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I was reviewing video from flight test #6 and noticed that I got a record of the booster ejection charge gas escaping through the holes in the nose booster cones. I had not realized how violent the ejection charge was or how much gas was escaping & possibly not contributing to the rear ejection...

So after a fun launch there's the not-so-fun damage assessment and repairs. And the fun challenge of figuring out how to improve parts for the next launch. The 9-cluster motor mounts have an obvious weak point: they are snaping at the end of the BT-20 motor tube where the 3D-printed part has...

After a great launch in January and a tragic CATO in February, I'm learning the value of getting quality video to document my successes and failures. It is really frustrating to have problems that I don't have a record of. It makes is really difficult to reconstruct what went right and what...

Also just got this photo of the Falcon Heavy launch from another club member. His rocket was coming down as mine was going up...

Date: 03/09/2023 Location: Snow Ranch Event: LUNAR Club Launch Photo credits: Rob Heil Two more flights of the Falcon 9 Crew Dragon. The 1st was an attempt to change the recovery of the 1st stage to one 24" parachute instead of two 18" chutes. The reverse recovery failed but the rocket was...

Date: 03/09/2023 Location: Snow Ranch Event: LUNAR Club Launch Photo credits: Rob Heil I flew the Falcon Heavy two times that day. On the the first launch, the second stage motor did not ignite but 26 out of 27 1st stage motors ignited and recovery of all 1st stage parts was successful. The...

I got two more opportunities to fly the Falcon 9s last weekend: Location: Brigantino Park Hollister, CA Club: LUNAR The 1st launch worked perfectly: all motors ignited with successful recovery of 1st and second stages. That was also the 1st time I tried a C6 motor & it was really nice to...

Lots of rain and canceled club launches means time for research. This article was published right before SpaceX took over SLC 39A. It has several 360 degree views from inside the Fixed Service Structure (FSS) https://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/spaceflight/launch/launch-pad-39a-safety-system/...

It finally worked! (mostly)... So with the results of test flight #4, I set about adding fins to the boosters and lengthening the launch rail. Another lesson learned from my previous three flights is that I needed to bring back the Transport, Elevate, & Launch (T.E.L) system, also known as...

I was hoping to get a video of that last flight so I was waiting to post this commentary. But that didn't happen so I'm just going to post these notes: I sure wish that booster separation was intentional. It almost looks like those boosters are turning around to fly back to Kennedy Space...

Now that I have a working 1:65 scale Falcon 9 and I'm close to a working 1:65 scale Falcon Heavy, I'd like to launch them from a realistic launch complex. I'm particularly interested in working T.E.L (Strongback) and flame trench designs. I'm wondering if anyone has built a scale model of...

Date: 12/16/2023 13:35 Location: Snow Ranch Event: LUNAR Club Launch Photo credits: Rob Heil

Fun times at the LUNAR launch today. Fins (almost) invisible: Flip out fins in action: Here the 2nd stage has ignited and recovery of the 1st stage worked. This is a static test of a refined 2nd stage recovery that still needs some work. The Crew Dragon ejected but not the2nd stage...

Well crap. I don't think the core E12 ignited after all. The only thing holding the core motor in place is the magnetic shear pins for the landing legs. On further analysis, I think the booster D12 motors ignited but not the core E12, causing the core to eject due to Newton's 1st Law. The...

Finally 27 motors ignited! There is this unfortunate detail about the E12 in the core exploding. Here you can see the core motor partially ejected with the upper booster mount shearing on the left booster. The explosion of the core E12 caused the 2nd stage to pop out like a Champaign cork...

The quick fuse method I've been experimenting with is working great on my Falcon 9 with ~99% ignition in the last 15 flights. It's basically a version of the spider method & the clubs I've launched with have not had a problem with it. So I'm just dealing with getting three igniters to light...

Yeah, I've read quite a bit on the flash pan approach. One comment stood out: that the flash pan technique is "hard on rockets". This Falcon Heavy would require three flash pans or a really big flash pan. I'm really trying to find a new way to do clusters. As I mentioned, the 9 cluster...

I think only the left booster igniter actually worked. In this video the delay for the right booster is obvious. 27 clusters are hard,..

Well it has been over a year since the last attempt to fly this model. Last weekend I tried once again. I've been launching and learning with my Falcon 9 and I thought maybe I had enough lessons learned to give it a shot. A key innovation has been the use of quick fuse instead of multiple...

It finally worked! This is the 22nd flight of my scratch built SpaceX Falcon 9 Crew Dragon Build. This launch was at the ROCKONN club launch on 10/21/2023 http://www.rockonn.org/team.html. This flight was a complete success. All 9 motors in the first stage and the single motor in the second...