FastCargo
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2011
- Messages
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After finally getting some cooler weather and rain, we were able to do some local launching at the nearby school. Even so, we didn't start until almost 6PM to take advantage of the setting sun.
This launch was a bit unusual in that except for one rocket, all the rest were "first flights". The field was unoccupied, however, the wind was a little more crosswise to the long axis of the field than usual, so that influenced flight decisions on certain rockets.
On to the flights...photos are here:
Photo album link
I did something new with the camera...setting up the SLR on a tripod and starting the rapid fire picture mode at T-1 on the countdown (since I was launching and taking photos simultaneously). It worked pretty well, only a few rockets were missed on launch. But since the launch was late in the day, the shutter speeds were slower than I like.
Semroc Micron - 1/2A3-4T (no photo) - Modded Micron to fly with 13mm engines. Nice, straight flight and good recovery.
Semroc SAM-3 - A10-3T - Modded SAM-3 to fly with 13mm engines and streamer recovery. Another nice flight...perfect small field flight.
Estes Mini Honest John - A10-3T (no photo) - Modded rocket to use streamer recovery and .2 oz of clay in the nose based on OR sim. Good flight with a bit of 'coning' on the way up. Proper deployment of streamer...on ground contact, nose stuck in ground about 1/2 inch. 1 fin broke at root...but not sure if that due to ground contact or 6 year old being over enthusiastic on recovery effort. Easy repair.
Estes Mini Honest John (mod) - 1/2A3-2T (no photo) - Modded rocket with streamer recovery, airframe layout like original Honest John design (bigger fins, slightly longer BT), and recessed engine mount. No nose weight. Nice flight, uneventful recovery.
Estes Mini Max - 1/2A3-4T - Stock, nice flight.
Estes Space Eagle - B6-0 / 1/2A3-4T - Modded to a two stage like others have done. 18mm to 13mm staging similar to Estes Solar Flare. No nose weight needed. Nice flight, but 2nd stage went significantly higher than I expected. Floated into short tree just outside field...recovered, no damage.
Estes Solar Flare - B6-0 / 1/2A3-4T - Stock. Rocket went cruise missile early in flight before staging. There was enough upward vector after staging that rocket was able to deploy chute before landing in trees just outside field. Recovered, no damage. Reading reviews, it seems this rocket is inconsistently stable among builders...will add some nose weight to increase stable margin.
Estes Mercury Redstone (ST-20 tube based, skill level 4 version) - C6-3 (No photo)- Not flown due to light and wind conditions.
Estes Mercury Redstone (ST-20 tube based, skill level 2 version) - C6-3 (No photo)- Not flown due to light and wind conditions.
Semroc Astron Transport - C6-3 (No photo) - Not flown due to light and wind conditions.
Estes Vector Force - B6-2 - Heavily modified into sport scale Black Brant 12. Great, straight flight with nice close recovery. A fun rocket for the future.
Estes Stormcaster - B6-2 - Used engine adapter to fly with B6-2. Good flight with nice recovery. Perfect for small field demo with slow liftoff, appropriate recovery deployment at apogee, and good, traditional 'pointy' rocket appearance.
FSI Black Brant II clone - D12-5 - Clone of FSI kit, with 'sport scale' changes, including deletion of forward wire antennas and no fin/root edge 'gaps'. Flew with D12-5 to have lower chute deployment altitude. Chute was very late to open (flopped around for a while) so rocket came down quickly but landed sideways. Only minor paint scratch on one fin and upper BT.
Overall good day of flying and good 'break in' of new rockets.. Also, a very good validation of OR simulations. For those models that I ran an OR sim on with their actual empty weights, they flew very close to OR specs. It increases my confidence in using OR for future designs
FC
This launch was a bit unusual in that except for one rocket, all the rest were "first flights". The field was unoccupied, however, the wind was a little more crosswise to the long axis of the field than usual, so that influenced flight decisions on certain rockets.
On to the flights...photos are here:
Photo album link
I did something new with the camera...setting up the SLR on a tripod and starting the rapid fire picture mode at T-1 on the countdown (since I was launching and taking photos simultaneously). It worked pretty well, only a few rockets were missed on launch. But since the launch was late in the day, the shutter speeds were slower than I like.
Semroc Micron - 1/2A3-4T (no photo) - Modded Micron to fly with 13mm engines. Nice, straight flight and good recovery.
Semroc SAM-3 - A10-3T - Modded SAM-3 to fly with 13mm engines and streamer recovery. Another nice flight...perfect small field flight.
Estes Mini Honest John - A10-3T (no photo) - Modded rocket to use streamer recovery and .2 oz of clay in the nose based on OR sim. Good flight with a bit of 'coning' on the way up. Proper deployment of streamer...on ground contact, nose stuck in ground about 1/2 inch. 1 fin broke at root...but not sure if that due to ground contact or 6 year old being over enthusiastic on recovery effort. Easy repair.
Estes Mini Honest John (mod) - 1/2A3-2T (no photo) - Modded rocket with streamer recovery, airframe layout like original Honest John design (bigger fins, slightly longer BT), and recessed engine mount. No nose weight. Nice flight, uneventful recovery.
Estes Mini Max - 1/2A3-4T - Stock, nice flight.
Estes Space Eagle - B6-0 / 1/2A3-4T - Modded to a two stage like others have done. 18mm to 13mm staging similar to Estes Solar Flare. No nose weight needed. Nice flight, but 2nd stage went significantly higher than I expected. Floated into short tree just outside field...recovered, no damage.
Estes Solar Flare - B6-0 / 1/2A3-4T - Stock. Rocket went cruise missile early in flight before staging. There was enough upward vector after staging that rocket was able to deploy chute before landing in trees just outside field. Recovered, no damage. Reading reviews, it seems this rocket is inconsistently stable among builders...will add some nose weight to increase stable margin.
Estes Mercury Redstone (ST-20 tube based, skill level 4 version) - C6-3 (No photo)- Not flown due to light and wind conditions.
Estes Mercury Redstone (ST-20 tube based, skill level 2 version) - C6-3 (No photo)- Not flown due to light and wind conditions.
Semroc Astron Transport - C6-3 (No photo) - Not flown due to light and wind conditions.
Estes Vector Force - B6-2 - Heavily modified into sport scale Black Brant 12. Great, straight flight with nice close recovery. A fun rocket for the future.
Estes Stormcaster - B6-2 - Used engine adapter to fly with B6-2. Good flight with nice recovery. Perfect for small field demo with slow liftoff, appropriate recovery deployment at apogee, and good, traditional 'pointy' rocket appearance.
FSI Black Brant II clone - D12-5 - Clone of FSI kit, with 'sport scale' changes, including deletion of forward wire antennas and no fin/root edge 'gaps'. Flew with D12-5 to have lower chute deployment altitude. Chute was very late to open (flopped around for a while) so rocket came down quickly but landed sideways. Only minor paint scratch on one fin and upper BT.
Overall good day of flying and good 'break in' of new rockets.. Also, a very good validation of OR simulations. For those models that I ran an OR sim on with their actual empty weights, they flew very close to OR specs. It increases my confidence in using OR for future designs
FC
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. Modified it to take Estes 24mm engines...though I think there is enough room in the tailcone section to take 29mm engines. Also, saved some money by just buying the full length tubes and cutting them myself, deleting the payload section, and cutting the fins myself from some 3/16 basswood I had already.
