Due to my underestimation of deployment charges AND too small of a drogue (won't do that again), my 85# 9" Patriot took a swan dive. Apogee deployment-1, main-0.
Because of the small drogue, all the sections cam down horizontally, fast. I seem to have landed in the only rock hard ground to be found at Higgs Farm.
The g-forces of the landing damaged every section heavily.
When I approached the site I could hear the alitimerers reporting. They were mounted in an old GLR aluminum housing. The av bay was unharmed. The g-forces were such the printed sleds broke along the center, batteries broke away but wires still connected. The 10-32 SS rods were bent. Hell, all the rods in the vehicle were bent and the batteries were dented from the Gs.
When I did postmortem at my shop, all the altimeters were were intact, data retrieved and no error reporting all the while STILL bolted to the broken sleds.
I've used Perfectflite for most of my hobby years and convinced I'll stay with them.
Early on I had not-so-good sealing of my first av bays and the charges damaged the barometric sensors. Peter fixed them twice, for the postage back to me.
That is service!
Because of the small drogue, all the sections cam down horizontally, fast. I seem to have landed in the only rock hard ground to be found at Higgs Farm.
The g-forces of the landing damaged every section heavily.
When I approached the site I could hear the alitimerers reporting. They were mounted in an old GLR aluminum housing. The av bay was unharmed. The g-forces were such the printed sleds broke along the center, batteries broke away but wires still connected. The 10-32 SS rods were bent. Hell, all the rods in the vehicle were bent and the batteries were dented from the Gs.
When I did postmortem at my shop, all the altimeters were were intact, data retrieved and no error reporting all the while STILL bolted to the broken sleds.
I've used Perfectflite for most of my hobby years and convinced I'll stay with them.
Early on I had not-so-good sealing of my first av bays and the charges damaged the barometric sensors. Peter fixed them twice, for the postage back to me.
That is service!