jsargevt
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- Jun 18, 2011
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Well a year after starting my interest in RC Gliders I can say that I'm finally getting somewhere!
This has been a challenging year for me time-wise so I have not flown many rockets at all and only in the last month or so have I been able to do any flying. I did, however build and (somewhat) successfully fly some rocket-boosted gliders.
My first one of 2014 was a Semroc Swift. It flew quite well tossing it in the back yard. Unfortunately, on boost the wing stripped off. OOPS! The balsa "hook" disappeared and the rocket is in the glider infirmary waiting for me to get around to fixing it.
Since that went so well I figured that I'd invest more money in this insane quest and I picked up a RadJet from Hobbyking. I set it up for 24mm use targeting it for D and E motors. While it was an easy conversion, I have learned that the RadJet isn't exactly a glider. About a month ago I finally got a chance to give it a whirl and my first boost ended up in a tree, my second boost the glider augered into the ground at an alarmingly high rate of speed. I know this because it bounced about 4 feet off the ground after hitting. As a testament to the durability of the flying beer cooler the only damage to the plane was some cracks in the foam near the battery mount and a fairly crunched nose. However, after a little shoe goo and some hot water the nose was better off than most boxer's noses and we were back in business.
That brings me to today. Dead calm (if not a little cold). We put the RadJet on the rail with a D12 and cut it loose. The crooked nose flew to about 400 feet after which it arced over and began a pretty steep dive, despite a healthy amount of elevator. However, once the plane got some airspeed, control was restored the the pilot (who mercifully was not me) and we were able to get the rocket on the ground after a very quick flight. Finally a success!
We decided to relocate the battery and give it another shot. My co-conspirator was interested in the rocket motor but ended up asking "you got anything with a little more kick?" The answer to which, as any good rocketeer will answer, was "heck yeah!". I pulled out an E18-W and we proceeded to get ready for another launch. One thing that I LOVE about rockets is watching the reaction of people who have never seen a composite motor in action experience their first one. One of the other things I love are the AT 24mm and 29mm White Lightning motors. They are the whole package, a good kick off the pad, decent smoke and they are shockingly loud for the size. After a quick 3 count, the motor roared to life and over the crackle of the exhaust streaking away from us all I could hear from the man on the sticks was "holy ****!" We got about 700 feet off that launch and we got a better flight out of it which we figured was due to the extra altitude but it still flew more or less like a brick with wings. After touchdown we retrieved the rocket and had a good case of AP giggles talking about the launch.
We put the rocket plane away for a while and Jeff flew his quadcopter and I got my e-glider up in the air. Nothing to see here....
Finally one of the other members of the RC club, Max, stopped in and was extremely interested in the rocket plane setup. Never one to disappoint, I prepped another E18 in the field. I had an F24 that we debated on for a minute but i was concerned that it might be a little too much for the airframe and figured that another E18 was a better decision. Turns out that was a wise decision! After prepping, we lit up the third rocket motor of the day and got to witness another great liftoff and a decent ride up. Unfortunately, the battery moved a little bit during boost and pulled the airframe away from the plastic belly skid (I had zip-tied it to the airframe). This caused the belly skid to pop loose fold down about 90 degrees from the airframe and introduce a bunch of drag that really prevented the rocket from getting enough airspeed to be easily flyable. Again, my co-conspirator did a great job of keeping the rocket out of the trees and back on terra firma safely (well it landed pretty hard on that poor nose again but I'm sure that I can fix it). A successful launch, more or less, but the end of boosted flying for the day and some repairs are on tap. Sounds about par for the course here!
Sadly I was unable to get any photos or video today as left my digital tether at home. To be honest it was nice to fly and not have anyone bother me so it is a trade that i'm ok with.
So more or less 1 year after starting this crazy idea I have at least got a few rocket boosted launches under my belt. I have an Edmonds Ecee Thunder on the bench that I am still trying to decide how to add RC to it. I'll likely work that one out over the winter. I also have a scratch-built v-tail glider that I need to decide if I'll make it a boosted free flight or RC glider. I also have an Aerotech Phoenix that is waiting for me to man up and try to get it built. Maybe I'll tackle that over the winter, but likely not. My flying skills need another year before I'd want to risk that glider. Somewhere in all this I seem to have been infected with the desire to start flying Discus-launched gliders and that is another insanity entirely!
I might get another day of RCBG flying done in 2014 but I think that it is a low possibility. New England in the fall tends to have cold, damp and windy days but who knows! I might get another peach of a day that we can take advantage of. Otherwise, bring on the building season!
