Traveling Rocket thread

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Okay folks ... finally. I was about to the point I was going to ship this off unflown. I never got the go ahead for the original launch site but after reviewing the sims for The Wanderer and for previous flights here at my place I decided that it would be safe to do it here in the yard. Almost no wind. The wind of course knew I was trying to fly a rocket so it would gust a tad but not too much. Just enough to let me know it was there...watching. I bought a 15" Top Flight thinmil for this project which I decided to reef to bring it down faster. Motor was the C18-4. It had plenty of punch and a nice throaty roar. I was not expecting the roar for sure.

First some pics of my ground crew, with her recovery vehicle ready to go ... bird poop freshly washed off (the launch was delayed waiting on her to get it clean). She loves that thing.

View attachment 449202View attachment 449203

And on the pad. Remember what I said about my rack not being portable. Now you see why. It is a repurposed weight bench. Works great here at the house and when I had a pickup to carry it in.

View attachment 449205

Liftoff!!

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Every rocket I have flown here has gone out into the field, some have drifted out of the field into the woods beyond but The Wanderer decided to do something completely different.

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And it paid for it.

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That is the tallest skinniest tree in all of Slagle. That tree and the ones beside it are part of a single row of trees left alongside the road when the timber was cut off of that property a year or so ago. They left a single row of trees. There were more but, with them being a single row as they are, they acted as a wall to catch the wind when Hurricane Laura came through as a Cat 2 hurricane and laid several of them over the road into my yard, bringing with them the power lines. The idiots that left them like this....well....they're idiots. One tiny limb snatched it. A larger chute and it would have missed entirely and landed in my yard. A streamer and it would have landed safely behind them. It tried to come through that gap (the tree that was in that gap is still there, it is just snapped off about halfway up thanks to Laura) but that tiny limb wanted it badly.

With the help of a friend we were able to recover it safely and intact.

Short video. Sorry ... TRF doesn't like my video and won't let me upload or embed it. So it is on my Youtube Channel. While you're there take a look at my other videos and subscribe if you'd like.



It took a hard hook not long after it left the rail. It wasn't the wind. It looks like it left with plenty of speed and OR said it was good and although it could have been an irregularly eroding nozzle, and I can analyze the flight to death, it's likely the C18 was not the right motor for the job, I have only had one hook hard like that and it was flying on a subpar motor. I would have liked to fly it on the D12 or D15 but that just isn't in the cards. Hopefully the other Hosts have nicer flights. I may have the record for flight duration though. The numbers don't lie. 😁 My sims say around 280', had it not hooked like it did, it could have made 220', maybe 250'.


View attachment 449218

The descent with the reefed chute is exactly where I like it, 22ft/s. I marked the shroud lines in case anyone else wants to reef it. I used blue tape to reef it and marked the top side of the tape. I am also sending along the 18" rotofoil for anyone wanting to use that. I'll sign it and let the gremlin paint her heart on it and it will be on it's way.
@shawn_rocket
You're next...You ready?
@Angie
I told ya I would keep you in the loop. You're in the loop. Still waiting on those stickers BTW.😁

I'm ready! Great flight. Won't be able to match that duration...unless a find a higher tree! 🤓
I have TRF stickers. I'll slap one on it before I fly. Thanks again for getting this going!
 
Gee, my firearm of choice would have been to .22 rifle. Might take a couple of tries to hit that little branch, but once it's hit, the little slug is all you'd need.

Yeah. I started with my .22. A Ruger 10/22 that I modded with an Archangel stock (junk BTW) to hold a light for killing armadillos. I have killed five in a weeks time, four in one night, one of those with Emmy riding on my shoulders. LOL. I have shot mistletoe down with it but couldn't hit that tiny limb. I was shooting at an odd angle trying to keep the main trunk behind the twig so it would absorb the rounds, and keeping in mind the trajectory of the bullet if it were to keeping going....there is nothing that for over 1.5 miles. I grabbed the shotguns when I couldn't get it with the .22.

I'm ready! Great flight. Won't be able to match that duration...unless a find a higher tree! 🤓
I have TRF stickers. I'll slap one on it before I fly. Thanks again for getting this going!

Slap one of the stickers on the notebook in there as well. Angie is sending me some stickers and I will send them to you to replace the ones you use. I got it packed and ready to go, only to start thinking I don't I included the sim, design report or parts detail. But I may have. Getting back in the swing of things at work has been tough. LOL It has been a fun project though. I fully intended to print out the reports and have them laminated but my printer ran out of ink and I just haven't thought to get any. That can be a project for someone else if they are interested.

