Your most jinxed rocket what is it?

[CharlaineC]

you know its funny I have been racking my brain on this one for a few days now. I will have to say their are three.

the first was my origenal camroc. Found it at a yard sale back in the 80's for a buck never opened. she flew three times. first two times she busted a fin, the final time she got ran over by some smuck on driving on the field in his offroader.

the second was my hornet she never flew right.

the thirs was an estes america. landed in a tree almost every time.

 

[jadebox]

Man Im sorry your rocket was trashed but that is one spectacular photo.

Thanks. That's one reason I like taking photographs and videos of my flights. If something goes wrong, at least I have the chance of getting a good photo!

I also find that photos and video help determine what went wrong and suggest ways to prevent the problem in the future.

BTW, my Talon wasn't the only one to suffer an ill fate that day ......

https://www.payloadbay.com/gallery/v/nefar-launches/2007-09-08/2007-09-08+NEFAR+383.jpg.html

-- Roger

 

[MysticalRockets]

Mine is the Estes Cosmic Cobra. Supposed to be helicopter recovery, but the thing would never completely deploy, and would be a ballistic recovery. After #5, I gave up and have never flown one since. Nor will I.

 

[jadebox]

Mine is the Estes Cosmic Cobra. Supposed to be helicopter recovery, but the thing would never completely deploy, and would be a ballistic recovery. After #5, I gave up and have never flown one since. Nor will I.

There's a trick to that. You have to pack it with the parachute inside the rotor blades. Several people have had good luck with it at our club launches. It's interesting that sometimes the nose cone points up on the way down.

-- Roger

 

[mjennings]

Estes Gemini DC. I built three of those things, and of all the attempts I only got one flight where I got both chutes out. Several single chutes, a couple of fatal non-deploys, and one engine w/ vectored thrust that gave me a power prang. After that one, I swore off the entire design.

Hmm sorry to hear that I love my Gemini DC, I always get both chutes out, trick is to blow test before installing the motor. I had to cut the BT just aft of the NC to install some nose weight, (she didn't pass the old swing test at first). Also put small Aluminum heat and Carbon Fiber shields on the outboard tubes after the exhaust started to burn through.

More jinxed rocket is my Estes Nighthawk, flown 3 times
1st flew decent but landed in a shrub and got some pretty good dings on the Leading Edges
2nd hung up on the clothes pin, ripped off the Launch Lug and some more minor damage.
3rd was a gusty day and the wind hit it right when it left the rod, a decent flight, but after landing the wind caught the chute and dragged it along the road damaging the underside.

 

[Steven]

Mine are any rocket with a tower on them. They actually get banged around more in storage than in flying.

 

[milehigh]

A clone of the Centuri Star Trooper.
It has flown five times to date, and there has been a problem with each one. Engine ejections on three of the flights, even though they were strongly taped in. A fourth flight in which a fin was missing. Probably nose snap-back. And a flight went badly awry using an experimental open air gap booster stage.
Here are pics of the aftermath of that one......and one of the recently re-built model, awaiting flight #6.

 

[swatkat]

LOC Expediter...it was cursed with a SU motor CATO on the first launch. Second had a motor that was really slow to come up to pressure, resulting in a flight that didn't make the JLCR release height, but was recoverable. After a few repairs it has had one really good flight, so it isn't that bad, but the first flight was an amazing two-part recovery...

 

[rocketgeek101]

Wildman Shape Shifter Mini - have never had a normal flight with it.

 

[gldknght]

I've had two Aerotech G-Force rockets, both were destroyed on their first flights. The first was eaten by a tree and the second caused a detectable seismic event when it failed to separate for parachute ejection.

 

[K'Tesh]

Talk about a zombie thread...

My first Cherokee D... It liked swimming and hanging out in trees.

 

[Woody's Workshop]

It was my first Big Bertha. Every time I launched it, it ended up in a tree. It eventually zippered it's way to the trash.
The 2nd BB did much better.

 

[Rocketjunkie]

My 98 mm Deuce upscale. Build thread https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/bigger-deuce.47449/
First flight all went well on 98/7860 M1100s
Ground video
Onboard
2nd flight on M1419's at NSL 2013, Manchester, TN only 1 motor lit, never got high enough for chutes to open, had to completely rebuild booster.
Ground video
Onboard
3rd flight at Freedom launch 2013, couldn't get 2nd M1419, flew on 1 M1419 and 1 M1075. Snapped 9/16 TN between payload and chutes, booster section came down on drogue into trees. Nose came down at edge of trees, had to replace 1 main chute.
Ground video
Onboard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KiW9s4_eyk
4th flight at GRITS 2014 on 2 M1075s. Wrong rocket launched, onboard camera didn't work, shredded drogue chute.
Ground video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzl6-aigx0k
5th flight at NSL 2015 on 2 M1790 skidmarks. A little too much power, lost fins right at burnout, booster section totaled. Also lost field due to a different rocket landing on industrial building. Violent dissasembly caused camera to fail.
Ground video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvFi8r_t17g
Did not rebuild this time.

