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Great footage always, Ron!
And nice to remember my time on Oahu 😀
What is that red/blue flashing payload lights that you use during your night launches?
Not that I am close to going for a night launch, but that ones I would surly add to my supply stock, to be on the safe side 😉.
 
Up next on the Christmas specials, Aerotech Strong Arm. The MM was interesting with snap in TTW fins. Used lots of CA which isn’t always compatible with paint. The strakes were cut by hand, and the decals were a pain but think I did a decent job. Uses a mesh enclosure for the baffle in the motor tube.

IMG_2177.jpeg
 

My best V2 flight and minor damage to Black Brant XII plus losing Garrett rockets

We had perfect launching conditions here in wintery Hawaii. Seriously, the temperature's getting down to 60*F at night. There was practically no wind and no clouds. We were visited by someone at the park who was in artillery. He visited us three times and snapped a salute every time. He said they'd never get back what they sent because they would usually explode. He told us we're his effing hero for launching rockets in the park.

I launched the Asteroid Hunter a month ago, but it was at night. I bought the kit from Launch Labs then put it on my shelf. Later, I bought it again from rocket.supplies forgetting I already bought it. Now I have a spare if this gets lost. It was an interesting build.

Gary's Converter is unique in that each section is screwed together so you can launch it to variable lengths. I bought the Strong Arm and mini Mustang rockets on Black Friday sale. The interesting part is the baffle inside the motor mount. I also had to hand cut the strakes which was time consuming. I tried using the Ion altimeter, but it stopped working. Maybe the battery was low. The rocket angled slightly off the rod. It might need NC weight. Should be interesting to try it on a G79 or something.

The Black Brant XII was also a Black Friday sale. I was avoiding it because it's not a great park flier. The instructions said it would go 1100ft on an E16-6. I only got 362ft. Typical... This was the first Estes kit that contained a Kevlar cord to an elastic cord (not rubber). It ejected fine, but the sustainer smacked into the side of the booster section and broke off two of the fins. I lost one of the middle sets of fins. It wasn't glued to the internal tube fully so who knows when it came off. I replaced it with a non-airfoiled fin and covered the gouges with wood filler then painted. Good as new, mostly.

The previous week was the monthly launch at Blaisdell park. We didn't launch any rockets because we were helping two teens who were new to the hobby. The hardest part is getting them to remember to make the controller safe after launching. After each launch, it's too enticing to run off after the rocket.

Garrett is an excellent rocket builder and prefers that we launch them. Given the size of the park, they sometimes come back, but he's okay if they don't. If the Sasha had arced over more toward Ford Island, it probably woulda landed near us. Instead, it probably landed on the Burger King. We also forgot the first law of booster launching, make sure someone is watching where the booster landed. We all searched for it but couldn't find it in the tall grass. It will likely become lawnmower fodder unless someone steps on it by then.

0:00 Asteroid Hunter C5-3 5pts
0:45 Flight video
1:15 Gary Quest Triton-X, B6-2
1:47 Strong Arm F44-4W 406ft 7pts
3:03 Flight video RR
3:52 Gary Estes Converter, B6-2
4:31 Black Brant XII E16-6 362ft 4pts
5:55 Gary Estes 1/200 Saturn V, C5-3
7:03 Gary Estes 1/200 SLS, C5-3
7:29 Spacemonkey V2 E20-4W 591 7pts
8:42 Flight video RR
10:02 Gary Rocketarium Terraformer, C11-0
10:22 Gary Applewhite Priority Cinco, C11-0
10:50 CC Express C11-0/C11-7 826ft 6pts
12:22 Blaisdell the previous Sunday
12:27 Sasha sustainer C11-7
13:18 Boosted Sasha D12-0/D12-5
14:53 Green Eggs sans egg
15:35 Super Orbital Transport
15:55 Mean Machine E12-6 17:11 Total 29pts + 15 bonus = 44pts

 
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Thank you guys for doing these. Christopher’s color commentary always brings a chuckle and a lot of smiles.
personally I thought the V2 flight was a bit squirrelly on the boost, you’d never guess if from the quality of the stills. That’s one great camera. The usual outstanding edit splicing, you make it looks easy.

hope you can keep these coming!
 
