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I don’t use that many low power composites (yet!). Seems like a higher percentage of “chuffing” than usual on your last launch.likely why the Bomarc (fortuitously) had an ultrashort flight, but also may be why Patriot deployed at low altitude (not a JLCR malfunction but a failure to reach adequate altitude and velocity at thrust burn out, so EJECTION was barely in time . In fact, I am wondering if the JLCR didn’t function EXTRAORDINARILY well, probably released the bands BEFORE the ejection charge fired, recognizing the rocked had ALREADY exceeded and the descended below programmed altitude.

But what’s with the chuffing? I’m thinking some rockets wasted significant powder bouncing on pad before finally clawing skyward?
 
But what’s with the chuffing? I’m thinking some rockets wasted significant powder bouncing on pad before finally clawing skyward?
I think so too.
The D22-4W in the Bomarc was a new QJet 24 mm white lightning motor.
Bought it just a few months ago.
So couldn't be oxidation or swelling.
I have had terrible luck with QJets.
Nozzle erosion, casing burn thrus, and now severe chuffing.
Almost drives one to drink.
:eggnog:
 
I think so too.
The D22-4W in the Bomarc was a new QJet 24 mm white lightning motor.
Bought it just a few months ago.
So couldn't be oxidation or swelling.
I have had terrible luck with QJets.
Nozzle erosion, casing burn thrus, and now severe chuffing.
Almost drives one to drink.
:eggnog:
Just don’t smoke for 24 hours prior to launch and don‘t drink within 10 feet of the pad.
 
I don’t use that many low power composites (yet!). Seems like a higher percentage of “chuffing” than usual on your last launch.likely why the Bomarc (fortuitously) had an ultrashort flight, but also may be why Patriot deployed at low altitude (not a JLCR malfunction but a failure to reach adequate altitude and velocity at thrust burn out, so EJECTION was barely in time . In fact, I am wondering if the JLCR didn’t function EXTRAORDINARILY well, probably released the bands BEFORE the ejection charge fired, recognizing the rocked had ALREADY exceeded and the descended below programmed altitude.

But what’s with the chuffing? I’m thinking some rockets wasted significant powder bouncing on pad before finally clawing skyward?
Jake has a bunch of old motors, some have the old initiators with the single copper strip. I threw out the ones where the holes closed up from swelling. My plan was that the DBCP was going to go straight up so had time for the 10s delay to fire but arced over instead, maybe due to old propellent.

I'm still not sure why the JLCR opened at apogee in the Bounty Hunter. The rubber band seems fine. I'll replace the insert just in case. The rocket landed just before the construction yard so worked out.
 
I'm still not sure why the JLCR opened at apogee in the Bounty Hunter. The rubber band seems fine. I'll replace the insert just in case. The rocket landed just before the construction yard so worked out.
I think the chute slipped out from the rubber band at ejection. but the servo didn't release until the programmed altitude. Consistent with what I see on the video.
 
Jake has a bunch of old motors, some have the old initiators with the single copper strip. I threw out the ones where the holes closed up from swelling. My plan was that the DBCP was going to go straight up so had time for the 10s delay to fire but arced over instead, maybe due to old propellent.

I'm still not sure why the JLCR opened at apogee in the Bounty Hunter. The rubber band seems fine. I'll replace the insert just in case. The rocket landed just before the construction yard so worked out.
No reason to toss them unless the grain is not in the liner. If it is in the liner and closed, by hand, use a drill bit to open it up. If the liner is too tight, because of the swelling of the grain, peel a little paper off the liner.

If talking about an SU, well I posted to TRF slo-motion video of chuffing old WL motors. I don't think you lose a whole lot of impulse (IMO). However the delays almost ALWAYS go long. Which means even though I drilled out the slot, I did not get to the delay. Or the delay suffers from being old as well. Dunno. Given the cost of a wood and paper scratch built rocket, I'd rather chance the motor than throw it away. However now that Eggtimer will sell you a $20 Apogee kit that lets you have just a good a chance at decent recovery as that old WL motor, that is what I do.

It is like Estes E9s and old E15s. I have a rocket built just for them called the E-Liminator. It is npthing but a SPEV. No emotional attachment whatsoever.

