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Onebadhawk
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GlenP said:
Maybe next time put some catnip on the rocket, and bring a cat with you.

When the cat meanders up the tree to get the catnip and gets stuck in the tree and can’t get down, then you can make a call to the Fire Dept, and maybe they can grab the rocket at the same time they are making the cat rescue!

But then the Firemen might want to adopt the cat and take it back to their fire station, and name him Pickles…and give him his own fire hat…
Click to expand...
We were joking yesterday that I could call the phone company and complain about my phone service. When they ask where’s the phone, I’ll tell them it’s on top of the tree. I haven’t figured out yet what to say when they ask how I got the phone on top of the tree.
 

Windy launches and Windward Community College trying out the Scrambler Shuttle​

There were no students this time. They're still working on processing the experiment data from their sounding rocket payload launch at Wallops. https://youtu.be/3LNfwTQI3k4

The Green Eggs worked great except the booster collided with the payload causing a slight crack in the egg. I still count it as a success. The Scrambler Shuttle was mostly a success. I found the styrofoam shuttle glider at Hobby Co and decided to give it a try. To be honest, it worked just as well as the Estes Shuttle. I think the shuttle flopped around so will use a two hook system. I'm sure it will be fine.

0:00 Intro
0:07 Atomic B4-2 4pts
0:22 Jake's MAV C6-5
0:48 Green Eggs C11-3 5pts
3:21 Gary's Exteme A8-3
3:50 Gary's High Tech A8-3
4:29 Scrambler Shuttle C11-3 5pts
5:36 Box Racer B4-2 4pts
6:32 Mini Groove Tube 1/2A3-2T 3pts
7:02 Gary's Hi-flier
7:21 SCRAM 1/2A3-2T 3pts
8:07 Total 24pts + 10 bonus = 34pts

 

Der Big Citation Patriot Rescue​

After three weeks in the tree about 50ft high, we finally pulled it down. I didn't capture the actual event because only 2 seconds on the phone were recorded. A few local kids were able to help us pull the chute lower. I eventually realized I could use the poles to lift a hook to the chute then pull on an attached rope. The Flightsketch Mini is fine which is thankful because it's the last Mini that Russ had. We couldn't find the AC cam which looks almost exactly like the tree pods, so it's literally like looking for a needle in a haystack. This was definitely the most challenging rescue we've performed. Every time we failed, we thought up another solution until final success.



The original video: https://youtu.be/z95rq2e5yng?t=171
 

Complete Der Big Citation Patriot launch, flight video, and rescue efforts​

On 8/4, the DBCP landed on the apex of the biggest tree in the park. We then spent the following three weeks rescuing the rocket. Every time we failed, we'd come up with another strategy. We tried shooting dowels using a PVC pipe and rubber tube. This has been successful in the past. We also tried using a dog ball launcher attached to a string. We would get a dowel or ball stuck in the tree then pull them out again. It now kinda looks like a Christmas tree with ornaments and garland. Eventually, the tree trimmers are gonna wonder what the heck happened up there.

We borrowed Gary's ladder, and this allowed two local kids to climb the tree to try and pull it down with the poles but the poles came apart. One kid was able to pull it about 10 feet by throwing the balls up with the string attached. I told them I'd give them $100 if they get the rocket down but ended up giving two of the kids $20 each for their efforts.

Christopher ended up pulling the poles out of the tree. I then came up with the idea of attaching a large metal hook to the end of the poles and hooking the parachute with a rope attached. He put his weight on the rope until it all fell down. I tried to get video of this but only got two seconds of video. As seen in the other rescue video, we recovered the FS Mini and downloaded the data. From it, we know the rocket was 38 feet in the air. https://youtu.be/mLPhzXcOUQc

The AC cam was missing from the cradle. We returned a couple days later and looked through the monkeypod leaves and seed pods that look alarmingly like the cam. I eventually found it because the cap was missing, and I could see the USB metal. It's a miracle no kids found it already. Through sheer coincidence, I bought a replacement tube and coupler about a month ago. I used the TTW end to support the zipper internally. At this time, I have replacement upper vinyl stickers from StickerShock thanks to his warranty program.