Thank you guys for doing these. Christopher’s color commentary always brings a chuckle and a lot of smiles.
personally I thought the V2 flight was a bit squirrelly on the boost, you’d never guess if from the quality of the stills. That’s one great camera. The usual outstanding edit splicing, you make it looks easy.

hope you can keep these coming!
We appreciate it. When are you visiting Honolulu next time?
 

Perfect launching conditions in winter while landing rockets on the tennis courts

The wind was practically non-existent for most of the morning. The temps were mild with partial clouds so no sunscreen was needed. We've had a series of cold fronts coming through with rain and night temps down in the 60s. In between fronts are these mild conditions that last only a day so need to take advantage when we can. Meanwhile, there were several weedwhackers doing God's work around the park.

We had several people visit us this time. There's a group of teens riding around on their e-bikes. Reminded me of all the times I rode around the neighborhood on my manual bicycle. A lady walked up and asked about the hobby. She's an educator at a private school for soccer and is interested in us demonstrating launches like we've done in the past at schools.

Next, the Park workers checked out the rockets before they started spraying weed killer on the large baseball field. It's strange I've never seen a real game at the baseball field but often see games at the softball field with the large lights. My experience with the Park workers is they try to stay in their truck as much as possible. I think it's the only office they've ever had. Hopefully, they don't damage the sprinkler with the truck. The bare spots that developed from the summer drought have been filled with weeds and tiny little blossoms.

I wasn't sure how high the 2to2.5 was going to go. It has 3/16in lugs, and this rod is only 4ft. It looks like it didn't have enough velocity off the rod and veered toward the tennis courts. I apologized to them about 15 times. I didn't want to add a cam because that giant monkeypod tree is very hungry and still has my other cam and Ion altimeter about 50ft up. The electronics are probably dead by now (except for the SD card).

I repaired the Vapor after it lawndarted a while back. At first, the altimeter was glitching from getting wet with the grass dew. It also showed a low battery warning. Back at home, it corrected itself and showed 523ft. Love it hate it, those Estes altimeters are tough. I can find them on eBay for $30 and free shipping but not lately.

I replaced the shock cord on the Expedition drilling a small hole next to the lug, and running a thin Kevlar cord to a swivel snap and a thicker shock cord. On ejection, the thin Kevlar got stuck on the swivel hook and snapped. I could use a fishing swivel, but I've had issues with these opening up. The only way to really protect it is to use a bit of masking tape on the snap. The rocket mostly survived with a dent in the transition and an impacted fin that I cemented back into place using thin CA.

I was curious to see what would happen with the Black Brant XII using a BT 60 NC. It went about 200ft, did a summersault or two, then lawndarted. The timing of the Ion altimeter looked off so didn't include it in the video. The initial thrust of an E16 is 9.9N and the E35 is 32.6N. I might try the E35 on the 6ft rod or wait until the MPR launch in February with a F50 assuming the winds are good.

Gary launched several successful flights and some that weren't. It looks like the Nebula landed in the tree on the other side of the building. Gary said it's not worth the trouble pulling it down. The Astron Sprint XL landed on the lower roof. The maintenance crew will probably bring it down within the next year. It had an amazing glide that spiraled around us. It almost looked like one of @BABAR rockets (minus the roof).

0:00 2to2.5 E35-5W 725ft 5pts
1:32 Exocet C6-5 4pts
2:44 Gary Estes Blenders, A10-PT
3:01 Vapor D12-5 523ft 5pts
5:11 Gary Excalibur Honest Goon, B6-2
5:53 Local retrieving rockets for us
6:30 Gary Fliskits Nebula (cardstock), A3-6T
6:54 Expedition D12-3 385ft 6pts
7:51 Flight video
9:15 Gary Fliskits Caution! Rocket Launch In Progress! (cardstock), A8-3
9:34 Gary Estes Hex 3, A8-3
9:54 Gary Estes Blue Origin RTF, C5-3
10:40 Gary Estes Emerald Streak, A8-3
11:02 Gary Estes Shattered, A8-3
11:17 Shortened BBXXII E12-6 237ft 4pts
12:15 Gary Estes Astron Sprint XL, D12-5
13:16 Gary Priority Cinco E16-0
Total 24pts + 5bonus = 29pts

 

Summo beach launches with Glen and Tom rockets

@GlenP sent another excellent box of cardstock rockets. I was going to launch them at Blaisdell, but there's a windstorm coming in and today was a low wind day with no rain in the morning. Gary brought the @BABAR rockets he has, and we made a day of guest rockets along with the previous cardstock rockets that Glen mailed me.

