What's your (or anyone's) record for the most flights on a single rocket?

[Funkworks]

Just wondering.

 

[AfterBurners]

2

 

[Banzai88]

I have one high power rocket that had 20 flights before an ematch failed on the main on flight 21. Broke off a fin. Rebuilt the booster, still going strong!

 

[BEC]

I have two models - a Nova Payloader and an Alpha - each with 75 flights. The Nova Payloader has been retired but I may see if I can get the Alpha to 100.

 

[Wallace]

When I was much younger I had an Estes 3 stager that just would not quit. Never lost a stage and flew it till it wouldn't fit together anymore from direct stage erosion of the parts. Don't remember the name and not sure on how many actual flights I got out of it but since it seemed like thousands, that's what I'm claiming.

 

[solid_fuel]

mine is 9 on my crossfire, it slightly damaged now but should fly again. Someone at MDRA has a rocket with something like 250 flights on it. they announce the count on each launch.

 

[kuririn]

If you had a fiberglass rocket and only flew modest (not pushing the limits) flights then you could probably get hundreds of launches from it. Just replace the shock cord and chute periodically, the rest is almost bulletproof. Oh and no motor CATOs. Cheers.

 

[Zeus-cat]

The story I heard a while back on this forum was Jim Flis (previous owner of Flis Kits) had an Estes rocket that had flown 498 times. He took it to a national launch and Gleda Estes launched it for the 499th time. Then Vern Estes launched it for the 500th time. Jim then gave the rocket to Vern and Gleda. It would be tough (not impossible) to beat that!

Found the thread:
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/most-lpr-flights-on-a-rocket.27444/#post-244109

 

[Wallace]

May have been something like this?

 

[Alan Whitmore]

1. This should properly be broken down into two questions: the most-flown model, or low-power, rocket, and the most-flown high-power rocket. Two entirely different challenges, both logistically and financially.
2. The meaningful answer involves a precise definition of what you mean by "a rocket". Do you mean precisely the same set of parts, shock cords, parachutes, nose cones, body tubes, and paint job, or do you mean an assembly of parts that all look the same and have the same name, but have been through the sort of real-life attrition that affects all of us. This reminds me of that old chestnut about the old carpenter that claimed he was still using his great-grandfather's hammer. Since his ggf had owned it, it had seven new handles and two new heads, but it was still "his great-grandfather's hammer". I still have the "same rocket" that I certified L1 with back in 1998, and it has flown 146 times, but there is not a single molecule on this rocket that rode along on that first flight. I still keep the same name because it is painted exactly the same, and it still has a 38mm motor mount tube. It's called the "Astro*Mollusc". Therein lies a tale.
3. As far as high-power records for the most flights go, a serious contender must be a tube-finned rocket called "Tuber" that a member of the MDRA group has been flying since the biblical floods of Noah receded from the face of the earth. I have been racking my brain to remember his last name, Dave somebody, but this rocket has been flying forever, and, as far as I know, is still in the "church militant'. It has probably flown 300 times.
4. Most people just don't keep the kind of records that would allow a question like this to be answered with any sort of reliability, so this will have to remain in the realm of 'urban legend".

Alan

 

[Nathan]

My Frenzy XL has been flown 24 times. Right now I'm in the process of repainting it for the second time. My next goal for the Frenzy XL is 100,000 ft total accumulated altitude.

 

[tfish]

My L3 rocket Speedy Gonzales had 43 flight on it..about 30 of them M motors. I'm not sure why it crashed. I used it to do a lot of testing of various things.

fast forward to 39 seconds..



Tony

 

[BEC]

To address Alan’s “what is a rocket?” discussion with respect to the two models I mentioned—both of them have had several shock cords and at least a couple of parachutes, but the body, nose cone/payload section, fins and motor mount have been in each model from flight 1 through flight 75. In the Alpha’s case each of its three fins have been broken off at least once (often in conjunction with a shock cord or ‘chute needing replacement) but they themselves have only been reattached, never replaced. Neither model has been repainted. For whatever that’s worth......

I keep logbooks and could, if necessary, quote date and motor used for each of the 150 flights between the two models. No urban legends here

I also have another Nova Payloader which had its most recent flight—its 67th— on May 5th. The aforementioned Alpha had its 72nd through 75th flights on April 7th of this year. Flight 74 was on a Q-Jet C12-6 and the FireFly aboard reported an apogee of 1252 feet.

 

[MALBAR 70]

My son has a Custom Equinox that is going on 20+ flights. As for myself, LPR, my Estes Vagabond has at least 12-15 flights, For HPR,my L1 cert rocket, a Loc Cyclotron "The Twilight Zone" has 12 flights on it.

 

[blackjack2564]

I have a 3in fiberglass rocket that has 111 flights since 2003. It has been fixed/rebuilt several times , but still going strong. probably weighs an extra pound from all the re-paints though.
I take it to almost every launch.

 

[5x7]

I agree low power goes to Jim Flis with Astron Sprint with 500 flights
High power motor eject I bet goes to Dave Weber's Toober which has at least 252 flights (see MDRA you tube page).
I have a 4" dual deploy altimeter rocket 'Beater' built in 1995 from LOC components that has 104 flights on it, lots of H and Is and mainly ex after 2004. It was originally all black and got a pink band for a cancer awareness launch. I repaired a fin that snapped off at the fillet on a completely normal landing, I think the ply was bad. It's been retrieved from a power line, from high in a tree suspended over a river, and vanished for an entire year before being found, where it lost a lot of paint. I think it deserves to be retired.

 

[cwbullet]

I have a couple 20-30 but nothing to match the hundreds,

 

[Rocketjunkie]

My Motoreater (5.5", 54 and 8 29 mounts) has 69 flights, the 54mm Deuce (5.5" body) has 45, and the High Tech H45 has 39. All dual deploy flights, any motor eject flights not included. All are still flyable. The Motoreater should fly at the Freedom lainch.