0:00 Initial video
2:09 Flight video
3:47 Our attempts to rescue the rocket
11:49 Restoration of the rocket



Found the AC cam…

C30A8959-115D-4B87-8B5C-68D85BE6E4E3.jpeg

Ready for the replacement decals...

IMG_0837.JPG
 
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Artemis didn't go but we launched several at the park on a cloudy Hawaiian day​

I decided to not run the live stream because I didn't know if we would be rained out. It sprinkled a little bit. My plan was to watch the Artemis launch from my laptop but was not to be. There was a convection layer at about 300 feet. Rockets above that level would catch the wind then drop precipitously. The main problem with undefined clouds like today is that it's harder for the handycam to focus on the rockets in in the foreground. The park grass needed the rain. I noticed bald patches where grass may have a hard time growing back. Fortunately, the grass on the northern end by the softball field is still green. I guess the football teams don't need the grass really, and this helps us with launching the rockets in the area. At the beginning, I was wearing what I'm calling a Hawaiian scarf, a fan that blows air on my head. It's works but is a little noisy.

The 2to2.5 rocket consisted of parts I bought from the Estes website and decided to use Cherokee style fins. I had also bought at the time an extra 3" tube that I used to repair the DBCP. It's a stand-in name until I can think of something catchy. Before launch, I had that moment of hesitation when I couldn't remember if I connected everything... guess I did. I actually sim'd the rocket at 210ft on a D12-3. I didn't have any so used the D12-5 which worked okay. It has a 29mm mount so might try one at the farm.

We looked around for the Bertha but couldn't find it. We thought we heard it smacking into the tennis courts which was being used at the time for practice. I was prepared to apologize for mortaring their game. They said they haven't seen or heard a rocket land. The video wasn't helpful, so the most likely explanation is that it smacked into a tree limb and is hanging there. I'll look for it more tomorrow. Afterwards, we got the Mini Fat Boy that has been hanging in a tree for over a year. Coincidently, the NC is similar to the Bertha. The D20-4W wouldn't light before so scraped the insides. I also used a newer initiator. After some dramatic chuffing, it worked like a bat out of hell.

00:00 Intro
01:18 2to2.5 - 207ft 5pts
02:41 Spirit 4pts
03:57 Gary's Mars Leaper
04:25 Boosted Bertha 3pts
05:44 Flip Flyer 4pts
06:27 Gary's Orange Scratcher
07:10 Gary's USS Reliant
08:00 Nike Apache 525ft 5pts
09:40 Gary's Showstopper
10:32 Vortico 3pts
11:11 Total 24pts + 5 bonus = 29pts

 
Ronz Rocketz said:

Artemis didn't go but we launched several at the park on a cloudy Hawaiian day​

I decided to not run the live stream because I didn't know if we would be rained out. It sprinkled a little bit. My plan was to watch the Artemis launch from my laptop but was not to be. There was a convection layer at about 300 feet. Rockets above that level would catch the wind then drop precipitously. The main problem with undefined clouds like today is that it's harder for the handycam to focus on the rockets in in the foreground. The park grass needed the rain. I noticed bald patches where grass may have a hard time growing back. Fortunately, the grass on the northern end by the softball field is still green. I guess the football teams don't need the grass really, and this helps us with launching the rockets in the area. At the beginning, I was wearing what I'm calling a Hawaiian scarf, a fan that blows air on my head. It's works but is a little noisy.

The 2to2.5 rocket consisted of parts I bought from the Estes website and decided to use Cherokee style fins. I had also bought at the time an extra 3" tube that I used to repair the DBCP. It's a stand-in name until I can think of something catchy. Before launch, I had that moment of hesitation when I couldn't remember if I connected everything... guess I did. I actually sim'd the rocket at 210ft on a D12-3. I didn't have any so used the D12-5 which worked okay. It has a 29mm mount so might try one at the farm.

