Updates...

[DerRedMax]

I have the same issues with clear spray. Make sure the paint is cured befor appling the clear spray. Then apply 2 very light coast followed by heavier coat. Just had one orange peel yesterday while painting, but over night it settle in. I might just try wet sanding and give it another try.

 

[GlenP]

I might just start painting all my rockets glossy orange, then clear coat them! Starting with a Sputnik…

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

I have the same issues with clear spray. Make sure the paint is cured befor appling the clear spray. Then apply 2 very light coast followed by heavier coat. Just had one orange peel yesterday while painting, but over night it settle in. I might just try wet sanding and give it another try.

By cured you mean wait two weeks? By that time, I've already launched the rocket twice. Nothing cures a paint job like launching it in the sky, somewhat.

I suspect our humid weather complicates the clear spray. The problem is that once it happens, it's really hard to remove it without starting over.

 

[BABAR]

Two launch weekend at Waipahu and Blaisdell​

Saturday was supposed to be a low wind day which was true below 100ft but above that, was 10mph. My goal was to try the new Doorknob clone. I also wanted to test the 12v battery I bought. I foolishly found out my recharger doesn't actually recharge the battery so will need to figure out a safe way. It looks like after Sunday, the battery went down 1/2 volt. I launched the Super Neon to test the high winds and ended up in a tree so pulled out other contingencies.

The dual Hi-flier XL launch was epic. Last week, I realized I was missing the Estes Altimeter from the Mini Executioner. Two days later, I went back to the field and quickly found it which was amazing. Part of the screen was damaged (probably from the sprinklers) but still working. The clip had pulled out, probably at ejection. I used the same altimeter in my Hi-flier XL with the same result except we couldn't find it on the field. It's possible that someone found it. Afterwards, I figured out one of the DARC-1 fins was wonky so moved it back in to place and tacked it down with thin CA.

The Mars Probe was lucky to have landed between the buildings. The Q-jet nozzle was fine with the protective washer they added to the clay nozzle. It kinda looked like it stuck on the rod but not sure. There was minor damage to a strut. From the last video, Quest is sending me two packs of E26-4W and some extra initiators. I'm all out because the small ones keep misfiring.

At Blaisdell, Joe from Hobbyco hosted the launch for a sizeable crowd this time. Maybe everyone was excited about launching their Christmas presents. (I wonder how Santa makes rocket motors in the North Pole?) The winds were variable from 3 to 10 mph. I finally figured out where the launch line was, difficult because of the tall grass. There was probably about 20 kids and 5 launch pads going. I met Garrett who prepped his Dactyl and Glider clones. They didn't glide very far but then again, they didn't end up in Pearl Harbor. Garrett has been building and launching rockets since the 70s so doesn't like launching. Plenty of kids around willing to push the button.

One kid had a SLS and Athena but no launch pad so used mine to much success. He kept coming up with a prepped rocket and I put 'em on the launch pad. I only launched the Mega Vortico which seemed to have stuck on the rod (which was clean). I just need to move it higher on the rod. Afterwards, Joe graciously gave one SLS rocket to each family including us.

0:00 Dual Hi-flier XL D12-5 - 5pts
2:22 Gary's Mars Leaper A10-PT
2:33 Super Neon C6-5 3pts
3:48 DARC-1 C5-3 4pts
4:49 Mars Probe D16-4FJ 4pts
6:09 Gary's Loc Onyx, E16-4
7:11 Mongoose C6-0/A8-5 5pts
8:34 Garrett's Glider
10:39 SLS C6-3
10:58 Garrett's Dactyl
12:02 Athena
13:51 SLS C6-3
15:07 Garrett's Dactyl
15:34 Athena
16:37 Interceptor B4-4
15:48 SLS C6-3
17:31 Garrett's Dactyl
18:24 Interceptor C6-5
19:23 Mega Vortico D22-4W 2pts
20:20 Total 23pts + 20 bonus = 43pts

Good to have Christopher back doing the color!

that Mega Vortico was a nice way to end. When you need a flashlight to find the pieces right next to the pad, I think it might have been a challenge to find if it had actually LEFT the rod. Sometimes the rockets are smarter than we are.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Good to have Christopher back doing the color!

that Mega Vortico was a nice way to end. When you need a flashlight to find the pieces right next to the pad, I think it might have been a challenge to find if it had actually LEFT the rod. Sometimes the rockets are smarter than we are.