We had another volunteer retrieve the rockets. It was the cousin's birthday, so they were having a free day to celebrate. Plus he got to learn how model rockets work.

The Viper and the SCRAM lost their nose cones. Fortunately, the Viper was easy to spot, and Gary found the SCRAM cone while searching for his Applewhite Six. It was difficult tracking the small rockets on the overcast day because it was hard to see the tracking smoke sometimes. I really like the Mini Augie because it's Chad staging with the booster taped to the sustainer motor with plenty of venting. With the overcast clouds, it was difficult to track the rocket.

At the last Blaisdell launch, Joe gave me a bunch of 1/2A3-4T motors he wanted us to use up before they went bad so used a lot today.

0:00 Intro
0:03 Alpha Draco WS-199 A8-3 4pts
0:51 Der Red Max Nike Smoke 1/2A3-4T 2pts
1:24 Vulture I 1/2A3-4T 3pts
2:09 Viper 1/2A3-4T 2pts
2:57 Downscale Quinstar A10-PT 3pts
3:16 Jet-puffed B6-4 4pts
3:51 Mini Quinstar A10-PT 3pts
4:20 Mariposa C6-0 4pts
5:33 Centuri Bulldog A10-3T 3pts
6:01 Square Dancer C11-0 2pts
7:15 Mission Bell B6-4 4pts
8:05 Mini Augie A10-0 - 1/2A3-4T 4pts
8:59 Go with the Flow C6-0 1pt
9:51 Sting Ray A10-0T - 1/2A3-4T 3pts
10:32 SCRAM 1/2A3-4T 2pts
11:16 Puck A8-3 4pts
12:03 Tiger Streak A10-3T 3pts
12:53 Applewhite Six, A3-6T 2pts
13:15 Mars Leaper A10-PT
13:39 Total 53pts

 
THANKS GUYS!

Deborah almost fell out of her chair with Gary’s comments on the rubber bands! For anybody watching that, it DOES get easier with practice.

That was best flight of Mariposa I’ve seen.

The Square Dancer and Go with the Flow are still in concept stage, (Gary’s description was spot on.). Hopefully I will get some more working models that do perform the weight shift effectively.

Anyway, as my Dad used to say, really got me under the old squadron patch (which in HIS day was in chest instead of shoulder like current flight crews.)

Please feel free to recycle or trash those last two. Hope you get some more great flights out of the Mariposa!

Means a lot to me to see these fly, even if they rekit themselves.
 
Awesome flights! My bad, forgot to put clay in the Red Max Nike and the Bulldog apparently. Was cool to see the mini Quinstars fly, the smaller one at 13mm min dia was maybe a bit too small.
 
THANKS GUYS!

Deborah almost fell out of her chair with Gary’s comments on the rubber bands! For anybody watching that, it DOES get easier with practice.

That was best flight of Mariposa I’ve seen.

The Square Dancer and Go with the Flow are still in concept stage, (Gary’s description was spot on.). Hopefully I will get some more working models that do perform the weight shift effectively.

Anyway, as my Dad used to say, really got me under the old squadron patch (which in HIS day was in chest instead of shoulder like current flight crews.)

Please feel free to recycle or trash those last two. Hope you get some more great flights out of the Mariposa!

Means a lot to me to see these fly, even if they rekit themselves.

It took us a bit to remember how to correctly set up the rubber bands. Now I'll have to buy another 12c crochet hook. :) Are you impressed that I still had the crochet hook?

Awesome flights! My bad, forgot to put clay in the Red Max Nike and the Bulldog apparently. Was cool to see the mini Quinstars fly, the smaller one at 13mm min dia was maybe a bit too small.

