grimlock3000
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- Joined
- Apr 12, 2004
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I managed to get through 14 total launches with 14 recoveries using three rockets in 5 to 10+ mph winds. 7 of the launches were with a Swift 220. My previous Swift 220 launch went like this. 5,4,3,2,1... Liftoff, see smoke, then the rocket went away forever. The first launch Swift 220 launch was lost as expected, then after a while some kids on a nearby baseball field found it and brought it back to us! We then found a good way of slowing down the launch so you can actually get the thing back:
The small streamers on the fins made the rocket a treat to fly. The only problem was that it would start coming down, and the ejection charge would go off and shoot the rocket toward the ground in a quick burst down. Luckily this always happened while the rocket was high enough that it did not matter and still hit the ground at a slow speed. It still took off fast with the streamers attached:
I did another two flight with a Quest Superbird, the rocket is awesome to fly with nice visible flights. The first was with a B6-4, and it was obvious the rocket wanted more power as it slowly climbed. The next flight on a C6-5 was perfect, the rocket went way up arced over so it was well away from the launchpad at ejection, but the parachute did not open at first and the rocket was gonna land in some house about 200 feet away. Then the parachute opened and carried it right back to within 50 feet of the launch pad. I am using a single 14 inch chute and recovering both halves of the rocket in one piese, this worked out good for me. The wind was picking up and I did not want to lose the Superbird so I put it away for the day before being tempted for another C6 flight.
The other 5 flights were with the Baby Bertha. This is my favorite rocket so far, it always flies good on A -> C engines, and even if the streamer fails to deploy right, it lands OK anyway so there is nothing to worry about
Got a nice lauch pic of the BB as well:
The small streamers on the fins made the rocket a treat to fly. The only problem was that it would start coming down, and the ejection charge would go off and shoot the rocket toward the ground in a quick burst down. Luckily this always happened while the rocket was high enough that it did not matter and still hit the ground at a slow speed. It still took off fast with the streamers attached:
I did another two flight with a Quest Superbird, the rocket is awesome to fly with nice visible flights. The first was with a B6-4, and it was obvious the rocket wanted more power as it slowly climbed. The next flight on a C6-5 was perfect, the rocket went way up arced over so it was well away from the launchpad at ejection, but the parachute did not open at first and the rocket was gonna land in some house about 200 feet away. Then the parachute opened and carried it right back to within 50 feet of the launch pad. I am using a single 14 inch chute and recovering both halves of the rocket in one piese, this worked out good for me. The wind was picking up and I did not want to lose the Superbird so I put it away for the day before being tempted for another C6 flight.
The other 5 flights were with the Baby Bertha. This is my favorite rocket so far, it always flies good on A -> C engines, and even if the streamer fails to deploy right, it lands OK anyway so there is nothing to worry about
Got a nice lauch pic of the BB as well:
