Tell us your biggest rocketry related blunder.

[DeepOvertone]

I want to hear everyones biggest bone head moments. Whats the biggest mistake you've made so far that made you just drop your head in shame at your own stupidity? I'll start by describing what I just did that spurred me to make this thread.

I just glued two indexed body tubes together with a coupler using Titebond II, without checking the indexing of the fin slots. That stuff is grabby as heck and theres no way they are ever coming apart again without tearing the cardboard to shreds in the process. So yeah, I just ruined both body tubes at once.. Worst part is that this was a kit bash and now I have two full kits worth of parts and I think I'm going to have to buy two more whole kits just for the body tubes I ruined. I'm gonna have a lot of spares for this one.... Oh well. Thats one mistake I'll never make again. What about you guys?

 

[K'Tesh]

Thinking that finding and building hobby rockets in China would be "easy".

 

[cerving]

Prepping a rocket with "charges" ahead of time... only I didn't put powder in the charges. The payload bay and nose cone with an early prototype Eggfinder Mini are still buried in about 2' of the Jean Dry Lake desert floor.

 

[Andrew_ASC]

Maximizing thrust on a first L-1 minimum diameter competition multistage last year. It pulled 168G’s, M1.5, interstage imploded at 2,500 ft, lost telemetry, and did not make its target altitude of 22,000 ft. We had to pick pieces up off a salt flat and try again with a second rocket design less ambitious. For guys with no HPR experience or mentors, I was proud it was even stable. We warned every SEDS team not to use AT I1299N on less than two pound rockets. We had broken pieces as proof of what happened.

It was Orbital Pegasus Fincan fuel. What is the hell were we thinking? We weren’t. And we tried it anyways out there to gain experience. Supersonic airfoils, CFD, and all destroyed in seconds. Go Pro barely caught it off the pad. In memory of “The Mosquito” of UROC22. And everyone laughing more burn time bud.

 

[neil_w]

That would be this. Wound is still a bit fresh, but I think I'm starting to heal.

 

[Len B]

For my first CAR L2 attempt, I put a CTI I-350SS into stock built PML L'il Lubar Express. A few hundred feet in the air probably at Max Q, it re-kitted in a most spectacular way. The fins, with those tear drop pods vibrated like crazy creating quite a pattern in the smoke just prior to ripping off the airframe. There was silver paint sparkling against the blue sky. Very impressive.

I had a full size Lunar Express with me and a CTI K445 for my CAR L3. Despite everyone urging me to go for it at the away pad, I declined.

 

[snrkl]

Using a vitamin tube as a nosecone shoulder and failing to remember that the mould injection point is the weakest part of any injection moulded item.

I got the nosecone (and its electronics) back thanks to the EggFinder mini in it, but the airframe was never seen again:

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/a-supersonic-apogee-aspire.142536/page-2#post-1737475

 

[memcbride]

May not be my biggest mistake to date, but a memorable mistake. I put a spent motor into the second stage of a two-stage rocket for a spectacular lawn dart. Only thing I could figure out was that I had been helping a pre-teen fly a RTF (I always keep a couple handy at launches for kids that show up that have never flown) and had him do all the work to prep the RTF for its third flight. He must have put the spent motor from the second flight back in the box of good motors and I didn’t catch it.

 

[boatgeek]

Accidentally put mismatched motors in the outboard stages of a Falcon Heavy model, leading to a cruise-missile-style flight and near total destruction of the rocket.

 

[Bat-mite]

Right after I got my Level 2, I bought a Rocketry Warehouse X-Celerator.



Later, I added a FWFG, alum-tipped NC. Flew it lots on 54mm 2, 3, and 4 grain motors.

Then I treed it at the sod farm. So I got some teenagers, went back to the site a week later with a ladder, and we tried to get it down. I also had Dick Stafford try to pull it down with a slingshot/fishing line kind of thing. No luck.

So I spent $300 to have a tree-climber recover it. By then it was in bad enough shape that I needed to replace harnesses and chutes.

But the worst was that our Higgs Farm season was coming up, and I got itching to launch it on the biggest motor I had ever flown at that time, the CTI 54mm 6GXL L935.

I was so excited for this launch that I refused to let anything (including wisdom) get in my way. It was a windy day, and the rocket was going to 9k'. I also had invited a friend from work, and I didn't want to let him down.

So despite the wind, I launched it. I had a GPS transmitter in it, so I couldn't lose it, right?

It went up very high, virtually out of sight. Got the drogue out at apogee; and then it got wind-blown. And it kept going, and going, and going....

I got the coordinates on my GPS receiver, and my work buddy drove with me out to the spot, about a mile away from the pads. But when we got there, no rocket. What found instead was one of the massive river branches that flow through the farms that re used for irrigation. It was pretty full.

I can't tell you how many hours I spent searching for that rocket, assuming that it could not have floated down the river.

When it was all over, aside from hours of my time, my losses were:

• the rocket
• the GPS transmitter (BRB900)
• the OneBadHawk harnesses
• the retainer
• the chutes
• the Missileworks altimeter and wiring
• the 54mm 6GXL casing
• the motor rear closure
• the StickerShock23 full-body printed vinyl wrap
• the $300 I gave the tree guy

When it was said and done, I lost over $1100 on that flight. And it was all due to foolishness.

