So I thought I'd post some stills taken from videos that I took during our low-power launch yesterday. As noted above, it was my first launch of anything I built since I was a kid, in the late 60's/early 70's. We flew Chris Michelson's (sp?) "Birdie" and "Pigasus", my Estes Mercury Redstone and Venus Probe, and my son's Estes "Power Patrol".
Now since I'd themed my launch control box with Snoopy, Duck Dodgers, Marvin the Martian, and especially Wile E. Coyote, a fellow here had predicted that I'd face many disasters, including possibly the rocket remaining on the pad while the fellow pushing the button would get catapaulted into the air! And true to form, we started with Birdie just to check the wind. My first launch in forever CATO'd! The A10-3T blew out the nozzle and basically acted like a firecracker. We tried Birdie again later and a second A10-3T CATO'd as well, but we got more altitude that time. Maybe that "10" spike is too much for a small motor, or I got a bad batch or something.
4 generations were present for the launch - my wife's mother, my wife, her brother, and I, 2 of my sons, one of my daughters, her hubby and the 3 grandkids. All rockets flew and recovered. Damages were confined to superficial stuff - a cracked outer fin on the Redstone, a lost escape rocket nozzle on the Redstone, and a little body tube end damage on my son's Power Patrol. 7 flights in all.
And I am an idiot - took the 1920 x 1080 videos with the camera vertical... Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Lessons learned:
1. Venus Probe and Redstone can easily fly on "D" impulse- with Venus Probe, it's almost a necessity.
2. Pigasus is a great little flyer!
3. Rockets are very hard to video - I couldn't find them in the frame once they were up a ways!
3. Grandkids are enthralled with rockets! In the pictures to follow, look for my granddaughter (purple shirt) with her hands pointed up over her head. She's a rocket!
Uh.. they're kinda out of order, but said grandaughter can be seen, hands over her head, laying next to the Redstone. Thank God she laid down gently rather than topling over like the Rocket did!