where it landed on the launch table. Other than that, it looks pristine.
'Twas a great day!
Sounds awesome... You know you want to also try one of the F44-8's You'll need a little nose cone weight though.