High Power Rockets: Level 1 Cert flight and more at ARLISS on the Black Rock Dry Lake - Day 1 and 2
We had perfect flying conditions in Nevada, probably the calm after the storm when TS Hillary blew through Baja and California. By the time we were there, the playa was mostly dried with a few cars still stuck in the mud near the hot springs. This video is heavily edited so no, I did not stand next to the launching rockets. I launched a total of four flights with the LOC Patriot and two with the Bounty Hunter. After about 45 degrees, my cam will lose the flight in the clear blue sky, so I edited out most of the blurry parts.
The flight line was not very busy like I had heard with most events. There were times (especially in the early afternoon) when you could walk up, have the RSO inspect the rocket, get assigned a rail by the LCO, then launch without delay. There were four students from WCC and HonCC who got their Level 1 Cert (plus me), and two students who passed the Level 2 exam and successfully flew their Level 2 J motors. I didn't bother with Level 2 because the motors are more expensive and can't see them when they reach 5,000ft.
Fortunately, no problems with the level 1 Cert flight. I think I accidently added the second ground video in with the first, but I'm sure no one will notice (except that the cam is on the ground before flight). Because there was very little wind (except the second day), a lot of the rockets were landing behind the flight line so a lot of heads up were called. I find that the Handycam video is shakier for my flights because I'm nervous.
The purpose of ARLISS is to invite rocketry groups with their M motor rockets so universities around the world can compete with different challenges. The universities pay for the motor ($500), and the clubs get to fly their rockets. Nikki built a rover last year that crashed, so she built a new one called Robare. For some reason, the charge meant to sever the chute after it lands went off on the table. At this point, she was happy if the rover makes it to the ground in one piece.
Jake's rocket achieved the mission of expelling the test weight to revalidate the rocket after it crashed last year. Like most M motor rockets, it comes down in three sections plus the payload. However, Jake believes he inadvertently pushed the nose cone chute in too far, and the drag plate was not enough to pull out the chute. Fortunately, Becky had a spare. Nikki decided to buy a bigger chute from the vendors. During the XPRS duration contest, Tiger (Nikki's daughter) won the G motor category using the chute.
Lots of things went wrong with the second Patriot flight. The cam battery died on the pad, there was too much charge in the ejection causing the chute to blow off, and the NC popped the clip causing it to tumble down and break open one of the altimeters. After this, I figure out that a ten second delay is nominal for the adjustable delay motors and to just use the amount of black powder charge that Aerotech gives you.
Despite the case breaking open, the broken altimeter seems fine after gluing it back together. Learning how to put together a reloadable motor was worth the flight. I borrowed the case from Becky and made sure to use plenty of baby wipes to clean out the residue. The downside of using a reloadable is that I don't get a souvenir motor case to take home. The I280 from day 4 is a hefty 14in long.
The Bounty Hunter had too little delay and zippered about 8in down the tube. I covered the zipper with epoxy and duct tape so was good to go for another flight. The zipper may have also caused the cam to fall off. It was still recording when I found it about 40ft behind the pad. It works but still trying to get it to work reliably.
Jake's second launch also had problems. The NC ejected and Robare was ejected, but the ejection charges for the main chute failed to ignite so it tumbled to the ground flattening one fin and damaging the forward tube. Robare landed but missing one of its two wheels that someone found later.
0:00 Intro
0:05 LOC Patriot 4in H195T 1502ft
2:23 Flight video RR
4:48 Jake deploying test weight on M1600
6:06 Melody Level 1 flight
6:12 LOC Patriot 4in I285GR 2597ft?
8:31 Typical ARLISS competition flight
8:53 Bounty Hunter G125T-8 1167ft
11:10 Flight video
11:58 Jake deploying Nikki's Robare rover
13:13 Gavin Level 2 flight J270
14:31 John Candy Bowl E11
15:44 Photos of day 1 and 2
