No wimping out this time!

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Saturday looks good for launching around here, and there's a regular Quark launch scheduled. Scott McCrate and I are trying to sync up, but I'm planning on making a day of it. I've been working my butt off building and repairing and I'm hoping to put some big flight numbers up over the course of the day. (I'm hoping 20+, but we'll see how well I hold up.) One of the kits I'm considering for launch is the worn and torn Centuri SSV Scorpion that I rescued from Ebay last year. I don't have any pics handy, but this thing is a basket case, and I'm planning a winter rebuild using strategic parts from the original model. (Nose cone and transition, the satellite section, maybe the baffle.) Since I'll be gutting it in a few weeks, I think I'm going to give it a big send off on Saturday. I'll beef up what I can with thin CA and launch it one more time in its original form. :cool:

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

:o
Wow, I'm fried. Today's Quark launch was a success, at least by my standards. I did some FLYIN'! And some recoverin'. And now I'm so tired that I can barely stand to sit and type this. :rolleyes:
Okay, it's a good tired. ;)
I flew so much that I can't remember what order I flew what in, so I'll just go with what I remember. The Centuri Orion clone that I just finished flew on a C11-3. This was a very impressive Moldin' Oldies/Semroc bird with one of the new Semroc baffles. It flew great and the baffle worked as advertised. I was low on C11-3s, so this was the Orion's only flight on the day.
I made three flights each, (B4-2, B6-4, C6-5,) with the Big Bertha, Big Betty, Semroc Vega and Holverson Tangent for an EMRR article. Those rockets wore me out. Typical flights for these big girls.
The Thunder Roc clone that RocSim claimed couldn't fly on an Estes E flew great on an E9-4. Unfortunately the four second ejection charge was a little short, by like four seconds. Patented "GICKK" recovery and a 17 inch zipper. I'm filing a MESS form on this one. Estes owes me a BT-60. :mad: Great flight. Left the pad without a wiggle and was making tracks when the leash got yanked. :eek:
The Warlord also made its first flight today on a C6-5. Quite a bit of windcocking, but a pretty impressive flight anyway. Now on to paint and cockpit.

More later, with pics. Dinner is calling LOUDLY! :cool:

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

A steak sammich is good for what ails one after a rocket launch.

Back to where I left off. I flew my newly repaired Squirrel Works X-RV on a B4-2. It was nose down at ejection and at a sufficiently low altitude that the ejection charge fired it HARD into the grass. Luckily it was soft and the X-RV will fly another day.
Vintage flight of the day was the Centuri SSV Scorpion on an Estes C5-3. I felt like it had to be flown on last time before I tore it down and rebuilt it with new tubes. It was a wobbly flight, no big surprise since it's missing most of the large rear fin, but it survived. Hopefully I'll be able to debut the repaired version next spring.
The last flight that I can remember was the Goony Max, which drag raced two other Goony Maxs. Mine was the only 24mm Max, so it wasn't much of a contest.
Another interesting flight was the Squirrel Works Tuber, the Doug Sams two-stage design. Flew great on a B6-0/A8-3 combo.

[tbzep]

Nice pics, nice field, nice rockets, nice day, nice post. You're five for five! :D

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Nice pics, nice field, nice rockets, nice day, nice post. You're five for five! :D

:D Well, the pics are a little dark, the field had cross country runners going through it until 3:00 or so, the rockets look best from far away, and it was cold. I did enjoy posting, though. I guess that means I'm at least hitting my weight. :eek:
Ironic that on the week my daughter has no cross country, I go to fly rockets and find a cross country meet going on. :rolleyes: Sometimes I wonder.

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Fellow Quarker Tim Dicke also took a picture of the Orion launch. I really need to get more adventurous with my photography and try the zoom for a change. This shot is awesome!

[Patriot Pilot]

Looks like the wind was blowing in that last one. The smoke is out running the rocket off the pad.

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Looks like the wind was blowing in that last one. The smoke is out running the rocket off the pad.

The wind was blowing all day, but it wasn't terrible. Made things a little chilly if you happened to be underdressed, but again, not terrible.