YMMV Greatly

And boy scouts, I don't care what you think about "Modifying a Motor"
These launches using these loads, are by me, myself, and I. The nearest legal issue is miles away.
So please... no Boy Scout remarks.
 
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I think the chute slipped out from the rubber band at ejection. but the servo didn't release until the programmed altitude. Consistent with what I see on the video.
I have had that happen with the JLCR and with Archetype Cable Cutters. Not often, but it happens.
 
The video from the two days was a little disappointing... yes yes.. I am being a jerk. But there was no slo-mo of the MMX's which would have been awesome. The video was often zoomed way too far in. I mean I really appreciate the report and video!!!!! Just @Ronz Rocketz seem to have an off day or two. Don't get me wrong... I HAVE off days in still imaging. It happens!! So thanks for the video!
 

Blitzing the pickleballers on misty, windy, and humid two days with Ken and guests

We had two guest parties join us this weekend. Ken from Seattle joined us with his friend. I first launched with Ken last year in April when we visited family in April. In fact we plan to be at the 60 Acre Park again on Thursday, weather permitting. Gary and Ken launched last Wednesday but I was unable to attend. The winds were gusting to 30mph. We also made plans for Friday. Sunday looked better, so we planned for then. However the calm winds moved off to Monday, and I decided I wanted to try my MPR then instead.

We were also joined Sunday with a grandfather and grandson who built a Super Big Bertha. Unfortunately, he used hot glue and the motor mount pulled out while trying to install the F15. I told them it's doable if they used wood glue in the MM and wait 4 hours to dry.

The second day had very mild winds, but this created a very humid situation with dew saturating the grass. My 12v Thomas Special wasn't working, and the 6v Estes controller wasn't lighting the MPR motors. It was able to light two Estes motors, barely. Gary launched two MX cluster rockets. It's not easy to get those tiny motor igniters to twist.

I was barely able to get my Fletch Cargo back. I used the old SQ11 spy cam in the cargo tube. It's difficult to remember the orientation but always seem to end up in portrait. The video codec is old and the sound is 3sec out of sync so have to use multiple programs to get the video to work in the editor.

Overall, 33 rockets launched including my seven. Ken has several flight videos in addition but didn't include them to keep the video from getting too long. The football staff did an amazing job with installing the boundary lines as seen from the aerial footage. It must've taken a long time to measure with line. If they don't use weed killer on the lines, they'll have to do it over again when the grass is mowed.

0:00 Majestic payload E16-6 590ft 7pts
2:02 Flight video RR
3:08 Day 1 intro
3:20 Ken's HumFcker A10-3T
3:40 Gary's Sandia Sandhawk MX
3:53 Super Big Bertha E16-6 417ft 5pts
5:10 Ken's AstroDurf B6-2
5:56 2to2.5 E12-4 429ft 5pts
7:12 Gary's Nike Smoke MX
7:36 Ken's Green Guy D12-5
8:22 Solar Flare B6-0/A10-3T 264ft 6pts
9:29 Ken's Green Guy C11-3
10:06 Gary's Fliskits Diminutive Deuce, 2X MX
10:25 Ken's AstroDurf B4-4
10:57 Gary's Leading Edge MX Scrambler, 3X MX
11:23 Vapor (short) C11-3 240ft 6pts
12:08 Flight video
12:52 Ken's Green Guy B6-4
13:38 Ken's Green Guy B6-2
14:10 BOSS C5-3 267ft 5pts
14:58 Gary prepping cluster
15:07 Gary's Scratch MX Ranger, 3X MX
15:25 Gary's Mars Leaper
15:36 Wind knocking over webcam
15:59 Day 2 attempt to launch MPR
16:09 Ken's AstroDurf C6-3
17:02 Gary's Starlight Saber, A8-3
17:24 Ken's HumFcker A3-4T
17:44 Gary's Starlight Derecho, A8-3
18:33 Ken's Sawed Off Green Guy D12-3
18:33 Gary's Vortico, Quest B6-0
18:54 Fletch Cargo E12-4 1117ft 7ft
20:31 Flight video RR
21:55 Gary's Nike Smoke, A10-3T
22:14 Ken's AstroDurf C6-3
22:37 Gary's Mini Bomarc D12-3
22:50 Gary's Trajector, E16-4
23:54 Ken's Mini Hojo
24:13 Total 41 + 10 bonus = 51pts

 

Perfect conditions on Prince Kuhio holiday with several MPR launches and a guest

Monday was a State holiday to celebrate a member of the royal family who was instrumental in Hawaii statehood. The weather was perfect with low winds, low humidity, and mild temperatures. For some reason, there were a lot of dogs at the park who were not congenial to the loud rocket motors.

