Jumping Back In With Three Feet!

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deandome

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Big plans for my first launches since 2014 next weekend (5/22 & 23)! Joined NAR, cuz the this launch is is the NAR club, WOOSH. Tripoli WI launches there too, but not for another month.

The plan is to do Level 1 AND 2 certs in the same day. I have 3 birds ready (see pic below). the reverse-fin Gizmo has flown, the Wildman DD & PML Matrix (12" tube added to payload section for DD) have not. Those were mostly built 7 years ago, but are now good to go....I'll pretty-up the Matrix with paint, but probably fly the Wildman 'naked'.

I'm all set for Level 1 motors; I have these well-'seasoned' options on hand, left over from the olde days:
  • H152 Blue Streak
  • H123 Skidmark
  • I284 White Lightning
  • I225 FastJack
  • I180 Skidmark
Haven't decided whether to cert Level 1 on the Matrix or Wildman; leaning towards Wildman because I know it'll fly straight & true, where the Matrix has so many fins & so much fin-'area', I'd be a little leery of weathercocking (though rocksim shows it being safe for that). I hope they'll allow sparky motors; it's been dry here, but the runway at bong isn't brown or anything.

As for Level 2, since my AGM-78 isn't ready, the only thing I can use that won't hit 4000-5000'+ is the Gizmo, cuz it's fat & it weighs 6.2 lbs empty!! That's cuz there's a LOT of nose weight, way more than normal (maybe more than actually needed), as the reverse swept fins changes the balance & cp (I imagine) a lot. First flight at a MWP drag race was a bit embarrassing; as it did a bunch of loop-de-loops, but landed undamaged...AFTER that, I added the weight😬! Flew great on a single-grain I599 Warp 9, where I wanted/needed/DID keep it low due to a really tight field. I'll use my 38/720 AT casing or do a disposable motor, as I only have a 1-grain casing in 54mm; it sims out at about 2600-2800 on most Js (4500 on a J450DM!!). Looking at getting a Jolly Logic chute release for this flight, as I don't want to lose it with an apogee chute-deployment.

Whaddya think? Anything jump out at you where, say, one motor/rocket combo would be better or worse than others? Hope to see some of you there!!
Dean

Rockets May 2021.jpg
 
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Should be fun!! I'll be at the WOOSH launch, but just on Saturday the 22nd (unless it's scrubbed....) If you're at Bong on Saturday look for the guy with the orange Formula 98, green Concept 98, 5" Wildman Goblin -- and a few other assorted rockets :) I'm always happy to lend a hand!! I can bring my JLCR if you want to borrow it.


~dave~
 
Thanks for the offer, Dave, but I got a JL chute release delivered today, from Hiawatha Hobbies in Pewaukee; they seem to be out of stock at the TRF sponsors I checked...and I needed to make sure it arrived quickly.

It looks easy, though I'll certainly want some guidance at launch. And it kind of has me tempted to use the Gizmo for Level 1, maybe an I345; a strong kick for stability, but only 1300'. That's so low, it feels like a kind of a cop out...but there's a lot less that can go wrong compared to a DD Wildman @ 2200'.

I'll ponder it over next few days. Also MAYBE I'll rethink going for level 2 the same day. Not cuz of the rocket stuff, but i don't wanna stress out about the written test. I'll play it by ear.
 
UPDATE: dam...where did this 82% chance of rain on Sunday come from?? Might have to scale back my grand plans and pop in for a launch tomorrow instead

getting pumped up!! Despite the strong lure of seeing Dave & picking his brain on Saturday, I have to launch Sunday; no way I could be fully prepped & packed to get to Bong early...which I want to do...tomorrow.

