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ghrocketman
10-03-2006, 11:40 PM
Got several flights in tonight !
No wind for a change here in my Michigan backyard.

1) PDR Astron Trident clone: C6-5, great nominal flight

2&3) PDR SPEV; 2 flights, B6-4 maiden flight & C6-5 second flight; both good flights
4) Semroc Lil Ivan, A8-5 maiden flight; good low altitiude flight, needs longer streamer
5) Astron Ranger Clone, 3xB6-4 cluster maiden flight; great flight
6&7) Semroc Centuri Explorer clone; maiden flight on C11-3 and second flight on Aerotech RMS24 D15-4T; flight on C11-3 far too low (maybe 200' tops), flight on D15-4T much better
8) 24mm Estes Fat Boy; E9-6, first "E" flight for this bird, GREAT flight to around 1200' !

9) Final flight: 10th flight on my '72 Enerjet Aero-Dart clone....total destruction of rocket :mad: ....I learned the hard way that a RMS24 D9-4W is not nearly enough thrust for this bird :mad:
Rocket power-veered to horizontal almost immediately (at about 100') after launch and power-PRANGED into the cul-de-sac in front of my house....naturally the ejection charge went off a split second AFTER the splat on the cul-de-sac.
This rocket had flown several times successfully on D15-4T and E28 RMS 24 reloads; guess I need to make another Semroc order to build another. I would have been FAR less upset if any of the other rockets I launched would have crashed.

A Fish Named Wallyum
10-04-2006, 12:12 AM
How odd. Your pictures don't seem to have attached. :confused:
What's the deal with the PDR SPEV? I don't see it on their site. Are you beta-testing it for them? :cool:

CPMcGraw
10-04-2006, 12:34 AM
Got several flights in tonight !
No wind for a change here in my Michigan backyard.

...6&7) Semroc Centuri Explorer clone; maiden flight on C11-3 and second flight on Aerotech RMS24 D15-4T; flight on C11-3 far too low (maybe 200' tops), flight on D15-4T much better

...9) Final flight: 10th flight on my '72 Enerjet Aero-Dart clone....total destruction of rocket :mad: ....I learned the hard way that a RMS24 D9-4W is not nearly enough thrust for this bird :mad:

Sorry to hear about the loss of the Aero-Dart clone; bad way to end an otherwise great flight session...

I had forgotten about the Centuri Explorer; had to jump over to Ninfinger to refresh my memory. Sounds like a D12 might put in a reasonably good flight to 375-400'??? The catalog image reminds me of the smaller Micron...

ghrocketman
10-04-2006, 08:45 AM
It was a sort of rushed launch just before dusk...sorry no pics.

My mistake regarding the SPEV; it is a ROCKETPAD kit, not PDR.

Semroc estimates the flight altitiude of the Explorer to be 650' on an Estes D12....I think that is a very optimistic estimate as I'd bet it only got to about 700' on an Aerotech RMS24 D15-4T, and that is a full 20 n-sec hi-thrust D. The Estes D12 has far less thrust and only tests out to be about 16-17 n/sec.

snaquin
10-04-2006, 07:14 PM
10th flight on my '72 Enerjet Aero-Dart clone....total destruction of rocket :mad: ....I learned the hard way that a RMS24 D9-4W is not nearly enough thrust for this bird :mad:


Sorry to hear that ..... I hope you had the balsa cone on and not the special resin one?

Question: Are the fins the same on the '72 EnerJet Aero-Dart as they are for the smaller diameter '71 Centuri KF-12 version?

.

ghrocketman
10-05-2006, 11:15 AM
I was using the balsa cone, not the resin "moldin' oldies" one that I use for display.
The fins for the '67-'71 AeroDart are the same as the fins for the '72 Enerjet one.
The fin-can and engine mount survived intact; I will probably cut it off and graft a new section of ST-20 and a new nose section onto the fin-can.

Shreadvector
10-06-2006, 11:17 AM
ALWAYS check the lift off weight of the rocket and the recommended maximum lift off weight of the motor. Then, if it's windy, use a shorter delay time or a higher thrust motor to be safe. Long steel launch rods are also a good idea. 1/4" diameter x 6 feet long is good for all mid-power. A stable launch pad is also a good idea (in other words, no "Dancing Mantis" for heavy rockets or violent motors)

Got several flights in tonight !
No wind for a change here in my Michigan backyard.

1) PDR Astron Trident clone: C6-5, great nominal flight

2&3) PDR SPEV; 2 flights, B6-4 maiden flight & C6-5 second flight; both good flights
4) Semroc Lil Ivan, A8-5 maiden flight; good low altitiude flight, needs longer streamer
5) Astron Ranger Clone, 3xB6-4 cluster maiden flight; great flight
6&7) Semroc Centuri Explorer clone; maiden flight on C11-3 and second flight on Aerotech RMS24 D15-4T; flight on C11-3 far too low (maybe 200' tops), flight on D15-4T much better
8) 24mm Estes Fat Boy; E9-6, first "E" flight for this bird, GREAT flight to around 1200' !

9) Final flight: 10th flight on my '72 Enerjet Aero-Dart clone....total destruction of rocket :mad: ....I learned the hard way that a RMS24 D9-4W is not nearly enough thrust for this bird :mad:
Rocket power-veered to horizontal almost immediately (at about 100') after launch and power-PRANGED into the cul-de-sac in front of my house....naturally the ejection charge went off a split second AFTER the splat on the cul-de-sac.
This rocket had flown several times successfully on D15-4T and E28 RMS 24 reloads; guess I need to make another Semroc order to build another. I would have been FAR less upset if any of the other rockets I launched would have crashed.

ghrocketman
10-06-2006, 01:50 PM
You mean my standard Porta-Pad with 36" 1/8" rod passing through the 3/16" lugs on my AeroDart was no good ??? :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :p