Customized Madcow 2.6" *Super Pike XL-54* maiden flight photos and videos

[Porkchap]

2.6" x 71" tall. Redundant dual deploy (two Missileworks RRC2L's in an SMT Designs custom av bay), FWFG Wildman nosecone with aluminum tip, onboard HD camera. Dual GPS transponders. 54mm motor mount.

Maiden Flight:
Motor - CTI L805
Altitude - 12,621 feet (2.39 miles)
Max Velocity - Mach 1.51 (approx. 1192 mph)
Touchdown distance from launch site - 1.61 miles
Landing site - Occupied dwelling roof (whoopsie daisy)

The homeowner was a good sport about it, especially after I sent him some great aerial shots of his home and neighborhood.





Main chute deployment is at 3:20

 

[Porkchap]

Screenshot 659 is looking due north. Where the coastline juts out to the east (top right of photo) is Cape Canaveral. If you zoom in closely on the cape, you can just make out a massive white box of a building (looks like a small, low cloud near the water's edge). That is the 55-story Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center 46 miles away.

 

[Porkchap]

My 74-year old dear sweet mother - who's never been to a launch - casually pulled out her iPhone that she barely knows how to use and snapped this perfectly timed, million-dollar hi-res photo of the liftoff. Nice work, Ma!

 

[Porkchap]

Way, way OB here.

 

[Fattbank64]

Excellent video.

Did the drogue deploy correctly? Shroud lines appear detached after rocket landing.

 

[Wrightme43]

Thank you!

 

[Porkchap]

Excellent video.

Did the drogue deploy correctly? Shroud lines appear detached after rocket landing.

A most astute observation. A couple actually pulled loose at deployment. I only like drogues for stabilizing the forward section during decent because it makes for much better video. But then I end up over a half mile Out of Bounds and I have to explain to a confused cop and a concerned homeowner that the rocket was in fact Ma's and I told her not to go that high but she doesn't LISTEN!

 

[MarsLander]

Way, way OB here.

YIKES!!!

 

[Porkchap]

YIKES!!!

Yeah, I have to start factoring in wind speed and direction a lot more when flying these small, lightweight rockets to these altitudes. Over a mile and a half with this one and my Hyper54 came down drogueless from 13.6k' recently and still drifted a mile and a third (main at 700').

 

[Porkchap]

Looking southwest across central Florida where some of the most fertile soils on the planet exist. Fun Fact: all of the ground surface you can see in this frame is at 12 feet above seal level or less.

 

[Porkchap]

One second after separation looking straight down to the launch site smoke.


Southern Brevard County from the launch site to the Atlantic Ocean 12 miles away. Booster in lower left.


The backup apogee charge put on a little show. I never measure these charges out anymore. My method is to fill the charge well all the way up, use a long shock cord, and blast away.


Cool shot looking up at the Pike's booster with its rakish split-fin design, smoke trail in the background.

 

[2-0turbo]

Fantastic images. What are you using as a camera?

 

[Porkchap]

Fantastic images. What are you using as a camera?

Just a $60 Mobius Mini and a cheap styrene shroud from Apogee.

 

[Porkchap]

One of the few photos I found with the rocket in view. Shout out to my man Bernie Lalime (on right). He’s my motor guy, dispenser of unwise rocketry advice, teller of bad jokes, operator of a shady business, and my good friend.

 

[rfjustin]

One of the few photos I found with the rocket in view. Shout out to my man Bernie Lalime (on right). He’s my motor guy, dispenser of unwise rocketry advice, teller of bad jokes, operator of a shady business, and my good friend.View attachment 626046

That photo is the best evidence of why HPR is so damn fun and addicting. Get out to launches folks, have you some fun and connect with people!

 

[Porkchap]

That photo is the best evidence of why HPR is so damn fun and addicting. Get out to launches folks, have you some fun and connect with people!

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