You didn't string test the cardstock rockets? Just kidding. I can't imagine it's easy to determine stability beforehand. Don't know why the Sting Ray didn't eject. Easily fixed like the other ones. For the boosters, we could hear them eject but lost them in the sky. We got them back.

I forgot to add that Gary used A10-PT with the Quinstars. I previously lost the Yellow Hornet on an A10. I do have the Green Hornet but left it behind for simple repairs.

Be assured I have the booster for the Tiger Streak somewhere. It was being elusive before the launch. These cardstocks are perfect for windy days.
 
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WCC and UH Manoa students try their hand at launching

We're getting closer to start building the 100k rocket we're planning to launch at ARLISS in September. We were also joined by UH students competing in the NASA First Nations Launch challenge.

The Der Red Max Nike Smoke (@GlenP) worked better with the NC weight. I forgot to grab the Groove Tube booster so hopefully Jake will find it on the field. Ian brought out the sawhorse we can use for club launches. We had to leave early to get Christopher to the airport for his trip to Kauai.

0:00 Groove Tube A10-0 - 1/4A3-3T 3pts
1:32 Alpha Draco WS-199 A8-3 3pts
2:11 Der Red Max Nike Smoke 1/2A3-4T 3pts
3:05 Green Bandit 1 1/2A3-4T 3pts
3:36 Green Bandit 2 1/2A3-4T 3pts
3:57 Vapor D12-3 602ft 5pts
5:03 Ian Patriot C12
5:58 UHM rocket A8-3
7:04 Vulture I 1/2A3-4T 3pts
7:19 Ian Hi-flier
Total 23pts + 10 bonus = 33pts

 
Rebuilt cloned Majestic. After landing in the substation without damage, the power company (HECO) accused me of domestic terrorism and how dare I launch rockets after the Lahaina wildfires. They apparently ran over my rocket with their truck, smashed my electronics, and snapped off the fins from the MM. I epoxied the fins back on and was able to use a coupler to attach a new BT. As you can see, I didn't spend much time repainting and decaling the rocket.

IMG_2313.JPG
 
Rebuilt cloned Majestic. After landing in the substation without damage, the power company (HECO) accused me of domestic terrorism and how dare I launch rockets after the Lahaina wildfires. They apparently ran over my rocket with their truck, smashed my electronics, and snapped off the fins from the MM. I epoxied the fins back on and was able to use a coupler to attach a new BT. As you can see, I didn't spend much time repainting and decaling the rocket.

View attachment 632240

I've had some unstable flights with the Majestic. F67 was really embarrassing. Have you had any problems?

Hans.
 
Rebuilt cloned Majestic. After landing in the substation without damage, the power company (HECO) accused me of domestic terrorism and how dare I launch rockets after the Lahaina wildfires. They apparently ran over my rocket with their truck, smashed my electronics, and snapped off the fins from the MM. I epoxied the fins back on and was able to use a coupler to attach a new BT. As you can see, I didn't spend much time repainting and decaling the rocket.

View attachment 632240
Like Kites and toy drones and whatnot don’t sometimes end up in power lines and substations?
 
I've had some unstable flights with the Majestic. F67 was really embarrassing. Have you had any problems?

Hans.
Not too bad, but this is my clone where I made the fins out of balsa and covered in vinyl. The flight where it went into the substation was an attempt to use the PSII booster. It angled over a bit, enough to go off course. In looking through the videos, I realized I made a payload with the clone so more work to be done.

 

Mid-power rocket launches NOW IN 4K!

For the past ten days, the forecast was for wind and rain Saturday morning. I didn't have a lot of expectations so made minimal preparations. On Saturday morning, the weather was fine with 7mph winds. The rain and wind didn't really start until the afternoon. Fortunately, I was able to find my Black Brant XII in the thick bush before the weather turned.

We had several student groups this time including a tARC team from Assets HS with Jake, tARC team from Mililani HS with Chris, and NASA teams from Honolulu CC with Shidong and Windward CC with Jake. We also had guests including Mitchell who did an excellent job with logging in each of the flights. Also, Charles was working on his Junior NAR achievement with a duration of 40sec on a D motor. He almost made it.