I had three successful MPR launches, and Gary launched ten rockets. The only issue Gary had was with the Lil Grunt that appeared to lose a fin at ejection, possibly from colliding with the NC. We couldn't find the fin despite an exhaustive search. Except for the old F20 motor, there were no Catos or lost rockets. Unlike last time, there were no misfires with either the Thomas controller or Gary's yellow controller. I determined the problem with the Thomas controller was that dew got into the crimped wire. I removed the crimps and soldered the wires together now.

The Super Big Bertha is a clone with plywood fins and CR. I also added a baffle between the two BT-80 sections. The plywood fins are hollow and were covered with styrene sheets then secured with epoxy. The white paint gave me trouble and had to be redone three times which I didn't mind too much because the BT-80 are horribly thin to begin with. The first flight with the primer had a zippering that required cutting two inches off the top. I added tape to the cord at the opening to prevent zippering again.

The Doorknob payload clone worked great at Aloun the other week with the F44-4W. Everyone else was launching their MPR with F20 motors and wanted to try it also but couldn't get the Jr. initiator into the motor so used a F44 instead. The F20-4W this time was one of the old motors I got from Jake and had to use a drill on the opening. It predictably chuffed spectacularly on the pad. It was probably underpowered and headed toward the pickleballers but fortunately had an early ejection before the coast phase.

The Bounty Hunter had tangled at Aloun so removed the heavy elastic cord. I was able to get the ground camera to fall over as planned for the second time. Next time, I'll add a cardstock to the front to help knock over the camera. When the cam fell over, the video stopped shortly afterwards, and the cam kept turning off afterwards so not sure if the impact hurt the cam somehow. The flight video had some interlace artifacts, I think because of the red paint in the bright sunlight. The other videos didn't seem to have similar issues.

Another successful landing of the Green Eggs which was fortunate because I didn't put the egg in a Ziploc bag this time. I speculated that if I used an E12-6 and had the right kind of altimeter, I could've competed in the TARC, at least not officially. I usually rotate the ground cam but forgot this time. In hindsight, I shoulda used the D20W instead of the C18W with the Venus Probe. I'm not sure where I can get a replacement hinge or a 3D print plan.

I drove by the park last Saturday at 7:45am, and there was a full peewee football game in progress. Fortunately, there was no game on Monday. I'll have to be sure to check with the City before heading out to the park on the weekend. We figured out that they used a Turf Tank robot to mark the football field. It will be interesting to see if they use it more in the future. The field does look great from above in the flight videos.

We usually have people watching us from the sidelines. This time, a guy name Ronnie approached and was excited we were launching rockets because he used to launch with his teenage kids seven years ago in the exact same spot. He also showed us video from back then on his phone, but his kids are grown up now. He said he still has his rockets and hope to see him again soon.

0:00 Super Big Bertha E16-4 424ft 7pts
1:40 Flight video RR
2:36 Gary's Mars Leaper, A3-2T
2:53 Gary's Hi-Flyer, A8-3
3:23 Gary's Emma's Dilemma, QC6-0
3:49 Gary's Xtreme, A8-3
4:05 Doorknob payload F20-4W 290ft 6pts
6:06 Flight video RR
6:43 Gary's Blue Chiller, B4-2
7:12 Bounty Hunter F67-4W 590ft 7pts
8:49 Flight video RR
9:52 Gary's Shattered, B6-4
10:20 Gary's Firehawk, A3-2T
10:57 Solar Flare C6-0 - 1/2A3-2T 375ft 5pts
12:05 Gary's Vortico, Estes B6-4
12:51 Green Eggs D12-5 537ft 6pts
14:56 Gary's Screamin' Green Meanie, D12-3
16:18 Venus Probe C18-4W 4pts
17:24 Gary's Quest Li'l Grunt, D12-3
18:12 Total 35pts + 5 bonus = 40pts

 
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The new batch of @GlenP cardstock rockets has arrived! The box is in very good shape. The winds are looking favorable this Saturday and Joe is planning an event. We promise not to land them in the monkey pod trees or in Pearl Harbor. I can guarantee they will be the favorite of the local park kids.