The Blaisdell launches are more chaotic than the Waipahu launches, if you can imagine.

Hey, you shoulda coordinated with @BEC and launched rockets at Ocean Shores. That's not too far from you.

 

[Hobie1dog]

The Blaisdell launches are more chaotic than the Waipahu launches, if you can imagine.

Hey, you shoulda coordinated with @BEC and launched rockets at Ocean Shores. That's not too far from you.

View attachment 563012

water recovery would be a problem

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

water recovery would be a problem

At Ocean Shores? The winds usually blow on shore so probably land in the dunes. This time of year, there's always someone who gets their car stuck in the sand, hopefully not near the surf.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Launching "replaceable" rockets on a very windy day​

The winds have been strong over the past two weeks with a couple rain storms passing through. The winds were 20mph with 30mph gusts. I decided to launch rockets that are either replaceable or resistant to the winds like the Gyroc. We didn't lose any rockets. After three years, a crew was finally fixing the swimming pool so we were covered if any landed in the water.

Gary launched 13mm rockets with 1/2A3-4T motors. He thought he brought A3-4T motors but didn't which was fortuitous because they all stayed within the park. He spent the first 30 minutes putting them together, then proceeded to ripple fire them in quick succession. The light weight rockets struggled to arc over in the wind and sometimes hovered in place. It also seemed around 50ft, there was a thermal layer where the descending rockets hovered before descending again.

I bought a new small tripod for the ground cam. The goal is for the rocket to knock it over so the cam is pointing up after the rocket launches. It will undoubtably work with the MPR but needs to be closer for the LPR. I decided to live stream the launches. I usually download the video and cut snippets into the video. However, the wind was making it difficult to find the launches on the video. There were a couple times when the gust knocked over the cam. Overall, I was pleased with how stable the new stand was in the wind, just needs more weight to hold it down.

Yes, I know the Gyroc clone fins weren't down. I never bothered to install the fin tabs, and I like it spinning upwards. I was hoping the 60fps cam would be more exciting than the AC cam at 30fps. It didn't produce anything interesting to screen grab so played the flight video in slomo. I was having difficulty offsetting the sound. The 200ms difference was more noticeable at 1/6 speed. The avidemux app didn't want to offset but did after a reboot.

0:00 AGM-57X Heatseeker A8-3 3pts
1:01 Spirit B6-4 135ft 4pts
2:01 Puppy cam
2:19 Gary's Boxie Birdie
2:46 Gary's Rebuilt Silver Streak
3:07 Gary's Sky Duster
3:32 Athena A8-3 4pts
4:16 Gary's Nitro
4:42 Gary's Bandit 3
5:09 Gyroc C6-3 4pts
6:09 Flight video
7:02 Gary's Bandit 1
7:21 Gary's Bandit 2
7:48 Apogee AGM C11-3 3pts
8:35 Total 18pts + 5 bonus = 23pts

 

[Hobie1dog]

another enjoyable video. thanks for doing this for us

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

another enjoyable video. thanks for doing this for us

Thanks. The rockets gotta fly no matter how windy.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Just posting some of the pix from Saturday's rainy launch.

 

[kuririn]

Great shot of the Hex 3 plume.
The low lighting due to the ominous skies makes for great pics.
Was that a QJet?

 

[neil_w]

Great pics! Nice to see Biohazard get back in the air.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

View attachment 564733
Great shot of the Hex 3 plume.
The low lighting due to the ominous skies makes for great pics.
Was that a QJet?

