60 Acres Park, Redmond, WA (Seattle area)

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It was a fun afternoon. I flew a few more after Ken and the rest of the folks with him left. Unfortunately that included a D12-5 CATO that wiped out my Green Eggs on its 35th flight. Fins scattered over a 20-foot radius and nothing else much left of the bottom 6-8 inches of it. The charred top of the motor mount is still up in the body. I didn’t find the motor hook and I’m sure there are other bits of body tube still on the field as well.

MESS reports filed for that, the A10-0T that blew in the first stage of the Checkmate and the C18-6W that made my Nova Payloader skywrite on its 113th flight (some others of which have been on C18-6Ws).

My wife and I will be at Ocean Shores next Friday, and getting ready for the trip on Sunday (day after tomorrow), so I’ll miss you guys either way. I will, however, be flying rockets a little bit off the beaches there. I have an Alpha III with a streamer that‘s been flown there on several occasions in the past, and that won’t be the only thing I’ll take. We’ll have kites, too…for days when it’s too windy for rockets.

I have no idea where Ken gets this “world famous” bit…. :rolleyes:
Infamous? :)
 
World Famous Bernard (WFB), sorry we missed the big CATO. Before you arrived Elliot’s first flight of the day CATO’d. It was an Estes E12 and was quite spectacular, unfortunately no one was filming. It destroyed the rocket and I think an altimeter or Astrocam. Elliot also lost an Astrocam in the river. I lost my scratch built Shipping Tube. I made a mess of my Richter Recker and made a lawn dart of my Der Stretch Red Max. It was a bad day for quarter inch launch rods. Other flights were great, though.

I’ve posted a video of my Monster rocket in the Estes FB group and more videos to come. I’ll post here as well when I have time.

Sorry we want see you next Friday, but have fun at the beach!
 
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We had some fun out there with the TARC team today, but not a lot. Their second flight weathercocked weirdly off the pad and landed in the river. The payload bay (with a still-beeping Pnut!) was recovered fairly close by. The fin can made it a mile and a half downstream to just before where 202 crosses the river before we fished it out with my long painter's pole. On the plus side, the body tubes are all student-rolled carbon fiber, so everything should be fine once it dries out.
 
We had some fun out there with the TARC team today, but not a lot. Their second flight weathercocked weirdly off the pad and landed in the river. The payload bay (with a still-beeping Pnut!) was recovered fairly close by. The fin can made it a mile and a half downstream to just before where 202 crosses the river before we fished it out with my long painter's pole. On the plus side, the body tubes are all student-rolled carbon fiber, so everything should be fine once it dries out.
I’m impressed you chased it down river!
 
Friday is Fly Day at 60 Acres! I'm planning on being there by noon, earlier if I can manage it. If someone is planning on being there earlier, please let me know, that'll inspire me!

Let's see how many launch rods I can launch!
 
Here ya go! The famed Flying Launch Rods!

I had a Mega Vortico take a 3/16" rod with it. Flown it many times, this was the first time that happened. Scary, as the rod separated and landed nearby. I'm thinking I gave it too much rod (maybe 18") and the twisting motion bound it up. Was using a cato-eligible Qjet E26. Flew it again a few weeks later and supported it about 9" from the top. That seemed OK.

Hans.
 
I had a Mega Vortico take a 3/16" rod with it. Flown it many times, this was the first time that happened. Scary, as the rod separated and landed nearby. I'm thinking I gave it too much rod (maybe 18") and the twisting motion bound it up. Was using a cato-eligible Qjet E26. Flew it again a few weeks later and supported it about 9" from the top. That seemed OK.

Hans.
I have seen this happen to other people's vortico's as well. I think it puts a lot of torque on the rod and if things aren't just right it'll grab.
 
We're planning on braving the cold at 60 Acres tomorrow, Sunday afternoon if anyone is up for joining us... Wind is forecast to be light and skies clear.
 
It was a lovely day out at 60 Acres. A little cold, but full sun, clear skies, and light winds. I got off one flight, the TARC team sent up 5 and I think diagnosed the issue with wild weather cocking.

Several other groups were out including a few sending up 2-stagers. Good day for high flights.
 
Beautiful day at 60 acres at least six groups of rocketeers, innumerable RC planes and one powered paraglider videos to follow
 

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Flew my Big Mamma today for the second time. Got some great onboard video from my Runcam, first time I’ve used it, very impressive quality. Just taped it to one fin.

This is the first rocket that I’ve more or less designed, rather than just thrown together. Used Openrocket.

The motor/fin unit is exchangeable. This first one is a single 29 mm engine (and F27 in this case). I’ll be making 2 engine and 3 engine 29 mm units and a 4 engine 18 mm unit (max that will fit in a 3 inch tube ).

It’s not really intended for altitude, I like low and slow, It with 3 engines, it should, nonetheless, go pretty high.

I knew the swivels that I had on hand wouldn’t be strong enough,so I used two - and they still broke! Partially because the shock cord tangled so it was too short. I’ll be reexamining how I do this. But nothing busted, so all good!
Videography by Alex and Runcam.



 

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I saw that fly from across the field and thought it was a 2-stage that didn't light. The separation was majestic with the upper body tube heading straight up.

Did you Z-fold the shock cord when you put it in the body tube? That has always saved me from big tangles.
 
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