06ADCA16-332E-47D2-A066-E59519E833E6.jpeg
 

I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul. April Fool launching in the park

I wanted to try the 6ft rod with the Doorknob and Super Big Bertha. After landing the Doorknob on the roof, I should've held off on launching the Bertha but couldn't help it (thus the title) because there was no wind and I had a F15 burning in my pocket (not literally). I decided not to use the remaining 60fps cam and probably forgot to set the altimeter but otherwise a perfect flight. I was disappointed the ground cam didn't knock over both times.

I recovered the Doorknob from the roof. The 60fps cam (#32S) recorded 50min (10Gb) of video before it shut off. I uploaded the flight video here: • Doorknob RR

Keegan and his parents joined us at Aloun last month as spectators. Afterwards, Keegan was excited to launch their own, so the dad bought the Tandem-X from Hobbyco and launch kit. I got a free SLS rocket from Joe, so that's my commission for sending customers to him. They forgot the batteries for the controller. Fortunately, we have several backups. The humidity and dew was wrecking havoc on the controllers. After each time we launched, we had to wipe down the clips and use sandpaper to ignite the motors. The clips would literally corrode after each launch.

The Y-wing had a cracked pod, kinda reminds me of Gold Five's demise. However, the plastic pod's easy to glue together. The ejection charge was loud and tore the cord out of the tube. Keegan hasn't seen Star Wars yet. I told them to be sure to video tape him during The Empire Strikes Back reveal when he's ready in a couple years. The eternal question is in what order to watch the movies. Now there's several TV series, so the question is complicated. I saw episode 4 in the theaters when I was 9. Back then, we just called it Star Wars. My mom did buy me the empty box for Christmas. I was the envy of my class.

0:00 Gary's Vortico QC6-0
0:57 Chiller D12-0/A8-3 991ft 5pts
2:27 Keegan's Crossfire A8-3
4:13 Attempt #2
5:03 Gary's Terraformer, D12-0
5:32 Doorknob payload F20-4W 570ft 7pts
6:48 Gary's Showstopper, D12-5
8:26 Keegan's Amazon B6-4
9:03 Boosted Bertha B6-0/B6-4 5pts
10:25 Keegan's Crossfire A8-3
10:58 Super Big Bertha F15-4 4pts
12:35 Keegan's Amazon B6-4
13:08 Gary saving the Magician for later
13:14 Y-wing Fighter C5-3 3pts
14:57 Keegan's Amazon B6-4
15:38 Gary's Stealth, E16-0
16:08 Attempted dual Mars Leaper A10-0 3pts
16:21 Attempt #2 3pts
16:43 Gary's Turbo Vortico, E16-0
Total 30pts + 10 bonus = 40pts

 
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Ron: is $30 the normal price for an Estes altimeter? I found one new on Ebay
Yes, that's where I'm buying them. Some are able to find them in clearance aisle for $15 at Hobby Lobby.

I love the FS Mini altimeters but they are horribly unlucky. Russ used to have a lost rocket warranty for $20. Then he ran out of microprocessors. :confused:
 
The Great Goblin clone has been painted to the full 80%. It measures 36in long. Haven’t decided if I want to chop off the 2.5in to match the upcoming rocket. The tube is the 4 slot from Estes. I have lots of DBRM balsa fins, so used one for this build. I epoxied styrene to the fins.
I also wanted to use the cardstock CR. I epoxied a balsa ring to the front CR for protection. I glued the TTW fins before inserting the rear CR. The fins seemed wobbly so added lot more glue. Seems solid now.
I’m having trouble with the decal sheets in my inkjet printer. It’s difficult to print large decals on the sheet. I gave up on the black band and use electrical tape instead.

IMG_1005.jpeg
 
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