I tossed in a small 3d printed rocket keychain for absolutely no reason. I wanted to 3d print a spaceman or alien to travel with the box and have it sent back to me at a later date just never did. I did however put in a Jolly Roger flag. My school mascot, and my daughter's seeing how she is going to the same school, is a Pirate. And us being from Louisiana where we have a fairly rich history of pirates, the flag just fit. It's our token from Louisiana. Feel free to include something similar from your state.

@shawn_rocket
It is packed and will hit the PO tomorrow.
 
Updated List:
  1. MikeydSlagle --- Louisiana --- 174'
  2. shawn_rocket ---- Missouri --- shipping out 2/5/21
  3. jbrracer ---- Indiana
  4. Wally Ferrer ---- Virginia
  5. Tobor ---- Illinois
  6. bobbyg23 ---- South Dakota
  7. Tractionengines --- Ohio
  8. jqavins ---- New York
  9. CPUTommy ---- Massachusetts
  10. rdbrown ---- Kansas
  11. dhbarr ---- Oklahoma
  12. Sooner Boomer -- Oklahoma
  13. tsmith1315 --- Georgia
  14. TheTank ------ Connecticut
  15. tcblightning ---- Arkansas
  16. DeepOvertone --- Louisiana
  17. teepot ---- Nevada
  18. boatgeek --- Washington
Two more have fallen off the wagon.
Welcome aboard folks!
 
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OK, throw me in. The West needs to represent! I'm in Washington, so a good followon from NV. I can fly nearly any time on a local field as long as we keep it under about 1000 feet.
 
Ah. I had read "Ruger 10/22" and didn't know what that is. Now I do. See, ya really do learn something new everyday (if you're paying attention).
Ahh, I thought everyone knew what a Ruger 10/22 was. Only the most popular 22lr every!! LOL. I may buy another one or two when the firearm panic crisis is over. One for Emmy and one for Ashley. Mods abound for these guns and they are dirt cheap...or were rather.

OK, throw me in. The West needs to represent! I'm in Washington, so a good followon from NV. I can fly nearly any time on a local field as long as we keep it under about 1000 feet.

Converse me with your shipping address and, if you want access to the online google sheet, your email.

Something else I am working on. $3.00 should cover production, shipping to me then packing and shipping to each host. Minimum order is 25 but I can go ahead and get 50 made just in more folks join. The QR code brings ya to this thread. Thoughts?
chip.jpg
 
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Well. Sure I can make a QR code sticker for the rocket, with contact info, had intended to actually, but...this is a poker chip, for the Hosts to keep as a memento. Ya know, something else to toss into a box and forget about.
 
Ah. Once again I have misunderstood and then posted. I really should nip this habit in the bud.
LOL
I wasn't clear on what it was so no worries.
But yeah I was thinking about having poker chips made for each Host just as a token of the event, with a QR code on the back to scan and be sent to this thread.
Actually the QR code was an after thought, I needed something on the back and was too lazy to do a design. Lol
 
Sign me up! And by me, I mean me, my kids, and the rest of our small TARC team. I'm happy to PayPal a few bucks for the coin, too, if that becomes reality.

Mikey, PM inbound.


Semper Fidelis,
Culprit in Fredericksburg, VA
 
Sign me up! And by me, I mean me, my kids, and the rest of our small TARC team. I'm happy to PayPal a few bucks for the coin, too, if that becomes reality.

Mikey, PM inbound.


Semper Fidelis,
Culprit in Fredericksburg, VA

Gotcha. Welcome aboard. I will look more at the poker chip when I get a bit of time.
 
Looks like the box and the rocket might cross paths sooner than we thought the traveler is getting mailed to @shawn_rocket today
A convergence in the Force! lol Whelp...weather here in STL is awful for the next 7-10 days. If I get the rocket, it may be a week or so before I can fly it and back on the road. Late winter/early spring in the Midwest can be hit or miss. What's the threshold of how long we can wait to fly it? Any thoughts?
 
A convergence in the Force! lol Whelp...weather here in STL is awful for the next 7-10 days. If I get the rocket, it may be a week or so before I can fly it and back on the road. Late winter/early spring in the Midwest can be hit or miss. What's the threshold of how long we can wait to fly it? Any thoughts?

The Wanderer should be there today or tomorrow, I would think. It went out the same day as the Traveler but that doesn't really mean anything.

Everyone here knows now how big of a role weather plays in our hobby so they should be fairly understanding when you need to wait on a good day. Give it the 10 days and see how it looks.
 
The Wanderer should be there today or tomorrow, I would think. It went out the same day as the Traveler but that doesn't really mean anything.

Everyone here knows now how big of a role weather plays in our hobby so they should be fairly understanding when you need to wait on a good day. Give it the 10 days and see how it looks.
Sounds good. I'm super excited, but don't want to hold it up too long. Fortunately (and gratefully), I have a very flexible schedule, so I should be able to get it in the air at the first sign of decent weather!
 