Yeah, I ran the D20W in my old Hex3 and D22W in my new Hex3. They both actually look the same. eRockets has them for $6.

 

[CoolRockets]

The Blaisdell launches are more chaotic than the Waipahu launches, if you can imagine.

Hey, you shoulda coordinated with @BEC and launched rockets at Ocean Shores. That's not too far from you.

View attachment 563012

How do you launch at a beach without getting the rocket wet? Is there a clear/waterproof spray or solution to put on your rockets or soemthing?

 

[BEC]

The Blaisdell launches are more chaotic than the Waipahu launches, if you can imagine.

Hey, you shoulda coordinated with @BEC and launched rockets at Ocean Shores. That's not too far from you.

View attachment 563012

Sadly, two flights after this picture was taken (so half an hour or so) it pitched out over the water and didn’t drift back on descent. So that Alpha III (and an FS Mini) are on the way to Japan or wherever things go that wash off the east coast of the North Pacific.

We were there for ten days this time and for most of that time, the wind was blowing out to sea. We thought we were catching it in a brief window where it was the other way and the tide was out, but the wind couldn’t make up its mind….

 

[BEC]

How do you launch at a beach without getting the rocket wet? Is there a clear/waterproof spray or solution to put on your rockets or soemthing?

I just fly rockets with low emotIonal debt factor and don’t let them lie on the beach any longer than necessary (well, when they land on the beach). Hence that particular Alpha III had flown off the beach at Ocean Shores on four different visits. It also recovered on a streamer, so less to get wet between flights and easier to shake out.

Keeping the sand out of stuff including the GSE is really harder than keeping the model dry enough.

 

[BEC]

Yeah, I ran the D20W in my old Hex3 and D22W in my new Hex3. They both actually look the same. eRockets has them for $6.

View attachment 564775

Wow, I’m more than a little surprised that a Hex-3 can take a D20 and hold together.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Sadly, two flights after this picture was taken (so half an hour or so) it pitched out over the water and didn’t drift back on descent. So that Alpha III (and an FS Mini) are on the way to Japan or wherever things go that wash off the east coast of the North Pacific.

We were there for ten days this time and for most of that time, the wind was blowing out to sea. We thought we were catching it in a brief window where it was the other way and the tide was out, but the wind couldn’t make up its mind….

Another FS Mini bites the dust (or lost at sea). I'm still hopeful I'll be able to retrieve the FS Mini in the tall tree. It's in a secured payload bay (except the vent holes) since early December. It's been so rainy lately that I need it to dry out for a week before trying again.

 

[BEC]

Another FS Mini bites the dust (or lost at sea). I'm still hopeful I'll be able to retrieve the FS Mini in the tall tree. It's in a secured payload bay (except the vent holes) since early December. It's been so rainy lately that I need it to dry out for a week before trying again.

Yeah. That was my oldest still-functional Mini, a late beta/pre-production unit with the thicker circuit board. I have at least one beta with the slide switch that don't talk to the current app but otherwise would work, but that one doesn't really count.

Last I heard from Russ @gtg738w he had parts for another batch of Minis but was having supplier cost escalation issues. Here's hoping there's been some resolution. I'd be happy to pay more for them than the $29 they were last to get at least a couple, preferably three or four, more.

 

[BABAR]

Launching "replaceable" rockets on a very windy day​

The winds have been strong over the past two weeks with a couple rain storms passing through. The winds were 20mph with 30mph gusts. I decided to launch rockets that are either replaceable or resistant to the winds like the Gyroc. We didn't lose any rockets. After three years, a crew was finally fixing the swimming pool so we were covered if any landed in the water.

Gary launched 13mm rockets with 1/2A3-4T motors. He thought he brought A3-4T motors but didn't which was fortuitous because they all stayed within the park. He spent the first 30 minutes putting them together, then proceeded to ripple fire them in quick succession. The light weight rockets struggled to arc over in the wind and sometimes hovered in place. It also seemed around 50ft, there was a thermal layer where the descending rockets hovered before descending again.