 

[goose_in_co]

I had two. One was the Estes sizzler, an 18mm minimum diameter bird with cardstock fins. First flight was its last. The launch was very quick, but when the rather enthusiastic ejection charge went off, the nose and streamer went one direction, the fins and motor went the other, and the body tube was reduced to a spiral of scrap paper. Could never find the fins, I have the body tube somewhere, and built a new rocket for the nose cone.

The second was the Estes F-14 Tomcat. Great idea, poor execution. I spent hours getting it built right and looking good. First flight was on a B6-4, not nearly enough altitude to do anything but auger in just after the wings opened. Rebuilt it, and read the instructions and saw that the C6-3 was recommended. Flight 2 on the C6-3 was better. The altitude was acceptable, the wings popped out when it was upside down, and the resulting loop into the ground was just short of spectacular. Another 10 feet and it would have pulled up. It now sits on a shelf.

Goose

 

[Arsenal78]

I've had two Aerotech G-Force rockets, both were destroyed on their first flights. The first was eaten by a tree and the second caused a detectable seismic event when it failed to separate for parachute ejection.

I've heard multiple stories regarding the G-Force failing to separate on ejection. I got the chance to look at the way one is built and Aerotech really screwed people with that rocket. The booster tube should be longer, the motor tube should be shorter (who needs a 17" motor tube?) and there should be a bulkhead in the coupler. I'd have the rocket separate farther up or something so the chute and stuff is in the booster tube and pulled out by the upper section like a normal rocket.

My jinxed rocket is actually a scratch built mini BSD Thor with a 38mm body tube and a 29mm mount. From day one I had problem after problem getting it built from the fins being cut wrong, to the glassine layer somehow getting scratched just enough that when I painted it, I got the fuzzies all over the body tube. Took forever to get it finished and painted.

 

[blackjack2564]

This one...rebuilt 4 times....lol WM-3 It was spec-tac-u-lar! Long burn J-90 Made this kewl poster with the pics

 

[cruzsergio]

My most jinxed rocket was the Mega Der Red Max, prior to flying I messed up the nosecone, first launch it broke a fin. Second launch I attempted my L1 (rookie mistake) the delay was set for 14 seconds, I had to rebuild it. Third launch was minor damage it only landed on the asphalt.
its last launch I never found it, it landed in a lake or something.

 

[SaintJohn]

Mine was the Estes Venus Probe. That thing could never get enough altitude on a C6-3. Every time it launched one part or another failed to work correctly. It crashed so many times it could no longer be repaired. I threw it in the trash can at the park on my way home and never looked back.

 

[jadebox]

When this thread suddenly came back to live, I reread the posts expected to see posts that I had written about my ill-fated Vertical Assault. I see that I had posted about my troubled Talon.

I didn't confuse the two Giant Leap kits. It is just a coincidence, I am sure, but both have been unlucky for me.

On the first launch of the Vertical Assault, flying it single deploy, the body separated from the parachute and nose. Nothing broke, though. I think the shock cord got tangled up with the Fireball anti-zipper thing. After that, I stopped using the Fireball (a choice which may have come back to bite me later).

https://www.nefar.net/gallery/2009-01/index.html

On the next flight, the rocket went a few hundred feet in the air then suddenly executed a 90 degree turn and stopped. The altimeter deployed the parachute with the motor still burning. But, it settled down and landed without damage.

On the next flight, the rocket didn't separate at apogee so it came in hot until the main charge fired just above some trees. It took me a while to find the rocket. When I did, I discovered that it had suffered a major zipper.

Photo Album - TTRA Launches - May 2011 Launch - 2011-05-21-12-58-44-000.jpg

https://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/2011/05/launch-ttra-tampa-may-21-2011.html?m=1

-- Roger

 

[o1d_dude]

My most jinxed rocket is a Madcow Squat I purchased as part of a Black Friday sale. Naturally I did all the standard modifications to make it launch worthy (nose cone shoulder cut off, lead ballast behind the bulkhead, etc).

At every launch I attended the Squat managed to find a pond, a stream, or even a puddle in which to land...often the only puddle on the field.

Other than that it flew nicely.

Then there's the paint. Madcow nosecones have paint adhesion issues for some reasons. My Squat chips in a certain spot about once a season and needs to be repainted. Last time I repainted, I laid down the fluoro pink too heavily and now the nosecone no longer matches the body tube shade. Figured I'd just address it the next time I strip the nosecone down. Guess what. It no longer chips in that certain spot.

I think I'll get some Stickershock23 vinyl that says "JiNx".