 

[Andrew_ASC]

What happened with X-celerator?

 

[krislhull]

My first L2 attempt back in 2003, when I was a naive and, well, idiotic 19 years old, I failed in a spectacular way that people still remember and give me a bad time about today! And this is after I left the hobby for 15 years!

So, here’s what happened. I built a PML 4” Black Brant X. I fiberglassed the airframe with the help of a club member, and it was a very stout and strong rocket. Only one problem... I forgot to epoxy in a coupler on the fin can. I still remember exactly how it happened, too! When I was building it, I did a friction fit on the coupler just for alignment, and to keep everything tight. Well, I forgot it was just friction fit in there, and when I when to do final assembly, I was an idiot and thought it was already epoxied in place.

Nope.

When I launched the L2 attempt, the flight was gorgeous to about 1700ft on a J350, until ejection, when the fin can went one way, and the rest of the rocket and the coupler came down under chute.

There was no damage to any of the parts, and I was able to just epoxy the coupler in. I never flew the rocket again before I got out of the hobby for many years.

When I went to recert L1 last year, I have no clue how many people asked me if I needed any epoxy!

 

[Bat-mite]

What happened with X-celerator?

See above. Somehow I hit save too soon. Had to use the Edit button.

 

[Bat-mite]

My first L2 attempt back in 2003, when I was a naive and, well, idiotic 19 years old, I failed in a spectacular way that people still remember and give me a bad time about today! And this is after I left the hobby for 15 years!

So, here’s what happened. I built a PML 4” Black Brant X. I fiberglassed the airframe with the help of a club member, and it was a very stout and strong rocket. Only one problem... I forgot to epoxy in a coupler on the fin can. I still remember exactly how it happened, too! When I was building it, I did a friction fit on the coupler just for alignment, and to keep everything tight. Well, I forgot it was just friction fit in there, and when I when to do final assembly, I was an idiot and thought it was already epoxied in place.

Nope.

When I launched the L2 attempt, the flight was gorgeous to about 1700ft on a J350, until ejection, when the fun can went one way, and the rest of the rocket and the coupler came down under chute.

There was no damage to any of the parts, and I was able to just epoxy the coupler in. I never flew the rocket again before I got out of the hobby for many years.

When I went to revert L1 last year, I have no clue how many people asked me if I needed any epoxy!

Now that's funny!

 

[lakeroadster]

When I was about 15 I built a 4 stage D motor powered scratch built rocket.

The BT was made from a Christmas wrapping paper tube.

I used masking tape rolled around the D-12 motors for engine mounts, then glued them in the BT.

The Flaw In My Logic: that when the second stage fired it would burn through the body tube and the first stage would fall off.

At launch it made it up to about 50 feet before the second stage lit, then began doing a flat spin,

3rd stage lit, rocket hit the ground,

4th stage lit and the chute popped out when the 4th stage ejection charge blew.

It was spectacular.. lots of smoke.. my buddies were impressed. I wish we would have had the capability to video the launch, but this was mid 1970's.

Open Rocket backs my story..

 

[Andrew_ASC]

My L-1 attempt last fall had epoxied 1010 rail guides snap off on the rail as we slid it down the rail at VAST this was not my biggest blunder. I thanked God that the rail guides broke off going down and not up. We aborted the launch and he mentored me on screwing rail guides on. The RSO Mr. Neff had interesting stories. I had asked something along the lines of what was your worst L-1 day as RSO. He described a forever unnamed stranger who claimed high power rockets have snap on fins who in all seriousness brought an unglued kit to fly. He had to decline the stranger to go home and glue it together. Remember there’s always a blunder funnier or dumber than yours.

The dumber blunder than the snap on fin guy was the unnamed guy that put a motor starter in a M motor and ground tested it at a hotel with accidental motor ignition which put a hole in the wall with no injuries. Which was the rumor I heard of why we have rules about motor starters in motors only on pad. Those stories made me feel better about my humble mistakes.

 

[Dipstick]

My nephew has been flying rockets with me for quite a few years. Our fleet is virtually a shared fleet by now. He prepped my Estes 2 stage CC Express backwards. D12-5 on the booster, D12-0 on the sustainer. It was one of the coolest mistakes I've ever seen. D12-5 lifted the rocket on a beautiful boost, coasted, rolled over apogee, and as soon as it was pointed straight down, the ejection charge lit the D12-0. Sustainer flight came screaming back down on a perfectly straight trajectory, no ejection of course, and a wad of crumpled Estes tubing as a result At least this one didn't cost me too much...

 

[cwbullet]

Drilled my rivet holes on the wrong side of the coupler.

 

[Dad Man Walking]

The full report is still sealed by court order. But I can say that the incident was entirely self-inflicted, due to a distracted dad trying to get in one launch of his own in while looking after two 11-year old rocketeers at our first Black Rock launch. Might have had something to do with forgetting to put the CTI 38mm motor into the case, and just shoving it up the motor tube. But I shouldn't have said that...

