WVB XR-1 Shuttle

[aerostadt]

I launched this PMC version this past Saturday. It only got up about 50 feet on a 13 mm A10-3T and the flight was wobbly. Afterwards, I thought about this and I did realize that I put in an old G2Q2 igniter with the small red tube. The red tube may have dug out a little bit of clay on one side of the nozzle and that might have contributed to the wobbly flight. However, there was some wind, too. I thought that there was no damage, but when I got home I found that one fin was missing.

 

[aerostadt]

I tried this PMC version on an Estes A10-3T, again, today. This time I used the Estes igniter and the plastic insert that came with the motor. The wind was calm and the model flew fairly straight up to about 50 feet, although the flight was a little bit wobbly towards the end. The ejection charge didn't go off until the rocket was back on the ground. However, the landing was on soft grass and there was no damage. The 3-second time delay is too long, but this is the only delay available for this motor.

 

[burkefj]

If the boost is slow enough you could just try a booster motor, maybe with a little bp on the top with some tape to give some ejection boost if needed...If flying off grass a streamer may be sufficient and wouldn't tear anything with the early ejection, I think.

 

[aerostadt]

I saw a "non-flying" model of a different version of the WVB Space Ferry on ebay. It cost a small fortune, but I couldn't resist. It is shown in Jack Hagerty's "Spaceship Handbook" on p. 39-42.