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Also Dave. I'm the other guy he had to get reviewed at the same time as you.

David.

What kind of rocket and motor are you flying for the cert? I have a 7.5" V2 going up on an M650, and hopefully coming down in a historically inaccurate fashion.
 
What kind of rocket and motor are you flying for the cert? I have a 7.5" V2 going up on an M650, and hopefully coming down in a historically inaccurate fashion.

I have a 5.5 inch Madcow Black Brandt II going up on an M1297. Right now and until the heat index on weekends is less than 90, it will be known as the Green Brandt II. It should go about 9500-9700ft.

It shouldn't be an issue, but I got my ham license and a Telemetrum TeleGPS to keep an eye on it.

David
 
I have a 5.5 inch Madcow Black Brandt II going up on an M1297. Right now and until the heat index on weekends is less than 90, it will be known as the Green Brandt II. It should go about 9500-9700ft.

It shouldn't be an issue, but I got my ham license and a Telemetrum TeleGPS to keep an eye on it.

David

Oooh, I like a good Black Brandt..that should be sweet. Tracking is a good idea if for no other reason than the potential of a trip to the Sorghum!

I have an EggFinder and a 70cm 100mW BRB Rf Beacon in mine. My biggest tracking fear is main coming out at apogee. Decent under main from apogee would be about 15 fps from 10000 ft, which means an 11+ minute decent...that will be far.
 
Decent under main from apogee would be about 15 fps from 10000 ft, which means an 11+ minute decent...that will be far.

That is one of my fears that drove the ham license. I read about the guy here that lost his L3 rocket due to lost tracking.

My other worry is keeping up with the nose cone. I'm using a freebag deployment at 1K ft, so I hope it doesn't get away. The teleGPS will stay with the more expensive half of the rocket.

David
 
That is one of my fears that drove the ham license. I read about the guy here that lost his L3 rocket due to lost tracking.

My other worry is keeping up with the nose cone. I'm using a freebag deployment at 1K ft, so I hope it doesn't get away. The teleGPS will stay with the more expensive half of the rocket.

David

You should be fine on the NC. It can't be that far from the other section.
 
At the very least, if the nose does drift an unexpected distance away, you should have a pretty good line to follow.
 
Having seen Jeff (PokerJones) after a trip through the sorghum, I hope none of y'all's rockets involve sorghum.
 
Well, crap. It'll be another week before I get my first flight of the year in. It's a little weird to be rained out in August.
 
Well, crap. It'll be another week before I get my first flight of the year in. It's a little weird to be rained out in August.

Well double crap ! I'm in shock, in denial, in continent ! It was not a pretty sight at the site. The cows looked like pigs in a wallow.
 
Haven't cancelled Saturday Aug26 at Gunter yet. Field was practicable today but any more precip between now and then...
 
Yesterday's launch was rather amazing, weather-wise. Don't know that we'll ever have another August launch with 80 degrees and a light breeze.

I made my obligatory sacrifice to the rocket gods with a minimum diameter AT D10 job. A 10" rocket is hard to see at 2000'.
 
Okay okay, so I can't wait any longer. Please please let us know how your Airfest projects went!!!
 
Okay okay, so I can't wait any longer. Please please let us know how your Airfest projects went!!!

7.5 V2: Good news, recovered ok. Bad news, made stupid decision on Mobius camera placement...spun like a freaking top on the way up...Main out at apogee (led to failed cert). Good news, get to try again, and know pretty much what the problems were.

54 CF Mongoose on Loki L1400: 18345 ft at Mach 2.1 (personal alt record). Notes: Partially melted/peeled decals, partial delamination of one fin tip2tip (due to a previously unknown flaw in the underlying layer it appears), EF kept lock for all but Mach portion of flight.

Go Devil 38 on Loki K627: 16871 ft at Mach 2.3 (1750 mph, personal speed record). Notes: Took off like a scalded cat as it only weighed 5 lbs on the pad. Almost completely melted/peeled decals, pitting down leading edge of all fins, Clear coat "flowed" during flight (rocket looks wavy now in direct sun) EF-mini kept lock for all but Mach portion of flight. Also, (RANT ON) Almost all internal parts were 3d printed in PETG including: charge wells, internal motor retainer/drogue bulkhead, NC bulkhead/EF-mini sled, and altimeter sled...tired of hearing that 3D printed parts aren't tough enough for extreme flights. They are if you engineer them correctly and use the right material (RANT OVER).

3D printer spool rocket (name: Bad Idea 3) on an AT I115W: Flew great, but drilled the delay too short and stripped chute on last half second of thrust. Broke spool on landing, motor case ok...was only ever going to fly once to prove it would work, so no loss as I had about $2 in the rocket.

Entirely 3D Printed Spin fin rocket on an Estes D12 (name: Bad Idea 2): Worked flawlessly as it was actually intended to spin like a top...gave V2 bad ideas about how to get attention though.

Moral victory: No Sunburn!

Lame occurrence: Flat tire on Sunday, so drove home at 60 mph on Monday. Even oldsters were flipping me off...not a joke, a lady of at least 85 (probably 90) gave me the finger.

Conclusions: Definitely, going back next year. Another L3 attempt likely in spring, probably at Hearne...thinking about a Loki M1200SF or an AT M1297W.

Final note: My kids decide when a rocket is part of my "Bad Idea Series". The Baby Bertha with duel 18mm motor mounts was "Bad Idea 1". It flew about 20 times, burned on the rod 3 or 4 when only one motor lit, and suffered all manner of recovery mishap, and self inflicted crisping of the motor mounts before finally diving into the pond at Gunter after separating at Apogee. I have a few more potential "Bad Ideas" on the drawing board at the moment. Other than the MD fast stuff, these are my favorite rockets.
 
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Cool. Any video?

Got some stills of the V2 and one of Jeff's that I'll get ready in the next week or so. There is a video of the V2 from someone else that will illustrate the flying top. I will also have the on board video, but I suspect it will be sickening to watch given the rpm's this thing reached. I'll post when they are processed.
 
Okay okay, so I can't wait any longer. Please please let us know how your Airfest projects went!!!

My Black Brandt II (still currently known as the Green Brandt) made a successful flight on the M1297W I bought from you a few months ago. L3 achieved!

Black Brandt II - 4.jpg
D Smith L-3b.jpg

David
 
Excellent! What altitude?

7300 ft. That was quite a bit lower than the simulation, but there are a few probable causes that don't disqualify the cert. The most likely are the möbius camera, the unpainted surface, and the big wad of duct tape covering the metal tip of the nose cone. I'll take it, though!

David
 
the big wad of duct tape covering the metal tip of the nose cone.

I did see something about metal tip needed to be painted, no exceptions for Airfest. I'm sure there's a good reason, but have not figured it out. Anyone know why they required them to be painted?

Is this a TRA or NAR rule I somehow missed in my study for the L2 test?
 
I did see something about metal tip needed to be painted, no exceptions for Airfest. I'm sure there's a good reason, but have not figured it out. Anyone know why they required them to be painted?

Is this a TRA or NAR rule I somehow missed in my study for the L2 test?

I believe it has something to do with the wishes of the landowners, and not a TRA or NAR rule. In any event Bob says cover it, so it gets covered.
 
I believe it has something to do with the wishes of the landowners, and not a TRA or NAR rule. In any event Bob says cover it, so it gets covered.

Right. Pointy pieces of metal can puncture tractor tires and mess with expensive implements. The farmers don't want to see them.
 
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