 

[cwbullet]

Roman candle?

 

[Bat-mite]

View attachment 360844 The full report is still sealed by court order. But I can say that the incident was entirely self-inflicted, due to a distracted dad trying to get in one launch of his own in while looking after two 11-year old rocketeers at our first Black Rock launch. Might have had something to do with forgetting to put the CTI 38mm motor into the case, and just shoving it up the motor tube. But I shouldn't have said that...

Saw somebody do that once. It was ... pretty cool.

 

[Bat-mite]

Drilled my rivet holes on the wrong side of the coupler.

Ding ding ding ding! I've never done that one, but boy have I done some stuff that later made me say, "If I had just thought about this for five minutes ...."

I've really been more inclined to "measure twice, cut/drill/glue once" since the cost of my kits has skyrocketed (pun intended).

 

[cwbullet]

Drilled my rivet holes on the wrong side of the coupler.

Unfortunately, this was last Friday.

 

[tightwad]

Back around 1964-1965, I scratch built a Little Joe to fit a Mercury shaped pencil sharpener capsule that I bought. Since there was no shoulder on the capsule, I glued a piece of rounded balsa to the bottom of the capsule to resemble the Retro package. It fit OK but would wiggle and was loose. I string spun it and it was stable; no OR in those days.

I had flown my scratch built V-2 and the Century Payloader earlier and I was wrapping up my day, because the tide was coming in and the mudflats of Puget Sound were disappearing. I slid Little Joe down the rod and connected the igniter wire clips and walked back to the launch controller. I did the countdown and pushed the button...Little Joe took off and immediately began zig-zag across the yard before impacting before the ejection charge fire. Of course, this was in front of my mother and some neighbors.

It was amazing how a loose nose cone (Mercury Capsule) and a not so straight cut on the bt could affect the flight. I had also forgot to add a extra piece of tape to the shoulder of the capsule to make snug in the bt. Lesson learned and It was the only flight that I didn't film with my movie camera. Boy, I wish I had filmed it.

Later, I had successful flights with these capsules on scratch built Atlas and Red Stone missiles. Both of which I still have today and have flown numerous times.

 

[snrkl]

View attachment 360844 The full report is still sealed by court order. But I can say that the incident was entirely self-inflicted, due to a distracted dad trying to get in one launch of his own in while looking after two 11-year old rocketeers at our first Black Rock launch. Might have had something to do with forgetting to put the CTI 38mm motor into the case, and just shoving it up the motor tube. But I shouldn't have said that...

Until I bought my first set of CTI reloadable cases, my experience had only been AT reloads and I was wondering how this could possibly happen (As far as I knew, ALL reloads came as grains you had to insert into the case) and I was like WTF?!

Now I’ve seen the CTI reloads, I totally understand...

This is a good story for me to read, as this weekend I’ll be flying my first CTI 38mm reload and I’ll be prepping my 4” with 6 kids present (four of ours, two of a friend’s) with ages ranging from 7 to 13...

I foresaw my possible Level of distraction, so I have got a 4 page checklist just to be sure... [emoji12]

 

[cherokeej]

I once prepped a 4" J flight.

Folded and wrapped the chute real nice, get everything packed in just right... This is going to be a sweet flight.

Right up until ejection, when the entire flight line realized that I failed to clip the chute to the harness. That chute floating up there at 6K sure looks good. Shame there isn't a rocket attached to it.

HEADS UP!

At least the airframe was open, and not coming in nose first at 500MPH.

All you can do is shake your head, and put up with a whole lot of grief from your buddies.

 

[BradMilkomeda]

Getting grease on the forward end of the delay grain is very bad. Even if you notice it before you put the charge in, can’t easily get the delay grain out, then it is insufficient to clear it from the forward end with a small screwdriver.

 

[Gary Byrum]

After attaching the fins to a rather complicated scratch build, I was almost done with said project until I realized there was no motor mount in the aft section. "Hmmmm", I thought. "Didn't I already install that?" Looked all over the bench and anywhere else I might have laid the darn thing. So, since I couldn't find it, I figured I'd pop the nose cone and get a naked pic. THAT'S when I found my motor mount. I glued it in the wrong end of the rocket.

 

[MALBAR 70]

After attaching the fins to a rather complicated scratch build, I was almost done with said project until I realized there was no motor mount in the aft section. "Hmmmm", I thought. "Didn't I already install that?" Looked all over the bench and anywhere else I might have laid the darn thing. So, since I couldn't find it, I figured I'd pop the nose cone and get a naked pic. THAT'S when I found my motor mount. I glued it in the wrong end of the rocket.

Yup, this is one I have done too.
Along with forgetting the launch lug, and realizing it at the pad.
It's embarrassing to ask for your flight card back because you forgot the LL.

 

[Gary Byrum]

Yup, this is one I have done too.
Along with forgetting the launch lug, and realizing it at the pad.
It's embarrassing to ask for your flight card back because you forgot the LL.

If I had a nickel for every time I forgot a launch lug....... I did finally fix that problem by treating it as important as putting on my pants before walking out the door.