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[Ronz Rocketz]

Students test their HPR motors at WCC and Wade's birthday at Blaisdell​

Jim and Becky are visiting from California. They basically manage the ARLISS/XPRS launch events in September (in addition to a few dozen people). Christopher and I showed up at 8am to help set up the motor test, so the UH students have experience loading their own N motor rocket at FAR in a couple months. Got some nice mach diamonds off the motor. I told the students their ears will be ringing afterwards. Still startled a few of them. They then successfully tested their ejection charge. The HonCC students were prepping the 6in rocket ejection charge for the upcoming First Nations Launch.

The girls' mom was a student at WCC and obtained her L2 about ten years ago. Now her two daughters were having fun launching several rockets I prepped for them. Helen's Graduator was suffering from short rod syndrome. Actually from my experience, the AT Classic motors don't seem to have enough oomph off the rod, even with a 6ft rod and rockets tend to veer instead of going straight up. The @GlenP rockets are always a hit.

The Big Bertha hasn't had a lot of luck. On the booster, it smacked into a tree branch and cracked the NC. That same day, I found the Mini Fat Boy that had been hanging in a tree for a year, so I transferred the NC. Might've survived the landing if it wasn't for exposure to the elements for the past year. Just need to cut off an inch on the BT.

We celebrated Wade's birthday, and his mom brought the pupus (hors d'oeuvres). I gave him my Custom Rocket Nomad. I helped his sister with the CR Egg Lofter which I have experience from launching mine years ago. The chute is very picky and needs a C6-3. The egg was double cooked because it was hard boiled and then cooked again during reentry.

The photo at the end is of Jake's Estes launch pad (with Gavin's L2 Black Death). He wanted to buy it with the Black Brant XII (because they launch payloads in a similar one at Wallops occasionally), but they were out. I guess I was lucky to grab mine during the Black Friday sale. The launch pad looks more impressive in person except for a few plastic parts it uses. Becky said the deflector plate looks like a pancake spatula.

0:00 Testing the camera
0:09 M2400T motor test
0:45 Glen Centuri Bulldog 4pts
1:23 Glen Viper 1/2A3-4T 3pts
1:59 Jake DRM A8-3
2:11 HonCC ejection test 4grams
2:27 Jake DRM B6-4
2:50 Heatseaker B6-4 252ft 4pts
3:15 Glen Downscale Quinstar A10-3T 3pts
3:34 Big Bertha B6-4 106ft 4pts
4:04 Helen Graduator E24-4C
5:11 Jake DRM C6-5
5:49 Helen Graduator E24-4C
6:11 Wade's birthday party
8:41 Total 18pts + 15 bonus = 33pts

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Figured out how to loop Kevlar.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Spring Break student workshops with Joe from Hobbyco.co​

Joe has boxes of snap together rockets he's been saving since COVID. We got together with Joann from the Waipahu Parks Dept to schedule two morning sessions, Elementary kids on Monday and Middle School on Wednesday. Christopher helped on Monday and Garrett helped both days. The kids were expecting water rockets or something and were pleasantly surprised when Joe brought out the motors. We also launched Garrett's glider rockets which were mostly successful.

On the first day, Joe put a B6-6 in a rocket. There was less wind on Monday, and the rocket went straight up and landed several blocks away. They were much more successful angled into the wind. The Great Goblin was a big hit, except Joann was nervous it would land on one of the kids.

On the second day, the DIY launcher was having issues, possibly old 9v batteries. With the B6-6 loaded, I didn't angle the rocket enough. After the kid ran to help get his friend's rocket, I tried launching which worked but landed in the canal. The kid ran into the classroom, grabbed another one of Joe's kits, and was ready to go again 10 minutes later.

Most of the batteries are failing with four out of five swelling so sent them to a watery grave (short circuit before the garbage). I think it's time to upgrade to the GoPro 11 now that the 12 is out. The GoPro8 has had a long and prestigious career. I'm still getting used to the zoom with the iPhone.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

More tARC student launches at Aloun Farms and H128W flight on Easter weekend​

This was the last chance for local schools to get their qualifying flights in before April 8th. Assets HS had one perfect flight but it's an average, so they did okay. Mililani HS also did okay but with a wooden egg. Iolani HS tried out their 2in rocket which worked fine except the paracord they were using to attach the chute broke. They're planning to attempt their Level 1 for those who are 18. We can have H128W and H238T reloads shipped to Hawaii. The problem is their 2in rocket will likely go 3,000ft or more and probably get lost, so they need to make bigger rockets.

