Two weeks of trade winds have ended. Started with the rebuilt Ion Pulsar that lawndarted with the C6-5. I added 8oz of clay (not 8#) in the NC and it flew straight up. I replaced the broken MM with a retainer.
Another egg bit the dust. This time, it mortor'd into wet grass. I had replaced the elastic cord with just Kevlar. The problem now is that the C5-3 pops out the back despite the masking tape. Perhaps I'll try a C6-5 or 7. I have one more NC to try.
The DC/SAM III went like it's predecessors into the highway. I actually used an A8-5 for the second stage. It probably went 500ft which is impressive for a staged A motor. I think the problem is that I didn't have a proper coupler for the first stage, so it doesn't go straight up. In fact, we couldn't find the first stage and didn't try very hard to find it. I doubt there will be a DC/SAM IV.
The Hyper Bat worked excellent using a proper coupler in the first stage and also used a B6-0/A8-5 combo. The BB4 was the altitude champion. I didn't believe it went 951ft until I looked at the video. Not bad for a 150m field. I had cut open the BT-20 tube and inserted 8oz of clay to the NC. The next question is which flight camera to use.
The Odyssey worked flawlessly with the D12-3 instead of the 5. Now to try it again with the flight camera. I figured out why the Protostar camera didn't record. I recharged it a couple days ago and somehow inadvertently hit the record, so the SD was filled. Ooops. An otherwise flawless flight. Personally, I thought it was more impressive with the C11-3 because it was slower and reminded me of the probe ship in Wall-e.
I barely recovered the Shuttle last time with the D12-3, but lost it this time with the E12-4. Someone (
@neil_w) said it wasn't going to help and sure enough, it went horizontal. We recovered the rocket on the other side of the canal but couldn't find the shuttle. Maybe I'll add more fins to the rocket and fly it as is...
I tried the Checkmate clone. However, the motor block I used was too long so the starter kept shorting out. At home, I cut off the nozzle so I can reach the motor. I also tried my new BT-80 Mercury Redstone but discovered that the launch lugs needed to be drilled a bit more to fit the 3/16" rod. I coulda tried it with the 1/8" rod. I was afraid it would be too unstable off the rod.
Timeline:
00:00 Ion Pulsar
01:19 Egg Lofter
02:42 DC/SAM III
03:31 Hyper Bat
04:27 Blank Brant IV 951ft
06:01 Odyssey
07:07 Protostar
08:20 Shuttle