A Fish Named Wallyum
08-21-2005, 08:31 PM
Beautiful day in Cincinnati, the kind of day that we had on NARAM days 1 & 2, if a little warmer. Steve Carr and I van-pooled to the surprisingly ill-attended QUARK launch at VOA. I was really amazed to find that we didn't have a 20 car long flight line, but it left more launches for us. First off the pad was my newly painted Rokitflite Odyssey on a C6-5. Scott has mentioned that he prefers the C6-3, but I had none in my range box. I think I might prefer the C6-3 also. The Odyssey tipped over before ejection and the parachute fouled on the sail. Descent was slowed enough to keep it from being damaged, but it still almost hit one of the trucks on the flightline. I flew it again later on a B6-2, but this is a rocket that really works best with the C engines. On the B flight the upward motion stalled before ejection and the nose cone flopped out. Recovery was in the veggies and elicited a howl of disapproval from one of the kids in attendance who had been bugging me to fly it for an hour. He was off chasing another rocket and forgot that the Odyssey was next on the pad. :D
The U.S.S. Atlantis Duex eventually flew after ignitor difficulties. Both engines (2xC6-5's) caught at the same time and the flight was perfect, but the landing was a rough one. It missed the road by a few feet, but also missed the soft veggies by the same amount. It wound up losing one of the pods on impact, but it will be a simple repair.
One of the more impressive flights of the day was the Excelsior Goony Max on a D12-5. What a screamer! "Like a motor with fins" is how one of the guys described it. "AWESOME!" is how the Odyssey kid described it. Well worth the walk.
The next flight was one only I got pumped about. My 1969 catalog painted Big Bertha on a C6-5. "Miss 1969" flew like I'd expected she would and recovered in the same area as many of my others, deep in the veggies. I think the next Bertha will be the yellow/white and black scheme. My final flight was my S.P.E.V. on a C6-5 and another Scooby Doo recovery. By this time it was nearing six and my ankle was screaming "Ave Maria", so we dragged down the range and I headed home for the Tylenol. :eek:
Two weeks can't pass quickly enough for me. :cool:
Some of the pics were taken as tests for my camera's 3 shot burst capability. Kinda cool for launch shots. It also does 40 shot bursts, but I'm afraid my attention span couldn't handle that kind of commitment. :o
The U.S.S. Atlantis Duex eventually flew after ignitor difficulties. Both engines (2xC6-5's) caught at the same time and the flight was perfect, but the landing was a rough one. It missed the road by a few feet, but also missed the soft veggies by the same amount. It wound up losing one of the pods on impact, but it will be a simple repair.
One of the more impressive flights of the day was the Excelsior Goony Max on a D12-5. What a screamer! "Like a motor with fins" is how one of the guys described it. "AWESOME!" is how the Odyssey kid described it. Well worth the walk.
The next flight was one only I got pumped about. My 1969 catalog painted Big Bertha on a C6-5. "Miss 1969" flew like I'd expected she would and recovered in the same area as many of my others, deep in the veggies. I think the next Bertha will be the yellow/white and black scheme. My final flight was my S.P.E.V. on a C6-5 and another Scooby Doo recovery. By this time it was nearing six and my ankle was screaming "Ave Maria", so we dragged down the range and I headed home for the Tylenol. :eek:
Two weeks can't pass quickly enough for me. :cool:
Some of the pics were taken as tests for my camera's 3 shot burst capability. Kinda cool for launch shots. It also does 40 shot bursts, but I'm afraid my attention span couldn't handle that kind of commitment. :o