Ever since getting a 4K TV finally for Christmas, I've been thinking about upgrading the rocket videos to 4K. This isn't a simple matter because it takes more resources and storage to process the videos. A true 4K video cam is $700 to $1000. Before switching to the HD cam, I was using my iPhone which was problematic with zoom, focus, and keeping my finger out of the lens. My newer iPhone can do 4K 60fps so decided to try it again. What's weird with the three lens systems is that when I start the video, I can go 1x to 3x zoom or I can go 3x to 9x but can't switch between lenses. I also have to remember to press on the screen for a couple seconds to lock the auto focus. I can use the HD cam for a side view of the field.

Despite the higher resolutions, the GoPros were having issues. The GP10 was set to 4K 120fps and the GP8 can only do 2.7K 120fps. Either the batteries are dying or the cams are. They have the GP11 at Costco for $380. I know that as soon as I buy it, they'll have the GP12 out by then. Costco does have a generous return policy though. The flight cams are still in 1080p 60fps.

I'm testing a new laptop that hopefully can handle the 4K video. I'm also thinking of upgrading the editing software but most require a monthly subscription which sounds ridiculous to me. I'm having an issue with the HEVC codec in RaceRender. It works fine in VLC and the editing software.

Dr. Jake Hudson just built a Mega Max, and we made plans for dual launching with G80 motors. Gary was going to bring his Mega Max but also didn't think the condition would warrant it so didn't bring it. I got an impressive 635ft on the first attempt. The sim said it needed 4 to 5 sec delay, so I removed a couple seconds from the delay. Jake offered me another G80-14A for a second dual launch attempt, and I used his delay drill to remove 8sec. The only explanation for why mine didn't go as high as the first launch is that I inadvertently put the nozzle cap on too tight. Part of the cap was still on the nozzle afterwards.

The WCC 100k rocket project is progressing. The tubes are in, and soon we'll have the MM. Jim and Becky from Aero Pack will be here next month and deliver the transition they used in their previous 100k project. I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

0:00 Mega Teal Max dual launch G80-6T 6pts
0:56 Flight video
2:08 Mega Teal Max G80-5T 644ft 6pts
2:54 Flight video
4:18 AT Mustang E26-4W 451ft 6pts
5:17 Flight video
6:11 Black Brant XII F44-4W 5pts
7:11 Flight video
8:07 Charles Der Red Max C5-3
9:00 Mililani Der Red Max (rebuild) D12-7
9:57 Mililani Honest John D12-7
10:20 Christopher Phantom Blue C6-5
10:30 Charles Winter (scratch) B6-6
11:12 Mililani Rebuild D12-5
11:20 Gary Arreaux E30-7
11:33 HonCC PLB B6-4
11:51 Charles Scratch C6-3
12:12 HonCC Graduator E23-5T
12:35 Ian Mega Mosquito E35-5
13:56 WCC Tazer B4-4
14:39 HonCC Graduator E24
15:12 Gary Barracuda F27-8R
15:39 Mililani Leopard F23-7FJ
16:21 Charles Winter B6-6
17:03 Assets Carlos F20-7
18:11 HonCC Sandhawk D12-3
18:28 Charles Winter B4-2
18:55 WCC Estes Science B4-4
19:00 Mililani Der Red Max (rebuild) D12-7
19:21 Charles Delta Clipper C5-3
19:29 Assets Carlos
20:29 HonCC Graduator E23-5T
20:51 HonCC Caliber ISP G53FJ
21:20 Charles Winter B4
Total 23pts + 20 bonus = 43pts

 

Mid-power rocket launches NOW IN 4K!

For the past ten days, the forecast was for wind and rain Saturday morning. I didn't have a lot of expectations so made minimal preparations. On Saturday morning, the weather was fine with 7mph winds. The rain and wind didn't really start until the afternoon. Fortunately, I was able to find my Black Brant XII in the thick bush before the weather turned.

We had several student groups this time including a tARC team from Assets HS with Jake, tARC team from Mililani HS with Chris, and NASA teams from Honolulu CC with Shidong and Windward CC with Jake. We also had guests including Mitchell who did an excellent job with logging in each of the flights. Also, Charles was working on his Junior NAR achievement with a duration of 40sec on a D motor. He almost made it.