I bought a new small tripod for the ground cam. The goal is for the rocket to knock it over so the cam is pointing up after the rocket launches. It will undoubtably work with the MPR but needs to be closer for the LPR. I decided to live stream the launches. I usually download the video and cut snippets into the video. However, the wind was making it difficult to find the launches on the video. There were a couple times when the gust knocked over the cam. Overall, I was pleased with how stable the new stand was in the wind, just needs more weight to hold it down.

Yes, I know the Gyroc clone fins weren't down. I never bothered to install the fin tabs, and I like it spinning upwards. I was hoping the 60fps cam would be more exciting than the AC cam at 30fps. It didn't produce anything interesting to screen grab so played the flight video in slomo. I was having difficulty offsetting the sound. The 200ms difference was more noticeable at 1/6 speed. The avidemux app didn't want to offset but did after a reboot.

0:00 AGM-57X Heatseeker A8-3 3pts
1:01 Spirit B6-4 135ft 4pts
2:01 Puppy cam
2:19 Gary's Boxie Birdie
2:46 Gary's Rebuilt Silver Streak
3:07 Gary's Sky Duster
3:32 Athena A8-3 4pts
4:16 Gary's Nitro
4:42 Gary's Bandit 3
5:09 Gyroc C6-3 4pts
6:09 Flight video
7:02 Gary's Bandit 1
7:21 Gary's Bandit 2
7:48 Apogee AGM C11-3 3pts
8:35 Total 18pts + 5 bonus = 23pts

Your Gyroc onboard video would be a fairly good substitute for Ipecac.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

We got close to recovering the last FS Mini that’s been in the tree for three months. It’s in an enclosed payload section so should be fine despite the recent heavy winds. At one point, we got it hooked then lost it. So close. And no, a drone wouldn’t work unless I could attach a flame thrower.


View attachment trim.3AA39EA2-65F5-48CF-B756-1E768228AE8D.MOV

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Many MPR student and club launches with two TARC attempts at Aloun Farms in Hawaii​

The live stream went for an amazing 3.5 hours. I decided not to include the clips in this video because it was already over 25 minutes, and the length of the video exceeded my simple video editor's capacity of 180 minutes. This makes me wonder if the stream keeps cutting out in Waipahu because of the location despite being in the middle of a town. There were about 10 launch pads, and the cam wasn't wide enough so missed the pads on the ends. I placed the cam behind the shade tent to keep the stand from falling over and the video inaudible. https://www.youtube.com/live/1DwQ7yIsKts

Most of the rockets were weathercocking in the wind so coulda gone higher since many of them landed close to the pads. The surface cams worked great and so did the flight cams. I developed a scheme with the ground cam to mount it on a small tripod that would fall over and point upwards as the rocket ascends. It only worked with the Leviathan, so I need to play around with balancing the cam. I don't believe I can get it to fall over with the LPR. I'll lay it on the ground like I usually do.
The weather was going back and forth leading up to the launch. We've had strong winds over the past two weeks and miraculously disappeared before today. The winds were between 5 and 10 mph with eventual gusts to 15mph at the end. I tried adding a keychain alarm to my rockets, but these ended up breaking apart on ejection. It wasn't needed with the Doorknob but did help with finding the DBCP. The JLCR helped with the Leviathan. It opened at ejection with the Bounty Hunter. I'm not sure why because it's working perfectly fine afterwards.

There were students from Assets HS and Honolulu CC. Unfortunately, the Windward CC students were a no show. The high schoolers launched two rockets for The American Rocketry Challenge (TARC) where they strive to reach a specific altitude and flight time without cracking the payload egg. They overshot the flight time due to the strong winds. Got to work with what we got. The college students were flying their LOC Graduators to great success. Koa had two great flights on his Sparky except it went cruise missile for the third launch, maybe due to a faulty motor. Speaking of which, Gary's Bomarc probably had the most dramatic launch I've witnessed. He's been trying to launch for the past year and finally had the opportunity.

