Blackbrant does the BIG L-2 in style.

[SS/EA 6BBL 71 Cuda]

I'm surprised it's not posted yet but, our good friend here on the forum had a SUCCESFUL L-2 Cert flight yesterday.

Congratulations young man! :wave:

Now we're on to LDRS where YOU will be under MY watchful eyes...:surprised:

Good Luck. :dark: :lol:

 

[qquake2k]

Congratulations Matt! Can't wait to see photos and video!

 

[K'Tesh]

I don't know why you were boating about it on Facebook, but I guess it that's what floats your boat... :wink:

Congrats on the L2!!!

 

[blackbrandt]

For anyone who hasn't seen it on FB....

Takeoff of my L2 certification flight today!
It's a Kosdon by AT K700. The 1400 N*sec 12% K motor gave me an insanely epic flight to 6429 feet. So now I have my first K motor, my L2 certification, and my first mile shot! Videos incoming soon.
I did my L2 test, and only missed 3 questions. Surprisingly enough, I got all but one of the NFPA questions correct.
I did have a minor problem in the flight.... in my prepping the flight, I accidentally reversed the charge *amounts* for main and drogue. I always have a larger main charge to ensure the main gets out. The higher-than-expected charge at apogee deployed the main at apogee. (Yes, I had sheer pins. Yes, I will be doing more ground testing. And yes, this will fly again.)
As you can expect, this resulted in quite a long walk. 1.15 miles, to be exact. As Hannah and I make the trudge all the way to the rocket, I get a call on my phone. The amazing landowner had picked up my rocket and brought it back to the flightline. Amazing, but Hannah and I had already walked over a mile

So we turn around and head back. I walk back to the rocket at the LCO table, and find it in perfect condition.
Level 2 Baby! Level 3 will happen at LDRS.
Thanks to Alan Whitmore for signing me off.
#milehighclub #quitgigglingatmyhashtag
Photo credits to Hannah Fletcher.

 

[markkoelsch]

Matt, congrats. A girlfriend that will trudge with you to retrieve your rocket...amazing.

 

[GrouchoDuke]

Huge congrats, Matt! That's really awesome.

 

[crossfire]

Great job Matt on your L-2.

 

[Onebadhawk]

A great big congrats to you Matt..

And tell your sister Hannah we all said thanks for the great pics,,, lol...

Teddy

 

[blackjack2564]

Congrats to the Bratz!!!!!

 

[fyrwrxz]

Aww sandpiper-you make this old seagull proud! Congrats, buddy!

 

[DAllen]

Wow...That's definitely doing the L2 in style. Congrats!

 

[noffie79]

Congratulations on the L2!

 

[cvanc]

Hey, congratulations!!

 

[Leo]

Congratulations!

 

[ksaves2]

Congratulations. ONLY 1.15 miles? That's nothing! You could'a done it apogee only to start with and get the cert "in the can".:wink: I'd say young man you
did some mighty fine planning there. Can't say I've switched charges before but I pre-prep my rockets at home when I can. Less stressful and less likely to
have a switch as you experienced. I've "undercharged" before because stupidhead here thought he "remembered" the proper charge load. Not too pretty results either.
Stupidhead finally discovered magic markers learned to write the grams used on the inside of rocket or on the coupler!! (Also have to make sure it gets "refreshed" before
the number wears off too from time to time.)
Kurt Savegnago

 

[boatgeek]

Congratulations! I know from experience a partner who will recover rockets with you is worth their weight in the precious metal of your (or their) choice.

 

[qquake2k]

Awesome flight, Matt! Certainly much more epic than my L2 flight!

 

[blackbrandt]

OK WHOAH CLARIFICATION. HANNAH IS MY SISTER. NOT MY GIRLFRIEND.

 

[qquake2k]

That's even more amazing that a teenage sister will help her brother retrieve a rocket. Good on ya, Hannah!

 

[Nick@JET]

Congrats Matt! Two "mile " stones down - great looking rocket, looking forward to the video. You have an Awesome L3 tap as well!

 

[SS/EA 6BBL 71 Cuda]

OK WHOAH CLARIFICATION. HANNAH IS MY SISTER. NOT MY GIRLFRIEND.

Said respectfully-

Is she single?
Is she at least 18 years old?
Does she have red, reddish, brown or black hair?

My name is "Sugar Daddy"!
I have all my shots and, paperwork to prove i am who i am...and, a decent job.

Seriously though, Congratulations once again young man. Just remember that attention to detail in the build and, prep before a flight is as important as anything can be. What goes up must come down and, with it utter responsibility onto yourself and, the others around you to make sure of this *safely* is always paramount.

See you in about 5 weeks (for the first time). Enjoy the moment!

 

[FMarvinS]

Matt,

Congratulations of the L2. That's a pretty takeoff & a great picture. Is that a wildman 3 inch darkstar? If Alan is your TAP-you're already more than half way to the L3 cert!

Best regards,
Fred
L2, KG4YGP
ROSCO member

 

[AeroAggie]

SWEET! Congrats. Can't wait to see that L3 attempt. :headbang:

 

[Swissyhawk]

Congrats on the L2! I'm just curious, how do you know you swapped charges? At 6000 ft could you see the event? Are you sure it wasn't the wiring that was swapped?

 

[blackbrandt]

I double checked the wiring after the flight. Also, when the rocket was descending, I was able to see both the streamer and the main while the rocket was still at several thousand feet.

Thinking about it in hindsight, it's because I put the larger charge well at the drogue side of the altimeter bay. -_- I need to key up the ebay so it only fits 1 way.

 

[blackbrandt]

Some interesting things have come about after reviewing the altimeter data.... data and screen cap of data are attached.

One person on the Tripoli FB page theorized the following:

What you see is what happens when your rocket goes literally straight up and then begins to fall straight down (forward velocity approaches zero). There is not enough velocity to completely get the laundry in order. By the looks of it, the rocket was in freefall as the shock cord(s)/leashes/bridles stretched out and then there was enough velocity to fully inflate the canopy.

This straight falling backwards is a prime time for entanglement to happen as the rocket can literally fall back down straight into its own recovery system.

This was an interesting theory. However, I reviewed the onboard camera footage:
[video=youtube;v82iaTvVWGQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v82iaTvVWGQ[/video]

The rocket had completely arced over at apogee. Which kind of strikes out the above theory.


Any ideas on what happened?

View attachment KBAK700.rff

 

[DavidMcCann]

wrapped lines?

 

[ksaves2]

I'd think something like that or the main chute took its time getting out of the chute protector after the shearpins broke. With the camera higher up on the main tube the apogee separation can be monitored although you won't catch the main chute generally. I had a rocket where the main didn't get out of the deployment bag and the aft sustainer mounted camera did catch the fouled chute as the laundry flopped around. Fortunately the "flopping" was enough to save the 4" diameter cardboard rocket. Kurt

 

[captbk]

Way to go Matt. You've come a long way. Good luck with L3.

 

[blackbrandt]

Another interesting thing... my very first H motor launch was exactly 3 years before my L2 cert, to the day. Almost to the hour.