A great day here for launching; very calm and mostly blue sky with just a few long wispy clouds. I took six rockets and got to the field at 9 a.m. Here's the breakdown:
1. Hi-Flyer on B6-4. Good launch and a high flight. Tracked it all the way. The Streamer didn't deploy properly - more about this later - but the rocket landed gently enough that it wasn't damaged.
2. Taser Twin launched 2 stage on B6-0/B6-4. I almost always get a good flight out of this one, and today's was great. Rocket was invisible at apogee but was easily seen when streamer deployed. A long walk to recover which is typical when launching the TT, and this time it drifted out of the north end of the field into the farmland beyond. I found it after climbing 2 fences and walking around a moat.
3. Quest Astra on B6-4. Maiden flight. Good launch and recovery.
4. The Astra again on a C6-5. Nice launch, but engine malfunctioned when the ejection charge fired immediately after burn out. The chute shredded and two shroud lines pulled out. The rocket itself wasn't damaged, but no more Astra flights for today.
5. Long Tom on B6-0/B6-4. Maiden flight. This rocket is a very impressive flyer. Very stable and it went straight and true to 7-800'. Nice parachute recovery.
6. Long Tom on C6-0/C6-5. Even more impressive. probably over 1000'. Got some oohs and aahs from spectators. I like this rocket! I'll be launching this one a lot.
7. Comanche3 launched single stage on C6-5. Maiden flight. Great launch. Straight up and smooth ascent. Dual streamers deployed normally. Fast descent and an audible thump when it hit the ground. One fin broke off.
Back to the vehicle assembly building for this bird. This rocket has been reported to "Fall like a rock". I launched it single stage to see what would happen recovery wise.
8. Magnum Hornet on C6-5. Maiden flight. This is the rocket in my "Magnum Hornet & Hornet" thread. Flew like a champ. Probably to 900' feet or so. 12" chute brought it down gently.
9. Magnum Hornet on D12-5. Spectacular launch and flight. Way up there, but this rocket is large enough that it doesn't fly out of sight. Long duration flight as it took it's time drifting down. Another one that I'll be launching a lot this summer.
That was it. no rockets lost, but 2 with repairable damage. Now I'm going to ask for advice about repairing the Comanche3. As you see in the photos the whole fin and most of the fillet detached. The BT doesn't seem compromised. It almost looks like a piece from a jigsaw puzzle. It seems that it can just be cemented back in place. I'm wondering if yellow wood glue would work for this repair, or if anyone thinks another type of glue would work better. I'm a little sad that the finish won't be as nice as before.
The other issue is with the Hi-Flier streamer. Starting late last summer the streamer started wrapping itself tightly around the shock cord and sometimes also around the end of the BT. It would do this on flight after flight and I tried dusting it with talc, adjusting it's position on the shock cord and finally replacing both the streamer and shock cord. Nothing worked. No other of my streamer rockets have this kind of problem. Finally about a week ago while tinkering with the rocket, I noticed the streamer clinging to my arm. Static cling??!! Thinking I had discovered the answer, I sprayed the streamer with Static Guard. But today, the same thing happened with the Hi-flier flight. Have I overlooked something?
Douglas
1. Hi-Flyer on B6-4. Good launch and a high flight. Tracked it all the way. The Streamer didn't deploy properly - more about this later - but the rocket landed gently enough that it wasn't damaged.
2. Taser Twin launched 2 stage on B6-0/B6-4. I almost always get a good flight out of this one, and today's was great. Rocket was invisible at apogee but was easily seen when streamer deployed. A long walk to recover which is typical when launching the TT, and this time it drifted out of the north end of the field into the farmland beyond. I found it after climbing 2 fences and walking around a moat.
3. Quest Astra on B6-4. Maiden flight. Good launch and recovery.
4. The Astra again on a C6-5. Nice launch, but engine malfunctioned when the ejection charge fired immediately after burn out. The chute shredded and two shroud lines pulled out. The rocket itself wasn't damaged, but no more Astra flights for today.
5. Long Tom on B6-0/B6-4. Maiden flight. This rocket is a very impressive flyer. Very stable and it went straight and true to 7-800'. Nice parachute recovery.
6. Long Tom on C6-0/C6-5. Even more impressive. probably over 1000'. Got some oohs and aahs from spectators. I like this rocket! I'll be launching this one a lot.
7. Comanche3 launched single stage on C6-5. Maiden flight. Great launch. Straight up and smooth ascent. Dual streamers deployed normally. Fast descent and an audible thump when it hit the ground. One fin broke off.
Back to the vehicle assembly building for this bird. This rocket has been reported to "Fall like a rock". I launched it single stage to see what would happen recovery wise.
8. Magnum Hornet on C6-5. Maiden flight. This is the rocket in my "Magnum Hornet & Hornet" thread. Flew like a champ. Probably to 900' feet or so. 12" chute brought it down gently.
9. Magnum Hornet on D12-5. Spectacular launch and flight. Way up there, but this rocket is large enough that it doesn't fly out of sight. Long duration flight as it took it's time drifting down. Another one that I'll be launching a lot this summer.
That was it. no rockets lost, but 2 with repairable damage. Now I'm going to ask for advice about repairing the Comanche3. As you see in the photos the whole fin and most of the fillet detached. The BT doesn't seem compromised. It almost looks like a piece from a jigsaw puzzle. It seems that it can just be cemented back in place. I'm wondering if yellow wood glue would work for this repair, or if anyone thinks another type of glue would work better. I'm a little sad that the finish won't be as nice as before.
The other issue is with the Hi-Flier streamer. Starting late last summer the streamer started wrapping itself tightly around the shock cord and sometimes also around the end of the BT. It would do this on flight after flight and I tried dusting it with talc, adjusting it's position on the shock cord and finally replacing both the streamer and shock cord. Nothing worked. No other of my streamer rockets have this kind of problem. Finally about a week ago while tinkering with the rocket, I noticed the streamer clinging to my arm. Static cling??!! Thinking I had discovered the answer, I sprayed the streamer with Static Guard. But today, the same thing happened with the Hi-flier flight. Have I overlooked something?
Douglas