Ever since getting a 4K TV finally for Christmas, I've been thinking about upgrading the rocket videos to 4K. This isn't a simple matter because it takes more resources and storage to process the videos. A true 4K video cam is $700 to $1000. Before switching to the HD cam, I was using my iPhone which was problematic with zoom, focus, and keeping my finger out of the lens. My newer iPhone can do 4K 60fps so decided to try it again. What's weird with the three lens systems is that when I start the video, I can go 1x to 3x zoom or I can go 3x to 9x but can't switch between lenses. I also have to remember to press on the screen for a couple seconds to lock the auto focus. I can use the HD cam for a side view of the field.

Despite the higher resolutions, the GoPros were having issues. The GP10 was set to 4K 120fps and the GP8 can only do 2.7K 120fps. Either the batteries are dying or the cams are. They have the GP11 at Costco for $380. I know that as soon as I buy it, they'll have the GP12 out by then. Costco does have a generous return policy though. The flight cams are still in 1080p 60fps.

I'm testing a new laptop that hopefully can handle the 4K video. I'm also thinking of upgrading the editing software but most require a monthly subscription which sounds ridiculous to me. I'm having an issue with the HEVC codec in RaceRender. It works fine in VLC and the editing software.

Dr. Jake Hudson just built a Mega Max, and we made plans for dual launching with G80 motors. Gary was going to bring his Mega Max but also didn't think the condition would warrant it so didn't bring it. I got an impressive 635ft on the first attempt. The sim said it needed 4 to 5 sec delay, so I removed a couple seconds from the delay. Jake offered me another G80-14A for a second dual launch attempt, and I used his delay drill to remove 8sec. The only explanation for why mine didn't go as high as the first launch is that I inadvertently put the nozzle cap on too tight. Part of the cap was still on the nozzle afterwards.

The WCC 100k rocket project is progressing. The tubes are in, and soon we'll have the MM. Jim and Becky from Aero Pack will be here next month and deliver the transition they used in their previous 100k project. I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

0:00 Mega Teal Max dual launch G80-6T 6pts
0:56 Flight video
2:08 Mega Teal Max G80-5T 644ft 6pts
2:54 Flight video
4:18 AT Mustang E26-4W 451ft 6pts
5:17 Flight video
6:11 Black Brant XII F44-4W 5pts
7:11 Flight video
8:07 Charles Der Red Max C5-3
9:00 Mililani Der Red Max (rebuild) D12-7
9:57 Mililani Honest John D12-7
10:20 Christopher Phantom Blue C6-5
10:30 Charles Winter (scratch) B6-6
11:12 Mililani Rebuild D12-5
11:20 Gary Arreaux E30-7
11:33 HonCC PLB B6-4
11:51 Charles Scratch C6-3
12:12 HonCC Graduator E23-5T
12:35 Ian Mega Mosquito E35-5
13:56 WCC Tazer B4-4
14:39 HonCC Graduator E24
15:12 Gary Barracuda F27-8R
15:39 Mililani Leopard F23-7FJ
16:21 Charles Winter B6-6
17:03 Assets Carlos F20-7
18:11 HonCC Sandhawk D12-3
18:28 Charles Winter B4-2
18:55 WCC Estes Science B4-4
19:00 Mililani Der Red Max (rebuild) D12-7
19:21 Charles Delta Clipper C5-3
19:29 Assets Carlos
20:29 HonCC Graduator E23-5T
20:51 HonCC Caliber ISP G53FJ
21:20 Charles Winter B4
Total 23pts + 20 bonus = 43pts


First time I’ve seen a rocket land on BOTH sides of the pad!

Nice video as usual. Is this the most rockets you’ve video-ed at all be local launch?

Also seemed like Der Red Max was particularly popular!
 
First time I’ve seen a rocket land on BOTH sides of the pad!

Nice video as usual. Is this the most rockets you’ve video-ed at all be local launch?

Also seemed like Der Red Max was particularly popular!

The funny thing is that last December, we had the best weather but only a few students. This time, the weather was okay and the most students we’ve ever had.

The flight log is an organization saver so I can figure which rocket was which.
 
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