Lost grrrrr wind

[CharlaineC]

Well today was the first decent day with little to no wind so i decided to go fly. i took three with me my frick n frack, my zep works glider, and my asp v2. I figuared i would use up the cpl motors i had found while cleaning my office/ build room. well the v2 flew like a dream into the little wind and came down cleanly. the zep works glider flew better then expected. really need to trim her to make fetter circles . heck of a walk lol. and then their was the frick n frack. Boosted beautifully seperated thats when the problems started. the winds picked up and off the booster went then the sustainer. lost sight and the rocket. First major loss in a long time so i guess i'm ok just sad to loos her. looks like at some poit jim is gonna get an order from me.

 

[JAL3]

When I first got started back as a BAR, the loss of a rocket was no big deal and expected as "the cost of doing buisiness". Now each loss is a traumatic experience. I hate to lose em.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[CharlaineC]

thanks i think the worse thing was that it was a sudden thing. i mean out of no where wind. had i went their and the wind was gusty I would have not been so upset.

 

[Gillard]

back when i first started rocketry, i used to lose one in every three to four flights - but i used to but the biggest motor possible and fly in a small field surounded by trees.
now i really hate losing rockets, and tend to fly much more sensibly.

 

[user 13]

I'm sorry for your loss. I always expect rocket loss. Part of the hobby but that does not make it easier.

Come to a CMASS launch this year, Jim is there at most of them and usually has stock with him.

 

[CharlaineC]

thinking bout cmass this year. though i'll most likely work on getting another one soon. the hobbie store i use sometimes. stocks jims kits so

 

[MarkII]

My sympathies for the loss of your rocket. I feel the same way about them that John does. I have spent hours searching for paper rockets that cost me next to nothing to make. Losing one as cool as the Frick 'N Frack must make it worse. The fact that it happens doesn't make it any easier to accept.

What is this zep works glider that you also launched?

MarkII

 

[CharlaineC]

here is the linkage zep works glider build thread I built two the first one as the instructions stated like gillard had it break in two his during launch and just on triming for me. The second i built with the added specks as listed.

 

[Night Tripper]

Sorry for your loss.

Two weeks ago, I left a Baby Bertha dangling atop a Sweetgum tree. Even though the little rocket only cost me about four bucks (w/ my Hobby Lobby coupon), I hated to go home. It was like giving up on a lost pet.

 

[jflis]

Bummer!

And to think I state in the description of this kit that the only way you can loose it is if you fly it into a wood chipper...

Still have a couple in stock and more laser cut parts on their way to rebuild inventory, so we should be all set there.

 

[Handeman]

I understand how you feel about losing one. I lost two out of four at the last launch. One I know exactly where it is in the top of a lone oak tree. The other was my Kraken. I hate losing it, but I also feel pretty stupid about it because this is the second one I lost in the same manner. The first one came with a large black chute and it never came down on a hot summer day. It was last seen gaining altitude over some woods a quarter mile away. The second one came with a slightly smaller orange chute. It was a breezy, but cool day. I figured I would have a walk, but I wasn't too worried. Turns out it came down to about 400 ft and never got any lower. The last it was seen was by the guys with binocular and it was at least a half mile away. If I ever get another Kraken, it will have a streamer or maybe a 12" chute with a 3" spill hole.

 

[MarkII]

Wow, those must have been some wicked thermals, Handeman! I have never seen a rocket actually gain altitude while it was on chute.

MarkII

 

[CharlaineC]

black chuts are horable for that.

 

[Gillard]

Wow, those must have been some wicked thermals, Handeman! I have never seen a rocket actually gain altitude while it was on chute.

MarkII

My friends VMX space plane found a thermal as it went over some dark trees and that just lifted away - never to be seen again

 

[jflis]

Wow, those must have been some wicked thermals, Handeman! I have never seen a rocket actually gain altitude while it was on chute.

MarkII

I've seen that quite often at summer competitions... The funniest was a parachute duration model that got down to about 10 feet from the ground with the owner following under it. He walked that model all the way across the field before it started to gain altitude again and it was lost... Got a great time on it though

 

[dwmzmm]

I can relate to a boost glider that got lost, not mine, but George Gassaway's,
back in the early 1980's in Louisiana. George sent some models to be flown
via proxy at a Regional meet I was hosting, and one event was the B B/G. His
model (I think it was named either Lum Duck or Ruptured Duck) was rather
large and clunky, and used a B6-2 for boost. I remember thinking as I prepped this model "There's NO WAY this B/G is going to stay up very long."
Perhaps George only wanted to get a qualified flight. Well, the B/G was launched, very nice and straight with a smooth arc over and pod separation,
followed by nice transition to glide. What followed was a wide, lazy glide
pattern. Then, it became obvious that instead of slowly sinking during the glide, it was definitely slowly gaining altitude and even began to speed up!
We (among those timing were myself, John Pursley and Rob Justis) watched
it for a good while, still climbing higher and higher as well as moving further and further down range, until we couldn't see it anymore. Then, it was up to
me to write that dreaded letter of "regret" to George to tell him his B/G was
MIA

 

[MarkII]

Well, I have only read about thermals; I have never seen one affect the descent of a rocket or glider. We don't get all that much hot weather around here; perhaps that explains it. Also, there isn't a whole lot of flat terrain, either. (I don't know if that makes a difference.)

Winds, though, are another story...

MarkII