I'm struggling with the MPR shock cords which are tangling with the parachute. If I use elastic, I use it in addition with the Kevlar. I have this with the cloned Doorknob and with the Bounty Hunter. The NCR has an interesting system with a looped steel wire at the CR attached to both a 1/2" elastic and Kevlar cord to the payload. With the last two launches, the BH twisted the two cords and tangled with the chute. I removed the elastic (which is getting crispy) and attached a swivel. I can then figure-8 the Kevlar. The cord still tangled in the Leviathan. I think it's because I didn't remove the tape I applied to the figure-8.

0:00 Doorknob clone F44-4W 451ft 7pts
2:07 Flight video RR
3:00 Koa's Sparky E12-6
3:48 Helen's PLB B4-4
4:06 Gary's Bomarc D21-4
4:54 DB Citation Patriot G40-10W 487ft 8pts
6:56 Flight video RR
7:37 Rey's Squirt A10-3T
8:08 Mike's FB F26-6FJ
8:43 Shihdong's NOTT01 chuff
8:53 Tiger's Interceptor B4?
9:08 Shihdong's NOTT01 F26-4W
9:31 Mike's launch controller
10:02 Koa's Sparky E12-6
11:08 Caleb's Hon-91 F20-4W
11:38 Nikki's Norad F15-6
12:00 Waffle's Big Boy F20-4W 694ft (TARC)
13:03 Delle's Hi-tech Hon-62 F20-4W
13:39 Mike's Astron Explorer D12-5
14:11 Gary's Grappler D15-4T
14:25 BD Leviathan F42-4T 547ft 8pts
16:01 Flight video RR
16:49 Koa's Sparky E12-6
17:02 Rey's Squirt A10-3T
17:31 Caleb's Hon-91 F20-4W (TARC)
18:57 Jake's M2500
19:15 Rocket with black cone
19:41 Gary's Minie Magg G76-4G
20:27 Rey's Squirt A10-3T
20:45 Delle's Hi-tech Hon-62 F20-4W
21:22 Caleb's Hon-91 F52-5C
21:59 Bounty Hunter F50-6T 735ft 8pts
22:21 Caleb's Hon-91 F52-5C
24:19 Flight video RR
25:34 Total 31pts+ 20 bonus = 51pts

 

[Cape Byron]

Great video, as always.

 

[CoolRockets]

Yes, awesome video

 

[CoolRockets]

Ron, do you have the falcon 9?

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Ron, do you have the falcon 9?

No, I'm resisting spending the $150. I have the Dr. Zooch Falcon Heavy. It's one of my favorite videos.

 

[Hobie1dog]

No, I'm resisting spending the $150. I have the Dr. Zooch Falcon Heavy. It's one of my favorite videos.

 

[BABAR]

Many MPR student and club launches with two TARC attempts at Aloun Farms in Hawaii​

The live stream went for an amazing 3.5 hours. I decided not to include the clips in this video because it was already over 25 minutes, and the length of the video exceeded my simple video editor's capacity of 180 minutes. This makes me wonder if the stream keeps cutting out in Waipahu because of the location despite being in the middle of a town. There were about 10 launch pads, and the cam wasn't wide enough so missed the pads on the ends. I placed the cam behind the shade tent to keep the stand from falling over and the video inaudible. https://www.youtube.com/live/1DwQ7yIsKts

Most of the rockets were weathercocking in the wind so coulda gone higher since many of them landed close to the pads. The surface cams worked great and so did the flight cams. I developed a scheme with the ground cam to mount it on a small tripod that would fall over and point upwards as the rocket ascends. It only worked with the Leviathan, so I need to play around with balancing the cam. I don't believe I can get it to fall over with the LPR. I'll lay it on the ground like I usually do.
The weather was going back and forth leading up to the launch. We've had strong winds over the past two weeks and miraculously disappeared before today. The winds were between 5 and 10 mph with eventual gusts to 15mph at the end. I tried adding a keychain alarm to my rockets, but these ended up breaking apart on ejection. It wasn't needed with the Doorknob but did help with finding the DBCP. The JLCR helped with the Leviathan. It opened at ejection with the Bounty Hunter. I'm not sure why because it's working perfectly fine afterwards.