 

[o1d_dude]

My most jinxed rocket is a Madcow Squat I purchased as part of a Black Friday sale. Naturally I did all the standard modifications to make it launch worthy (nose cone shoulder cut off, lead ballast behind the bulkhead, etc).

At every launch I attended the Squat managed to find a pond, a stream, or even a puddle in which to land...often the only puddle on the field.

Other than that it flew nicely.

Then there's the paint. Madcow nosecones have paint adhesion issues for some reasons. My Squat chips in a certain spot about once a season and needs to be repainted. Last time I repainted, I laid down the fluoro pink too heavily and now the nosecone no longer matches the body tube shade. Figured I'd just address it the next time I strip the nosecone down. Guess what. It no longer chips in that certain spot.

I think I'll get some Stickershock23 vinyl that says "JiNx".

Forgot to add the image...

BTW, the Squat is a 4" diameter bird with a 54mm spout. Nothing in the photo to indicate how large that sucker is.

 

[Gary Byrum]

Back in 2011 I found a great pic of Soren's Probe (of Star Trek Generations) that I used for cloning a BT 70 version. Hand turned nose cone and custom crafted the transparent payload section. The fake electronics inside were as close a match as I could get with limited information (pics) and such. CG was right at the top of the fins. I really don't know where CP was so it may have been the culprit. I really thought this was about as simple as it gets for me regarding complexity in design. I used a D12 on my first flight. The video is that flight. Some time later, it was suggested I needed more "umpf" off the rod so I used a SU of sorts. It did get a little higher this time but did the very same thing as in the first flight. It got a bit dinged up both times, so instead of going for thirds, I shelved it. Looked kinda nice and there were a lot of hours spent designing it. I didn't want to risk crashing it to pieces.

 

[Charles_McG]

My upscale Vigilante gives me troubles. Failed staging, cruise missile deployment, a mystery chute tender problem this weekend.
The up part works pretty well. The down part...

(Old photo - this weekend's core same took out a fin, not the body tube)

 

[aerojacket]

An Estes Freefall. The rocket itself had a hard landing that broke the motor retainer, but that we fixed. The biggest problem was Parachute Man failing to deploy his chute.
1st launch: not enough wadding and the chute stuck to itself in a few places where it had melted just a bit. Parachute Man went from bright orange to covered with soot
2nd launch: Chute didn't open well
3rd launch: Ditto
Fourth or fifth launch: PM finally survived his flight. Seriously, it got to be a running joke with me and my children.

I should have named the parachute man "Kenny"....

 

[OC-Patrick]

Any of my Estes airplane-type rockets. Screaming Eagle, Jetliner. Added clay nose weights, built per instructions. Recommended engines and on practically windless days, both rockets cartwheeled and nose planted. I will always be wary of plane-type rockets.

 

[chrisudy]

Heh - I posted in this thread nine years ago about my mean machines... since I’ve since had multiple successful flights on the third, my most jinxed rockets are now the Estes Cosmos Mariner (3 flights, 2 rebuilds) and Astron Invader (3 squirrelly flights)

 

[rocketman300]

Estes shuttle. Had two blow up on me. Both on their first flights.

 

[Rockyt]

mine would have to be my son's Estes monarch. It has popped fins 3 times, the first of which shredded the stock fins, resulting in replacment with Basswood, which has popped 2 (different) fins, literally braking the glue and tearing the body tube, and the last time was a lawn dart resulting in the loss of 2 inch off the top of the body tube as a result of tearing. Still in the hangar for more sanding and a new paint job

 

[Oldschool77]

My Cherokee 29 (mm) 3" upscale. Not having much experience with reloads(A G64) I asked around relaying the empty weight. 2 of 3 said a 7sec delay, nose blew just as it was pointing down, no laundry. Rebuilt & flown with a G76G-4, perfect flight. L1 with a H165R-M, again perfect. Next up was a G71R-4 with new delay, nose blew as it was laying over, no laundry. I'm 2/4.
After reading about Warlock problems I think there is to much volume for a typical Hobbyline charge, I'll add more powder or install a stuffer tube & bulkhead higher in airframe. Just going to try & get it flyable for AirFest now.

 

[TALON]

One of my first rockets as a BAR. A Semroc LPR ARCAS. Perfect & I mean perfect 1st flight. Second flight of the day, The baffle that the shock cord was attached failed. NC floated away and the rest lawn darted. Repaired, next flight a small zipper, repaired. another flight NC damaged, do not know if it happened in flight or upon touch down. Next to last flight it landed in a rock pile and was dragged across it by the parachute in 10 MPH winds. This did massive damage to NC & fins. After this repair it became the Frankenstein ARCAS! Last flight was on a day that the wind never got above 5 MPH, EXCEPT at the exact second of the launch a rouge gust of about 15 MPH caused sever weathercock! It flew horizontal and the chute was not fully deployed when it hit the ground! It is still being cannibalized!