We looked around for the Bertha but couldn't find it. We thought we heard it smacking into the tennis courts which was being used at the time for practice. I was prepared to apologize for mortaring their game. They said they haven't seen or heard a rocket land. The video wasn't helpful, so the most likely explanation is that it smacked into a tree limb and is hanging there. I'll look for it more tomorrow. Afterwards, we got the Mini Fat Boy that has been hanging in a tree for over a year. Coincidently, the NC is similar to the Bertha. The D20-4W wouldn't light before so scraped the insides. I also used a newer initiator. After some dramatic chuffing, it worked like a bat out of hell.

00:00 Intro
01:18 2to2.5 - 207ft 5pts
02:41 Spirit 4pts
03:57 Gary's Mars Leaper
04:25 Boosted Bertha 3pts
05:44 Flip Flyer 4pts
06:27 Gary's Orange Scratcher
07:10 Gary's USS Reliant
08:00 Nike Apache 525ft 5pts
09:40 Gary's Showstopper
10:32 Vortico 3pts
11:11 Total 24pts + 5 bonus = 29pts

Click to expand...

Made for a great day, despite the winds. Well edited video, as usual.

wish you had an altimeter on the Vortico, would have been interesting to see the initial NEGATIVE one foot altitude before it left the rod!
 
BABAR said:
Made for a great day, despite the winds. Well edited video, as usual.

wish you had an altimeter on the Vortico, would have been interesting to see the initial NEGATIVE one foot altitude before it left the rod!
Click to expand...
First, I need to figure out how to string test the Vortico. :)

hobie1dog said:
where did you get the telescopic pole?
Click to expand...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F1HZRBT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1It got a little beat up trying to remove the DBCP but still has 22ft left.
 

Several SLS launches plus three MPR launches in the park on a low wind Hawaiian day​

Gary and Ron brought out their SLS so had to have a dual launch of course which was epic, hydrogen leaks be damned. Of course at the beginning, we were achieving a 50% success rate with the ignitions but that's immaterial of course. Christopher helped to set up the shade tent and equipment before heading off to work. I thought I cleaned the lens on the Handycam after visiting the Botanical Garden last week. The dust on the lens made it difficult to focus in on the rockets, especially near the sun.

Two out of the three MPR worked perfectly. The FS Mini altimeter had garbage data with the 2.5 to 2 but did show 620ft in the summary screen before downloading. Fortunately, I took a screen grab. It then worked flawlessly in the Aloun Fad. I was expecting 600ft per the sim, not complaining. The FS Mini wouldn't connect with the DBCP. I bought generic batteries from eBay instead of Renata so probably why it failed. Here in Hawaii, we can't be picky. There's two explanations for why the chute didn't deploy in the DBCP. The chute protector coulda caught on the rail screw, or the F67 ejection was weak. I suspect the later.

The live stream was 2.5 hours. I think I finally figured out how to schedule a live stream and then connect to it when the event happens. The problem was that it was stuck in the portrait orientation so had to restarted it. I'll get it right someday. At one point, the stream stopped but allowed me to restart it. I inserted some of the live stream into the video. Most of it I left at the end.

We rescued the Boosted Bertha from the tree. The NC had a chunk taken out of it from smacking into the Ent and cut off about 2 inches of the BT end. We also rescued the Mini Fat Boy that was hanging in a tree for a year. Coincidently, the NC are the same so used the MFB on the BB. The B6-0 worked better than the C6-0. The NC from the MFB has clay which might've made the difference. I'll try a B6-0 with a B6-4 next time.

