graylensman
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2009
- Messages
- 949
- Reaction score
- 4
I finally got to launch this Sunday, after too many weekends not able to! Fortunately, the Rocket Gods claimed no birds; but nothing came back without mishap. Doubly unfortunate - I forgot to bring a camera!
The sky was crystal blue, with hardly any breeze. Temperature was chilly, but not unbearable. Unfortunately, in my haste and excitement, I failed to powder my chutes: none opened.
The recovery crew was my 7 year old daughter and her friend. They were excited, but stood a very respectful 50 feet away at liftoff. But once ejection charges popped, they were dashing to the touchdown spots.
First up: a Midnight Express on an A8-3. Beautiful flight! One fin was crumpled on touchdown.
Second rocket: my Der Midnacht Express on its maiden flight. This also had a great flight on an A8-3. One fin was ripped loose on landing.
Third rocket: another 1st flight, this my Little John clone on a 1/2A3-4T. Perfect liftoff, though i had forgotten how short boost phase is on 13mm motors. The nose has a gouge in it, now; I expect that can be fixed easily.
Fourth rocket: my Estes SR-1 on a B6-4. At ejection, the shock cord snapped. But body and cone showed no other damage upon recovery.
Fifth rocket: a sport scale Alway Vostok. This is my veteran rocket, and my favorite to watch. It looks so cool heading skyward! But the chute didn't deploy properly, and it too suffered nose damage.
All in all, a pretty good hour of flying. I suppose I'd rather have rockets to fix as opposed to outright losing them.
The sky was crystal blue, with hardly any breeze. Temperature was chilly, but not unbearable. Unfortunately, in my haste and excitement, I failed to powder my chutes: none opened.
The recovery crew was my 7 year old daughter and her friend. They were excited, but stood a very respectful 50 feet away at liftoff. But once ejection charges popped, they were dashing to the touchdown spots.
First up: a Midnight Express on an A8-3. Beautiful flight! One fin was crumpled on touchdown.
Second rocket: my Der Midnacht Express on its maiden flight. This also had a great flight on an A8-3. One fin was ripped loose on landing.
Third rocket: another 1st flight, this my Little John clone on a 1/2A3-4T. Perfect liftoff, though i had forgotten how short boost phase is on 13mm motors. The nose has a gouge in it, now; I expect that can be fixed easily.
Fourth rocket: my Estes SR-1 on a B6-4. At ejection, the shock cord snapped. But body and cone showed no other damage upon recovery.
Fifth rocket: a sport scale Alway Vostok. This is my veteran rocket, and my favorite to watch. It looks so cool heading skyward! But the chute didn't deploy properly, and it too suffered nose damage.
All in all, a pretty good hour of flying. I suppose I'd rather have rockets to fix as opposed to outright losing them.