Updated List:
  1. MikeydSlagle --- Louisiana --- 174'
  2. shawn_rocket ---- Missouri --- should be there by now
  3. jbrracer ---- Indiana
  4. Wally Ferrer ---- Virginia
  5. Tobor ---- Illinois
  6. bobbyg23 ---- South Dakota
  7. Tractionengines --- Ohio
  8. jqavins ---- New York
  9. CPUTommy ---- Massachusetts
  10. rdbrown ---- Kansas
  11. dhbarr ---- Oklahoma
  12. Sooner Boomer -- Oklahoma
  13. tsmith1315 --- Georgia
  14. TheTank ------ Connecticut
  15. tcblightning ---- Arkansas
  16. DeepOvertone --- Louisiana
  17. teepot ---- Nevada
  18. boatgeek --- Washington
  19. Culprit ---- Virginia
I think I have everyone added to the list and all those that I have sent me their email address have been added as editors. If not, let me know.
 
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This thread has been silent for a bit so thought I'd give an update.

The Wanderer left here, Lousiana, Feb 5 and made it to St Louis, MO on the 7th. Two days later it was in Memphis, TN. Next day, the 10th, it was back in St Louis. Since then it has been traveling back and forth between Memphis and St Louis. It left St Louis yesterday for the 7th time.

I will initiate a claim against it today to hopefully get something done, this is ridiculous.

Edit:
Started the inquiry process. I've been through this song and dance before. "Priority is not guaranteed, Priority Express only is guaranteed."
2 day Priority costs more than 3 day. But neither is guaranteed within their respective "presumed" timeline. Like I said before, what better way to sell an expensive service than to make the cheaper one frustratingly inefficient and ineffective.
 
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TNMO Boomerang may be more appropriate. HA
I'm no longer getting alerts/notifications for my watched threads so...
 
The Wanderer left here, Lousiana, Feb 5 and made it to St Louis, MO on the 7th. Two days later it was in Memphis, TN. Next day, the 10th, it was back in St Louis. Since then it has been traveling back and forth between Memphis and St Louis. It left St Louis yesterday for the 7th time.
There've been many threads with subjects to the effect of "The Post Office Sucks" and I'm often in there defending them. But DAMN, that's ridiculous. Sitting for this long in St. Louis or Memphis would be bad enough (feces happen) but bouncing like that is just plain crazy.
 
There've been many threads with subjects to the effect of "The Post Office Sucks" and I'm often in there defending them. But DAMN, that's ridiculous. Sitting for this long in St. Louis or Memphis would be bad enough (feces happen) but bouncing like that is just plain crazy.
Right, I thought they had gotten better. It's not in one of the blackholes (City of Industry, Bossier City) but rather it is moving. Horrible. And make matters worse, it's destination is St Louis. :angiefavorite:

Shoulda used UPS I guess.
 
I'm not getting alerts either. Weird
I wasn't getting alerts on some threads for a while. Once I noticed threads had been posted to, and I opened them and caught up, the notices resumed.

I know why this has happened to me in at least some cases. A notice is sent when a post is made that you wouldn't have seen. But only for the first time since you last looked on a given thread, not for every new message. What's happened to me a couple of times is:
  1. I get a notice and follow the link.
  2. I read what's on the page, but fail to observe that there is another page.
  3. Consequently, I don't read the messages on the next page.
  4. New messages are posted to the thread, and are on that page I haven't read.
  5. Because I've already received a notice applicable to that new page, I don't get a new one.
  6. I find out that there are new messages I never got notices about, get annoyed at the forum, then realize it was my own fault.
Recently I stopped getting notices for three threads, all at the same time. Did I do this to myself three times in the same day? Or close enough to the same day that I thought it was all at once? At first I didn't think so, but since I was still getting notices about other threads, I guess that's probably what happened.
 
Hmmm
Well I'm only watching two active threads, this I and the Traveling Box. The Traveling Box...I opened my Watched Threads tab and saw it had been posted to, but didn't get a notification, I remember reading one of the posts on the last/current page so there are no pages after. Don't know. Maybe now I'll get a notification when someone posts to it, since I am caught up.
But this thread...well it has been silent for a while while The Wanderer kept going to Tennessee, but I getting notifications for it.
 
My family and I are in Covid lockdown. Should be good to go by the time its our turn... but please check with me before sending. Thank you.
We have had mild cases, (knock on wood), in isolation & recovery for the next few weeks.
Mike
 
My family and I are in Covid lockdown. Should be good to go by the time its our turn... but please check with me before sending. Thank you.
We have had mild cases, (knock on wood), in isolation & recovery for the next few weeks.
Mike
Yep no problem, will do.
Get well soon.
 
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