ELIMINATOR, gone, but not forgotten

[spacecowboy]

I had a chance to get to the "big" fields in Tx for Christmas, a park one mile long on each side.
winds, SW, 20+, a bit much, however I packed the rox for the trip, and it was in the high 60's, Send 'em up

I launched from the farthest SW corner.

Eliminator, E9-6, on a small 12" unvented chute . Straight up, even in that wind. Out of sight, until I saw the reco puff. This thing clears the NE corner of the park, plus 3 or 4 blocks in the local 'hood (I chased it, until I realized it's "salute time"). So, approx 1.5 miles away, and like major minutes of hang time. Lost it.

Couple of questions, which have probably already been answered.
1) a square mile field is too small for this ?
2) E9-6 was too much ?
3) Unvented chutes in a heavy wind do the Bernoulli, obviously ? (I've usually cut holes in the chutes). NEVER seen hang time like that one.

p.s. Gives some major re-structuring to my idea of flying a lower 1/2 of Stormcaster bach-job on F's. It weighs about the same thing as Elim does (oh, sorry, did).

 

[Stymye]

sounds like "heavy wind" is the keyword on that one
I have launched the Eliminator on E's and recovered it fairly close to the pad but not my favorite for windy days...thats a pretty high flier

still one of my favorites any other time

 

[NewEntity1]

There was one Eliminator launch last Saturday at the local club launch. It was only on a D12, and yet still was one of the highest flyers that day (although not thee highest flyer that day )

 

[cls]

spacecowboy - don't forget, the wind you feel on the ground is somewhat less than what's up at altitude. so that 20 mph might have been 25 or 30 up at 1800' where your big E went. big hang time like that almost sounds like thermals.

other options -

add weight to the nose;

fly smaller motor & shorter delay. C11s are great for that.

you cut holes in a small chute, why not go all the way and just put a couple streamers on it? I got a lifetime supply of streamers for $1.29 at the hardware store, look for the bright orange plastic tape next to the marking chalk.

get another hobby for those 20 mph days, like sailing! or one of those kite buggies, yeah!!

fly saucers! we're having loads of fun with saucers. I have to admit I did not think saucers would be fun. my initial thought was "what a waste of a good motor". but they are big, fun to decorate, use big motors & make good noise, but best of all they won't fly away or be a snack for sharp fanged rocket eating trees.

 

[rbeckey]

I must agree about saucers and windy days. A 10 inch Applewhite saucer on a G64 is simply awesome. It seldom lands more than a few yards from the pad.

 

[Neil]

LOL! You lost it on an E9.... Amature!

I lost MINE on an F21-6W! It shot up and a rocket god snatched it. Only one lost that day, and boy was it a cool flight!

This was all at the biggest field in New England!

 

[BlueNinja]

I was gonna get an Eliminator today.... Guess not! I don't really like high fliers, too easy to lose. Then again, there's nothing like the roar of a G... Maybe when I get more experience recovering. Going to go check out the Applewhite saucers, you guys got me convinced.

 

[Neil]

I havent bought any saucers. I make my own. Just take a drawing compass, draw a 4" circle, or, for a B powerd saucer, an 8" one, and cut a small chunk out. Look on the art appelwhite page and look at his free plan for a visual aid. just cut a hole in the middle (.75" for a 13MM, 1" for a 18MM) of the ring for the motor mount. cut a 3.5" circle just as you did the first time. Bring the sides together (you cut a piece out like you would a pie. then you bend it it back together), and put some duct-tape on em. Then repeat with the bottom. Then duct-tape the top and bottom together. Roll a piece of paper around a motor, tape the tube together so it stays, and slide it into the saucer, and tape it there. It heps to cut a small triangle out of the inside of the saucer, right next to the motor. Do this on both top and bottom, and it will make a decent launch-lug. Voala!! A nice flying, pretty bad looking flying saucer for about $.10 worth of stuff. If anyone wants I can send a pattern to them trough Email. I cant post .Docs to TRF. HTH. -Neil

 

[BlueNinja]

I was wanting a 29mm version. Hmm... Wonder how big that'd be for 29mm... If it would be strong enough. 20 bucks sounds like a pretty good price, I will probably buy one. I will also try Neil's design.

 

[Neil]

Well, I would go with 10" in diameter, and cut it out of an old cereal box, and use a LOT of duct tape, that or Epoxy. That should work fine. I am gonna make one like that. Ill post pics. You could make double-layer of cereal boxes. Thatd work.

 

[BlueNinja]

Can you send me one of those patterns? I'll make one next weekend if possible.

 

[Neil]

Ill need your Email. It wont let me use the form....

 

[RocketboyG80]

Spacecowboy, I would use a streamer for that kit if I were you. I usually buy mylar streamers from apogeerockets.com and cut them to the right size. For a rocket like the Eliminator I would use a 1.5" x 30" size streamer. Now this is just me, and I am known to use some very small recovery devices. People often comment at launches "He's only using a streamer on that?" I've used mylar streamers no bigger than 3" x 50" for rockets weighing almost a pound. I have yet to damage a rocket in the slightest way doing this, maybe I'm just lucky, but they sure land close by.

 

[PWALPOCO]

Spacecowboy,

My freinds and I lauched over the weekend , the conditions were excellent as there was virtually no wind. We guess 5 mph MAX though more likely no more than 2-3mph , it was very calm.

Our highest flying birds that day were only rated for 1000ft , just over 300m as we were on a small field. With a regular chute , I think about 12inches , these were drifting about 500m. Over 1.5 times the altitude. Even using vented chutes we only reduced the drift by 100m or so.

I dont know the altitude your Elim got to , but Im guessing once you factor in the wind speed you reported the drift you mention doesnt seem unreasonable.

This is a lesson myself and the others in my "newbie" group are
quickly learning ........ you can NEVER have enough space. We are looking again at our limited options .......

Paul