This has been a challenging year for me time-wise so I have not flown many rockets at all and only in the last month or so have I been able to do any flying. I did, however build and (somewhat) successfully fly some rocket-boosted gliders.
My first one of 2014 was a Semroc Swift. It flew quite well tossing it in the back yard. Unfortunately, on boost the wing stripped off. OOPS! The balsa "hook" disappeared and the rocket is in the glider infirmary waiting for me to get around to fixing it.
Since that went so well I figured that I'd invest more money in this insane quest and I picked up a RadJet from Hobbyking. I set it up for 24mm use targeting it for D and E motors. While it was an easy conversion, I have learned that the RadJet isn't exactly a glider. About a month ago I finally got a chance to give it a whirl and my first boost ended up in a tree, my second boost the glider augered into the ground at an alarmingly high rate of speed. I know this because it bounced about 4 feet off the ground after hitting. As a testament to the durability of the flying beer cooler the only damage to the plane was some cracks in the foam near the battery mount and a fairly crunched nose. However, after a little shoe goo and some hot water the nose was better off than most boxer's noses and we were back in business.
That brings me to today. Dead calm (if not a little cold). We put the RadJet on the rail with a D12 and cut it loose. The crooked nose flew to about 400 feet after which it arced over and began a pretty steep dive, despite a healthy amount of elevator. However, once the plane got some airspeed, control was restored the the pilot (who mercifully was not me) and we were able to get the rocket on the ground after a very quick flight. Finally a success!
We decided to relocate the battery and give it another shot. My co-conspirator was interested in the rocket motor but ended up asking "you got anything with a little more kick?" The answer to which, as any good rocketeer will answer, was "heck yeah!". I pulled out an E18-W and we proceeded to get ready for another launch. One thing that I LOVE about rockets is watching the reaction of people who have never seen a composite motor in action experience their first one. One of the other things I love are the AT 24mm and 29mm White Lightning motors. They are the whole package, a good kick off the pad, decent smoke and they are shockingly loud for the size. After a quick 3 count, the motor roared to life and over the crackle of the exhaust streaking away from us all I could hear from the man on the sticks was "holy ****!" We got about 700 feet off that launch and we got a better flight out of it which we figured was due to the extra altitude but it still flew more or less like a brick with wings. After touchdown we retrieved the rocket and had a good case of AP giggles talking about the launch.
We put the rocket plane away for a while and Jeff flew his quadcopter and I got my e-glider up in the air. Nothing to see here....
Finally one of the other members of the RC club, Max, stopped in and was extremely interested in the rocket plane setup. Never one to disappoint, I prepped another E18 in the field. I had an F24 that we debated on for a minute but i was concerned that it might be a little too much for the airframe and figured that another E18 was a better decision. Turns out that was a wise decision! After prepping, we lit up the third rocket motor of the day and got to witness another great liftoff and a decent ride up. Unfortunately, the battery moved a little bit during boost and pulled the airframe away from the plastic belly skid (I had zip-tied it to the airframe). This caused the belly skid to pop loose fold down about 90 degrees from the airframe and introduce a bunch of drag that really prevented the rocket from getting enough airspeed to be easily flyable. Again, my co-conspirator did a great job of keeping the rocket out of the trees and back on terra firma safely (well it landed pretty hard on that poor nose again but I'm sure that I can fix it). A successful launch, more or less, but the end of boosted flying for the day and some repairs are on tap. Sounds about par for the course here!
Sadly I was unable to get any photos or video today as left my digital tether at home. To be honest it was nice to fly and not have anyone bother me so it is a trade that i'm ok with.
So more or less 1 year after starting this crazy idea I have at least got a few rocket boosted launches under my belt. I have an Edmonds Ecee Thunder on the bench that I am still trying to decide how to add RC to it. I'll likely work that one out over the winter. I also have a scratch-built v-tail glider that I need to decide if I'll make it a boosted free flight or RC glider. I also have an Aerotech Phoenix that is waiting for me to man up and try to get it built. Maybe I'll tackle that over the winter, but likely not. My flying skills need another year before I'd want to risk that glider. Somewhere in all this I seem to have been infected with the desire to start flying Discus-launched gliders and that is another insanity entirely!
I might get another day of RCBG flying done in 2014 but I think that it is a low possibility. New England in the fall tends to have cold, damp and windy days but who knows! I might get another peach of a day that we can take advantage of. Otherwise, bring on the building season!
