My first CATO

[ThikeHigh]

For my Level 2 certification, I got a 96 on the exam and then,,,,,,I was launching at the Tripoli Colorado launch site in huge flat and beautiful space and my Apogee Peregrine rocket I named the Eagle. It flew on a J285 and at about 2000 feet, had a premature ejection and blew out a six inch section and broke my e-bay on one side we found all the parts and the missing section also has a 6 zipper.

I learned a lot and it was cold and brisk but still a wonderful time. A couple of other people testing for Level 2 failed too.

 

[NTP2]

That is quite a lot of damage do you plan to try and repair or get a new kit?

 

[rfjustin]

For my Level 2 certification, I got a 96 on the exam and then,,,,,,I was launching at the Tripoli Colorado launch site in huge flat and beautiful space and my Apogee Peregrine rocket I named the Eagle. It flew on a J285 and at about 2000 feet, had a premature ejection and blew out a six inch section and broke my e-bay on one side we found all the parts and the missing section also has a 6 zipper.

I learned a lot and it was cold and brisk but still a wonderful time. A couple of other people testing for Level 2 failed too.

CTI J-285?

 

[kjhambrick]

Dang @ThikeHigh !

Having your first CATO on your Level 2 Cert Flight SUCKS !

@rfjustin --

Is there something I should know about a CTI Pro38-5G 648J285-15A ?

Thanks !

-- kjh

 

[Rocketclar]

Bummer about cert flight.
I've flown quite a few CTI Pro38's of different sizes without any problems. My L2 cert was on a 5G J357. One problem I've heard of is usually operator caused...cross treading the rear nozzle closure.

 

[tsmith1315]

For my Level 2 certification, I got a 96 on the exam and then

I feel your pain! Glad you found everything.

 

[3stoogesrocketry]

For my Level 2 certification, I got a 96 on the exam and then,,,,,,I was launching at the Tripoli Colorado launch site in huge flat and beautiful space and my Apogee Peregrine rocket I named the Eagle. It flew on a J285 and at about 2000 feet, had a premature ejection and blew out a six inch section and broke my e-bay on one side we found all the parts and the missing section also has a 6 zipper.

I learned a lot and it was cold and brisk but still a wonderful time. A couple of other people testing for Level 2 failed too.

Was it still under thrust when it ejected? It almost sounds like you had a drag separation event. Basicly your motor shuts off and the drag from the fins causes the booster to slow down, but the payload bay keeps going.

 

[-Slick-Ice]

Yikes! Was the motor casing damaged?
The Peregrine is a great looking rocket too!

 

[DaHabes]

I've only used Aerotech DMS motors for my cert flights - eliminate variables...

 

[ThikeHigh]

Was it still under thrust when it ejected? It almost sounds like you had a drag separation event. Basicly your motor shuts off and the drag from the fins causes the booster to slow down, but the payload bay keeps going.

Yes, it was still under power and only burned through, likely 3 of the five grains is what the Prefect told me. I contacted the seller and he is going to see about getting Cesaroni to send a replacement. Thank you for the reply.

 

[ThikeHigh]

That is quite a lot of damage do you plan to try and repair or get a new kit?

Yes, there is a zipper on the tube connected to fins, where the six inch section was blown apart. When I put another couplet in the bottom there I will have to get some weight in the nose cone or upper tube to make sure the CG is at least 4 inches above the CP, as that is the width of the tube. Thank you for the reply.

 

[ThikeHigh]

I've only used Aerotech DMS motors for my cert flights - eliminate variables...

The seller thinks the engine was damaged somehow. Everybody at the launch said that Cesaroni are reliable and he is contacting them to see about a replacement. Thank you for the reply.

 

[ThikeHigh]

Yikes! Was the motor casing damaged?
The Peregrine is a great looking rocket too!

The motor casing seems to be undamaged, but covered in black. Thank you for the reply.

 

[ThikeHigh]

Bummer about cert flight.
I've flown quite a few CTI Pro38's of different sizes without any problems. My L2 cert was on a 5G J357. One problem I've heard of is usually operator caused...cross treading the rear nozzle closure.

Everything was checked and the Prefect and another Tripoli guy checked it over. It was threaded correctly as was my LOC Retainer Ring, the threading on both are undamaged. Thank you for the reply.

 

[ThikeHigh]

I feel your pain! Glad you found everything.

I am trying to not over react and just respond, since there is nothing I can do but try to learn from this. The team there was very supportive. I have gone over in my head what might have gone wrong, such as was the igniter pushed all the way up or was here anything I could have done better. The Prefect who helped me set it up on the launch pad and the rest of the team couldn't explain it with 100 years of experience between them. So the next flight will I will do my first dual deployment with Eggtimer flight computers that arrived yesterday. I also have a tracking device with GPS and Wifi. I wanted to keep the flight simple as advised on the Apogee website, so I left electronics out on the ground. Good thing, they would might have been cooked as my Ebay the side facing the engine had, the plywood cracked apart. Next time will be the best launch of my short high-powered career. Thank you for the reply.

 

[ThikeHigh]

Dang @ThikeHigh !

Having your first CATO on your Level 2 Cert Flight SUCKS !

@rfjustin --

Is there something I should know about a CTI Pro38-5G 648J285-15A ?

Thanks !

-- kjh

Thank you for the reply. The team at the launch and all the other flyers were very supportive. There was a rocket club from an engineering college that had homemade parts and one Level 2 test rocket that split in half on the landing. The guy just laughed it off and said he would use stronger material next time. Another student, she had a hand painted designed smaller rocket, she put a J engine into and it flew great but the shoot didn't deploy right. We all just celebrated a great day, the last launch of the season at the amazing buffalo ranch, with snow capped mountains all around and fresh, thin clean cold November air at 8000 feet above sea level.

I am just focusing on what I can learn and move on to the next flight where I will complete my certification with my Zephyr rocket, which is the exact same base, so I will add to the length and make it a dual deploy rocket.

 

[ThikeHigh]

CTI J-285?

Yes, it was a CTI J-285 with 5 grains. Thank you for asking.

 

[Buckeye]

Was it still under thrust when it ejected? It almost sounds like you had a drag separation event. Basicly your motor shuts off and the drag from the fins causes the booster to slow down, but the payload bay keeps going.

Drag separation is rarely a thing. It requires dramatic differences in mass/drag between the two sections. People purposely try to design two stage rockets to drag separate, and yet it never happens. So, they need a dedicated separation charge. This is a basic kit design from Apogee. It is not going to separate.

 

[rfjustin]

Yes, it was a CTI J-285 with 5 grains. Thank you for asking.

Was there an issue with the motor that caused the pressure, or was there no evidence of such an issue?

Pictures would really help with full context here.

 

[ThikeHigh]

Here is the damaged sections, I will repair for a May 2024 memorial launch.

 

[-Slick-Ice]

Is there a chance to cut the tube and use a coupler to replace the damage section of tube? I can't tell how long that second coupler is in picture 2

 

[n3tjm]

My very first post on TRF, many MANY years ago was about my first L2 cert attempt. Was also using the CTI J285, which catoed on ignition.