Memorable Flights

[Lawndart]

The thread about cert levels got me thinking about the flights I remember the most.

The first one that pops into my head isn’t one of mine. It was a hot, Georgia day at TARA’s fantastic field in Perry, GA. A large Super Sod site that we used for years. 100 degrees on the field, we were melting.

John Kemker put up a LoC Bruiser on a J motor. Perfect booster. Should have landed close to the pads, but it Hit a THERMAL. We followed it as it floated just over our heads all the way across the field until it landed in the trees of a neighbor. Amazing. John, did you ever recover that bird. Can’t imagine going up to neighbors door, ‘“Hey, mister, ok if I get my rocket out of your tree” and then backing in a crane to recover that big bird.

 

[Handeman]

My most memorable flight was my L1 cert rocket on an I1299N Warp 9 motor. We were hosting the FOGE Battle of the Rockets and Kenny had giving me an old thremolite igniter for a motor he sold me without the igniter. I call the it the Disappearing Rocket on the flight card and used that old style igniter. The LCO announce the flight and the name of the rocket, and explained "This one is really going to go, keep an eye on it or miss it!"
The count down went down, the button was pushed and where the clips were attached to the wire mesh around the thermolite at the end of the igniter, there was a bright flash and a small cloud of smoke drifted up as, unseen from that distance, the thermolite started burning up through the plastic tube it was encased in, toward the pyrogen. A bunch of folks looked away as they commented it was a bad igniter or a mis-fire. About a second or so later, that I1299N lit and at +80g, the rocket disappeared. Simulations said motor burn out was at 136 ft. and it was doing 385 mph. Most folks never saw the rocket again until the drogue came out at 4,000 ft. or the main at 400 ft.

 

[tsmith1315]

The first one that pops into my head isn’t one of mine. It was a hot, Georgia day at TARA’s fantastic field in Perry, GA

A big Bullpup there, L952W, I think. Huge cloud of white smoke, big noise and a slow liftoff. Super!

 

[K'Tesh]

I've got a few...

From Sabotage...
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/model-rocket-safety-for-educators-a-cautionary-tale.52386/
To Seagulls Beware!!!
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/funny-rocket-stories.35832/post-507530
The Osprey...
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/coopers-hawk.80506/post-1597145
And "The Three CATOS"...
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/estes-e12-0-booster-blows-out-her-guts.141646/post-1713729
Don't get me started on the other lawndarts...

 

[Lawndart]

A big Bullpup there, L952W, I think. Huge cloud of white smoke, big noise and a slow liftoff. Super!

This one?

 

[tsmith1315]

This one?

Bingo!

 

[teepot]

I have two that stand out. My L1. A 3" scratch build. Went up on an I195. I lost it on the way up. This was also when I didn't know how to fold a chute. I had wrapped the shroud lines around the chute. I was looking and couldn't find it. Other flyers did. I could here some oh oh's. When the chute popped I heard, well that's one way to do dual deploy. Landed ok and I got my L1. The other was one of my first DD rockets. I put it up on an I500. Thrust Curve predicted 3800'. When I got to the rocket both the altimeter and the altimeter 3 said 4500' at 580mph. I was very excited.

 

[John Kemker]

The thread about cert levels got me thinking about the flights I remember the most.

The first one that pops into my head isn’t one of mine. It was a hot, Georgia day at TARA’s fantastic field in Perry, GA. A large Super Sod site that we used for years. 100 degrees on the field, we were melting.

John Kemker put up a LoC Bruiser on a J motor. Perfect booster. Should have landed close to the pads, but it Hit a THERMAL. We followed it as it floated just over our heads all the way across the field until it landed in the trees of a neighbor. Amazing. John, did you ever recover that bird. Can’t imagine going up to neighbors door, ‘“Hey, mister, ok if I get my rocket out of your tree” and then backing in a crane to recover that big bird.

Yes!

Eric and I went back out about a month later to search for it. We went up to the house on that property and met Ms. Howard, an elderly lady who was born on the sod farm back when it was the Howard farm. Eric and I spent about an hour searching in the woods behind her house when we found it, hanging from a tree with about a gallon of water inside. (It had rained since the launch.) The cardboard tubing had swollen a bit, but otherwise was none the worse for wear.

 

[John Kemker]

Speaking of my LOC Bruiser...

Certification flight was on a J315 RMS. I don't remember the delay, but it was too long. Bruiser lifted off and boosted to apogee quickly. No chute. The rocket nosed over, sideways, and began to paddle-wheel down, until about 300 ft. AGL, whereupon it finally ejected the chute.

 

[jflis]

Two that stand out for me:

1) NARCON in MA with CMASS when we announced the Nell kit. I had the privilege of flying one built by Tony Vincent on the very same site as Robert Goddard, marking only the second time that design flew on that site. Model is now a part of the Goddard collection in the Goddard library at Clark university.

2) watching Vern Estes prep and launch my Sprint ‘73 on its 500th, and final flight (see pix below). Model is now in Vern’s collection. Gleda flew it on its 499th flight moments earlier

 

[b.wieting]

A launch at 2007 LDRS. Watching through binoculars, the rocket lifted off yet clearly had some kind of motor problem. After a couple seconds I realized it wasn't moving in my FOV, just getting larger. CBDR!
I pushed my neighbor sideways and the rocket impacted a couple yards in front of where I had been standing.

 

[Lawndart]

One of my own flights - USR Swarm with payload. Full up 16 G80s. Not enough oomph in the ejection charges to blown the payload section off. Just slowly fell sideways. Paddle wheeling the whole way down to a gentle landing. Only time it’s flown.

 

[Back_at_it]

I've had a few that really stick in my head.

- Had a rocket leave the pad then do a complete summersault about 200ft into the flight then continue on perfectly straight up.

- Another flight was closest to pad. Sent up an Alpha on a C6-7. Came back and hooked the parachute on the launch rod and set the rocket down on right between the legs of the pad.

- Last second deployment. Launched my Little Joe. Motor had the worlds longest 3 second delay. Rocket was coming in ballistic and the ejection finally went off about 20 ft off the ground. The shock cord got hooked on the branch of a small tree and saved the rocket. Nothing ever touched the ground.

 

[86mustang408w]

I've had a few memorable, but most recently my L1 certification flight.

 

[AtlPhilip]

Hey Guys, long time no see! I remember the Bullpup very well. And I swear I remember Dale's cluster, but I was pretty much not flying at that point. Perry was such a great field.

Memorable flights:

• Pritchett's Pride, at LDRS 19. For reasons I don't remember, we were way inside the safety line for this, less than 100yds. Man it was impressive from that distance.
• That huge flag rocket, also LDRS 19
• My 2 stage Terrier-Sandhawk at LDRS19 (booster came in ballistic) sustainer went 5k
• Someone's level 2 (Doyle?) on an 8in rocket with an apogee that felt like you could reach out touch it. (SOAR - Cartersville, IIRC)

Dan Sitz has recently dragged my out of retirement. And, he did one the nicest things anyone has ever done for me, rebuilt my Terrier-Sandhawk. He and I flew it recently at SEARS field in Sampson, AL (successful).