I didn't remember much about the high power flight. I realized afterwards it's because the flight only lasted 30sec. Need at least 2,000ft to really enjoy it. The Black Brant XII worked fine on the F15-4. Haven't found a motor yet that allows it to go straight up. The F44W was okay last time but a bit overpowered. The knot on the elastic unraveled causing the separation. As we were about to head out, a farming truck pulled up and handed the sustainer to us from the field. Good thing we were still around. Very appreciative...

The Leviathan was lucky to have the chute deployed. I had so much stuff attached to the NC that it tangled up including the JLCR. The screamer also didn't open. The Ion altimeter was working except it lost power at ejection then turned back on. I extrapolated the data for the graph. I need to install more secure JST connectors, which I have but haven't gotten around to swapping yet.

I bought a new GoPro 11 from Costco since the old batteries were failing. I still have one battery for the GoPro 8 so haven't decided if I'll keep the 11 yet. The 8 can only do 2.7K at 60fps, which is mostly fine as the ground cam. The new laptop seems to be doing well with processing the 4K videos. I'm having problems with the RaceRender program. The Ion altimeter data and flight video aren't matching up. I can still create manual data but prefer to use the real data.

The issue with using the iPhone 13 is that in 4K at 60fps, I can video 1x to 3x, or 3x to 9x, but not 1x to 9x like I can with 30fps. The question is which is better, 4k or 60fps, or both with the problematic zooming? Let me know if the comments what you think.

UH Manoa had two teams out. The Hammah Head team were testing their charges. They didn't have a test stand, so they improvised with a folding chair and Jake's foot. They tested with 2.0g, 3.0g, and 4.0g in the NC.

The Hokulele team was testing their Telemetrics electronics worth $1,000. Unfortunately, it landed in the substation. I suspect the launch wire pulled on the rocket causing it to veer. Fortunately, HECO wasn't an ass like they were to me and sent someone out to retrieve their rocket (without making them wait 4 months, without running it over with their truck, and without turning it over to HPD Lost Property).

Thank you to John for logging in all the flights. It makes it much easier for me to figure out the video timeline with an accurate log and his efforts. Also thanks to Bernard and his sister for helping us clean up. They used to fly at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki until some ahole launched an H motor but forgot to include the ejection charge which didn't make the tennis association happy and had them banned from the park. I don't know how I'd feel about launching there now because I'd hate for one of my rockets to land in the nearby Zoo.

The carpenters were working on Saturday which was rare. They cheered when the BB XII launched. The crew later helped the UH Hokulele team located the rocket. They then joined us at the shade tent for BBQ hot dogs while Christopher regaled them with rocketry stories. He said their supervisor was getting annoyed with all of the rockets landing in their yard, despite our attempts to angle them away.

0:00 Intro
0:10 LOC Patriot 4in H128-7W 622ft 7pts
1:18 Flight video 622ft
2:21 Leviathan F50-6T 786ft 7pts
3:17 Flight video 786ft
4:42 Black Brant XII F15-4 565ft 5pts
6:42 Gary SR-71 D12-5
7:18 Iolani Polaris 4C F50-6
7:55 Gary Priority Stealth D12-5
8:07 Assets Jimmy F20-7
9:18 Gary Turbo Vortico F15-4
9:43 Mililani Vagabond E12-6
10:02 Gary Cool Spool F15-4
10:32 Mililani Golden Finger F15-6
11:00 Christopher Shadow Stealth V2 A10-0T
11:24 Assets Jimmy F20-7
12:22 UH Hokulele G80-6
12:54 Assets Jimmy F20-7
13:24 UH Manoa Hammah Head 2.0g test
13:33 Assets Jimmy F20-7
14:33 Assets Jimmy F20-7
Total 19pts + 20 bonus = 39pts

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

I bought this last year during my visit to Hobby Lobby. It was relatively cheap. I decided to make it a payload. I’m also using the rope loop with the NC hook and baffle eyelet. Totally sorted!