00:00 Dual SLS Launches
00:51 2.5 to 2 - 620ft 6pts
02:52 Flight video
05:04 Aloun Fad 428ft 7pts
06:30 Flight video
07:59 DBCP rebuilt 622ft 6pts
09:29 Flight video
10:03 Gary's Mars Leaper
10:14 Scrambler Shuttle 489ft 4pts
11:23 Ron's SLS
11:47 Gary's Terraformer
12:27 Ron's Blue Origin
13:10 Ron's Air Walker
13:35 Gary's Mega Vortico
14:07 Gary's Maple Seed
14:34 Ron's Cherokee C11-3
15:11 Ron's Hi-flier A8-3
15:44 Ron's Hi-flier B6-4
16:24 Ron's SLS
16:49 Dual SLS attempt
17:19 Boosted Bertha 4pts
18:12 Gary's stunt plane
18:27 Highlights from the live stream
Total 27pts + 10 bonus = 37pts





vlcsnap-2022-09-10-22h38m53s450.png
 
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Thank you for wearing the Pink Floyd DSM T-shirt to your launches. It was the first album I bought. It started a life-long pursuit of an an alternative way of thinking. It warms the cockles of my heart to see anyone wearing the shirt, especially young people.
 

Beautiful morning with 3 cams and 3 altimeters with Cosmic Interceptor and 2to2.5​

I'm trying out my new windsock to give a better visual on the current wind conditions compared to the weather station I was using. I discovered the windsock needs to be not behind the rockets or the cams might focus on the windsock instead. I have a different stand I'll try out for the live streams. I didn't have much time this morning so didn't set up the live cam.

Not sure why the Scrambler keeps getting tangled, perhaps needs a longer shock cord. I bought vinyl adhesive sheets that I experimented with on the broken fin since I ran out of orange paint. It's easy to apply except for the round corners and seems to work best on straight edges. I'm also using the vinyl adhesive on the Sidekick. The new Interrogator has earned its clear coat. I usually use Pledge Floor Gloss. It's become a bit yellow over the last two years so not sure yet what I'll use. I added extra shock cord so hopefully won't tangle again.

I wanted to retry the 2 to 2.5 rocket after the shock cord separation last week when the balsa and epoxy failed. I drilled holes in the 3 centering rings and connected to the motor retainer. The FS Mini altimeter worked great after installing a new battery. It sorta worked with the Longship. I could tell there was a problem when it takes several minutes to download the data. I could see the apogee at 454ft, but the bottom of the graph had garbage data so wouldn't work in the Race Render video.

0:00 Gary's Mars Leaper
0:13 Scrambler Mini Shuttle 5pts
1:17 Flight video
1:48 Gary's Big Bessie
2:16 2to2.5 397ft 7pts
3:38 Flight video RR
4:29 Gary's Mega Vortico
4:53 Cosmic Interceptor 565ft 5pts
6:36 Gary Mega Rebel
7:22 Interrogator 4pts
8:41 Mars Mars Longship 454ft 7pts
9:43 Flight video RR
10:29 Gary's New Shepard
10:51 Total 28pts + 5 bonus = 33pts

 

Some success with FS Mini and no lost rockets but two Catos and two ballistic flights​

Live stream: https://youtu.be/sxhacr4ovaU
The forecast was promising 3 to 5 mph but was actually 5 to 10 mph with occasional gusts. Still, was a gorgeous blue sky day before the rain started in the afternoon. Half way through, you can see the live cam starting to shake as the winds whip the tarp we attached to the back of the shade tent.

Gary had two Catos and I had two ballistic flights including the Antar that lawndarted in front of an unsuspecting family. I'm not sure why the Antar and Scissor Wing went sideways. They both worked fine before. We were able to finish up before the girl's baseball game started at 10am.

00:00 Gary's Hammerhead Sounder
00:37 Antar 79ft 4pts
01:49 Antar 260ft 5pts
03:34 Interrogator 532ft 5pts
05:10 Gary's Jayhawk
07:34 Gary's Patriot
09:05 Side Kick 5pts
10:04 Scissor Wing 5pts
11:01 Gary's Nano Magg
11:27 Mini Augie 5pts
12:33 Hi-flier L 326pts 5pts
13:50 Gary's Cool Spool
14:29 Total 34pts + 5 bonus = 39pts

 

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