There were students from Assets HS and Honolulu CC. Unfortunately, the Windward CC students were a no show. The high schoolers launched two rockets for The American Rocketry Challenge (TARC) where they strive to reach a specific altitude and flight time without cracking the payload egg. They overshot the flight time due to the strong winds. Got to work with what we got. The college students were flying their LOC Graduators to great success. Koa had two great flights on his Sparky except it went cruise missile for the third launch, maybe due to a faulty motor. Speaking of which, Gary's Bomarc probably had the most dramatic launch I've witnessed. He's been trying to launch for the past year and finally had the opportunity.

I'm struggling with the MPR shock cords which are tangling with the parachute. If I use elastic, I use it in addition with the Kevlar. I have this with the cloned Doorknob and with the Bounty Hunter. The NCR has an interesting system with a looped steel wire at the CR attached to both a 1/2" elastic and Kevlar cord to the payload. With the last two launches, the BH twisted the two cords and tangled with the chute. I removed the elastic (which is getting crispy) and attached a swivel. I can then figure-8 the Kevlar. The cord still tangled in the Leviathan. I think it's because I didn't remove the tape I applied to the figure-8.

0:00 Doorknob clone F44-4W 451ft 7pts
2:07 Flight video RR
3:00 Koa's Sparky E12-6
3:48 Helen's PLB B4-4
4:06 Gary's Bomarc D21-4
4:54 DB Citation Patriot G40-10W 487ft 8pts
6:56 Flight video RR
7:37 Rey's Squirt A10-3T
8:08 Mike's FB F26-6FJ
8:43 Shihdong's NOTT01 chuff
8:53 Tiger's Interceptor B4?
9:08 Shihdong's NOTT01 F26-4W
9:31 Mike's launch controller
10:02 Koa's Sparky E12-6
11:08 Caleb's Hon-91 F20-4W
11:38 Nikki's Norad F15-6
12:00 Waffle's Big Boy F20-4W 694ft (TARC)
13:03 Delle's Hi-tech Hon-62 F20-4W
13:39 Mike's Astron Explorer D12-5
14:11 Gary's Grappler D15-4T
14:25 BD Leviathan F42-4T 547ft 8pts
16:01 Flight video RR
16:49 Koa's Sparky E12-6
17:02 Rey's Squirt A10-3T
17:31 Caleb's Hon-91 F20-4W (TARC)
18:57 Jake's M2500
19:15 Rocket with black cone
19:41 Gary's Minie Magg G76-4G
20:27 Rey's Squirt A10-3T
20:45 Delle's Hi-tech Hon-62 F20-4W
21:22 Caleb's Hon-91 F52-5C
21:59 Bounty Hunter F50-6T 735ft 8pts
22:21 Caleb's Hon-91 F52-5C
24:19 Flight video RR
25:34 Total 31pts+ 20 bonus = 51pts

Gary ‘s (@kuririn ) Bomarc proved sometimes better to be lucky than just good. Had the rocket successfully departed in vertical flight and that swivel snapped at altitude….. the rocket‘s Flight would have been a bit more like the “single use” actual missile!

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Gary ‘s (@kuririn ) Bomarc proved sometimes better to be lucky than just good. Had the rocket successfully departed in vertical flight and that swivel snapped at altitude….. the rocket‘s Flight would have been a bit more like the “single use” actual missile!

@DirkTheDaring guest at the park tomorrow. I’ll try not to put him in harms way also. However he is the king of Chad staging.