And color me happy...turns out I HAVE valid NAR Level 1 Cert already! I talked to the woman at Iowa HQ, and she said she found my old account and merged them. That calms things down a bit, which is nice right now!!
Here's what I have to do...
  • make squibs for the PML Matrix. will use those vials that come w/AT reloads, got plenty of lighters from the old days
  • Assemble an I225 FJ (matrix or Gizmo) and I284 W (wildman jr. DD). Might buy an I or J single-use for the Gizmo, though
  • I also have Cesseroni I180 Skid and H152 Bluestreak to work into the mix if I want
  • select harness pieces from stuff already prepared from olden days
  • practice more with Marco Polo
  • see if my instant-up tent still works/isn't falling apart from years of misuse. find my mobile work-table, too
  • Fit all this in a BMW X5...I had a massive Nissan Quest minivan in the '08-14 years
If I can fit them in the car, I was gonna bring all my 29mm RMS hardware & lots of reloads....a good amount of 24mm HobbyLine stuff...to sell off at great prices. I will be sticking with 38 & 54mm stuff, and maybe add 75mm later on. I realize I don't have any rockets that can fly on F-G or small H motors, so I'm going to clear it all out....at some point I'll put the stuff I have left in the Yard Sale section.
 
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No launching, but I did go to Bong on Saturday. Got there about 2:30 though (like I said...couldn't do earlier) and saw ONE HP launch; then everyone was packing up. I didn't want to be 'that guy' and it was a pretty steady 10mph or so wind, too. Sunday was out at that point, and pretty cloudy (though no rain...so much for "92%"!!). So I talked to Tim a bit & went to lunch w/son (Bong's only about 20 min away).

But the main reason I didn't launch is because I am/was planning on going to Mini Midwest Power this weekend (probably Saturday). the recovery safety-net of miles of empty farmland is pretty darn alluring. So much so that I bought a J450 Dark Matter motor for my L2 Cert flight!!

But now I see crappy weather forecast for both days...I can only hope it's as accurate as Sunday's forecast was. It's a 2 hour drive; not too bad, not too fun if you go there & can't launch...so I'll play it by ear. The only good thing to come out of this so far is everything's ready to fly; all I need to do is study for written cert-test.
 
No mention of the L2 test. Did you arange to take it. Or do you have proof of passing within the past year? Yes you can just-show-up and someone should be able to administer it, but best to make arrangements.
 
Sorry I missed you! There were a few L2 cert flights on Saturday. The morning was perfect wind wise but they did pick up later in the afternoon and by 2:30 people were pretty much done. I got 2 high-power flights in on Saturday and they both recovered very easily, but they were both before 1pm. Actually now that I think about it the Goblin on the J275 may have been the first flight of the day.

If you believe in weather forecasts...... I just checked out wunderground hourly forecast for Saturday at Princeton. The forecast calls for mid 50s-ish in the AM then up to about 64f in the afternoon. The winds are forecasted to be 8-10mph from the NE / NNE.

Sunday actually looks even better, with winds below 5mph in the afternoon, temps mostly in the 60's and partly cloudy. The forecasts at this point are just educated guesses, but if I had to pick today I would choose Sunday for an L2. Just keep in mind how accurate the weather forecasts are at this point...

Princeton, IL Hourly Weather Forecast | Weather Underground (wunderground.com)
 
Missions accomplished! Sunday was a beautiful day to fly; started off with the DD Matrix, flew great on I-225 FastJack recovery about 150 yards from pad. One glitch; the altimeter's apogee separation charge did not fire, but motor ejection took care of that...and the altimeter obviously fired the chute-charge. So either the squib was bad (it was made 10 years ago) or there's a glitch in the (also old) RRC Mini altimeter. It looked intact/wired properly...I'll have to test it out.

The Gizmo L2 cert flight was perfect; J450 DM with Jolly Logic chute release, launched by Wildman himself! recovery was about 1/4 mile., chute relase @ 500' was ideal. I have a crude video I'll try to post/put screenshot up from, but it was straight as an arrow.

Sadly I didn't have an altimeter attached...I don't own one of the simple ones that aren't used for DD. Almost bought a JL Altimeter One from One Badhawk, who was vending on site....but didn't want to pony up the $$ at the time...but I know it went HIGH!! Gotta run now, but thanks to QCRC and the guys that were so helpful!!!
 
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