UrbanKnight
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My friend and I went to the local club launch to fly some of my recent projects.
First up was a Big Bertha with a baffle and dual 18mm cluster on two B6-4s.
Nice straight flight, but the parachute didn't open... until about 40 feet from the ground. :y: Phew!
Next was the Phoenix, named for the fact that it was made from a body tube that was cut down in order to extract an improperly installed motor mount in my rocketry class. The student got a new tube to try again, and I got a short body to challenge my design skills with. The first flight with an A8-3 was great, and the landing just put a little dent in one fin.
The next one was questionable as to its ability to fly straight, and Fred seemed very interested in its performance. After calling heads up, the Razor Blade flew with a slight corkscrew on an A8-3, and snap back put a little dent in the body and a matching tattoo on the nose cone.
With successful first flights out of the way, we moved on and flew the Phoenix and the Razor Blade on B6-4 motors. The Phoenix went out of sight, but reappeared quickly and landed unscathed. The Razorblade again did a little dance, but it seemed less squirmy than with the smaller motor.
Still, the nose cone was determined to keep a flight record on the body tube.
With it warmer, and with Fred's instruction on using talcum on the chute, the Big Bertha went back to the rack with two C6-5s aboard. This gave another excellent flight, and the parachute deployed and opened on cue, but that made it drift enough to get me my exercise for the day.
As a bonus, it landed about 20' from an altimeter and chute someone else had been spending over 30 minutes searching for.
When the Phoenix disappeared for a second on the previous launch, my friend turned into a little boy again and asked "Can we put a C6-5 in it next? Pleeeeeeaaase?" Heck, it's made mostly from spare and salvaged parts. I won't cry if I never see it again. Once again, a very straight flight and we couldn't see it for what seemed forever. He spotted it and found that the landing had not been as kind as the previous two flights.
Then for the moment of truth: Can the Razor Blade fly on a C6-5 like I designed it to? The answer was yes. Even more stable than the previous flights, and this time the nose cone took it easy on the body!
Still some time left, so we loaded up the Sunflower, which has 6 basswood fins canted at 10 degrees to try and get it spinning. It misfired, so we waited for the next round and prepped a Phoenix II (same story as the original phoenix). The Sunflower misfired again, but the Phoenix II did fine on an A8-3. 3rd time is a charm, so the Sunflower got off the pad the next time and it looked like it was spinning like a propeller... or it could have just been the blur from me not wearing my glasses. I thought the high mounted fins would be safe, but I obviously should have used a chute instead of a streamer on that one.
By the end of the day, we had made 12 flights and nothing came back beyond repair. Now my friend is talking about building up a few for the next launch.
First up was a Big Bertha with a baffle and dual 18mm cluster on two B6-4s.
Nice straight flight, but the parachute didn't open... until about 40 feet from the ground. :y: Phew!
Next was the Phoenix, named for the fact that it was made from a body tube that was cut down in order to extract an improperly installed motor mount in my rocketry class. The student got a new tube to try again, and I got a short body to challenge my design skills with. The first flight with an A8-3 was great, and the landing just put a little dent in one fin.
The next one was questionable as to its ability to fly straight, and Fred seemed very interested in its performance. After calling heads up, the Razor Blade flew with a slight corkscrew on an A8-3, and snap back put a little dent in the body and a matching tattoo on the nose cone.
With successful first flights out of the way, we moved on and flew the Phoenix and the Razor Blade on B6-4 motors. The Phoenix went out of sight, but reappeared quickly and landed unscathed. The Razorblade again did a little dance, but it seemed less squirmy than with the smaller motor.
Still, the nose cone was determined to keep a flight record on the body tube.
With it warmer, and with Fred's instruction on using talcum on the chute, the Big Bertha went back to the rack with two C6-5s aboard. This gave another excellent flight, and the parachute deployed and opened on cue, but that made it drift enough to get me my exercise for the day.
As a bonus, it landed about 20' from an altimeter and chute someone else had been spending over 30 minutes searching for.
When the Phoenix disappeared for a second on the previous launch, my friend turned into a little boy again and asked "Can we put a C6-5 in it next? Pleeeeeeaaase?" Heck, it's made mostly from spare and salvaged parts. I won't cry if I never see it again. Once again, a very straight flight and we couldn't see it for what seemed forever. He spotted it and found that the landing had not been as kind as the previous two flights.
Then for the moment of truth: Can the Razor Blade fly on a C6-5 like I designed it to? The answer was yes. Even more stable than the previous flights, and this time the nose cone took it easy on the body!
Still some time left, so we loaded up the Sunflower, which has 6 basswood fins canted at 10 degrees to try and get it spinning. It misfired, so we waited for the next round and prepped a Phoenix II (same story as the original phoenix). The Sunflower misfired again, but the Phoenix II did fine on an A8-3. 3rd time is a charm, so the Sunflower got off the pad the next time and it looked like it was spinning like a propeller... or it could have just been the blur from me not wearing my glasses. I thought the high mounted fins would be safe, but I obviously should have used a chute instead of a streamer on that one.
By the end of the day, we had made 12 flights and nothing came back beyond repair. Now my friend is talking about building up a few for the next launch.
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