[tbzep]

That Orion liftoff looks good! It obviously makes me want to build one too. Another one added to the list that never ends... :rolleyes:

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

That Orion liftoff looks good! It obviously makes me want to build one too. Another one added to the list that never ends... :rolleyes:

Pretty simple build, mostly because I didn't bother with the wraps. I reserve the right to add them later, AFTER I see how it handles the Estes ejection charges. (I've had some really lousy luck lately.)
Speaking of which, I figured out how to fix the Semroc Taurus that was maimed by an Estes ejection charge back in the summer. I had to replace a tube and a transition, and change the seperation point, but it should be back flying by the next Quark launch in two weeks. :cool:

[CenturiGuy]

Speaking of which, I figured out how to fix the Semroc Taurus that was maimed by an Estes ejection charge back in the summer. I had to replace a tube and a transition, and change the seperation point,
Are you going to move that to the BR-58 reducer/transition where it connects to the "aft" ST-8 tube?


but it should be back flying by the next Quark launch in two weeks. :cool:
;) :D :cool:


--Jay

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Are you going to move that to the BR-58 reducer/transition where it connects to the "aft" ST-8 tube?
--Jay
:confused:
I don't know about that, but I'm going to make the bottom tube the parachute bay and have the bottom transition be the sep point. Sound right to you?
I was beginning to think you'd given up on us. What's been going on?

[CenturiGuy]

:confused:
I don't know about that, but I'm going to make the bottom tube the parachute bay and have the bottom transition be the sep point. Sound right to you?

:D Yep, that's what I meant. All of the balsa shoulders kind of (over-the-top Canadian accent) "hose" the original parachute bay that the plastic reducers made possible. You may have to pile in some extra elastic shock cord, since the "nose" section will be heavier. Oddly enough, a bunch of my most recent designs have the cone/tube/reducer payload section. :confused: Go figure. :eek:


I was beginning to think you'd given up on us. What's been going on?
(heavy sigh, drenched with extra melodrama) You know those people who just have too many stinkin' interests to focus on only one of them at a time? It turns out I've become one of those people. I went to that writing conference back in September, and dragged out a sci-fi story I started writing three and a half years ago. I'd been stuck on it, and finally saw what was wrong with it. :eek: :cool: :D (Then there's the looming spectre of my bass guitar, which has been coming back to haunt me regularly. I haven't pulled it down and retuned it yet.)

Then my wife has been going to the auction every Monday night, so I watch the girls and have to get them to bed. Wednesdays, we watch the little kids in the church nursery, so that wipes out another night. Last Friday, I took the day off of work and drove up to Sun Valley with my wife. Saturday, Emma usually has soccer games, and last Saturday, we had to go to a wedding. (Scott, we need a "tongue dragging" icon here.)

So I'm just "all over the place," apparently.

Aren't you tired from just reading that? :p


Cheers,

--Jay

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

:D Yep, that's what I meant. All of the balsa shoulders kind of (over-the-top Canadian accent) "hose" the original parachute bay that the plastic reducers made possible. You may have to pile in some extra elastic shock cord, since the "nose" section will be heavier. Oddly enough, a bunch of my most recent designs have the cone/tube/reducer payload section. :confused: Go figure. :eek:

I don't have original designs. I have errors that demand recovery.
http://forums.rocketshoppe.com/showthread.php?t=470



(heavy sigh, drenched with extra melodrama) You know those people who just have too many stinkin' interests to focus on only one of them at a time? It turns out I've become one of those people. I went to that writing conference back in September, and dragged out a sci-fi story I started writing three and a half years ago. I'd been stuck on it, and finally saw what was wrong with it. :eek: :cool: :D (Then there's the looming spectre of my bass guitar, which has been coming back to haunt me regularly. I haven't pulled it down and retuned it yet.)

Then my wife has been going to the auction every Monday night, so I watch the girls and have to get them to bed. Wednesdays, we watch the little kids in the church nursery, so that wipes out another night. Last Friday, I took the day off of work and drove up to Sun Valley with my wife. Saturday, Emma usually has soccer games, and last Saturday, we had to go to a wedding. (Scott, we need a "tongue dragging" icon here.)

So I'm just "all over the place," apparently.

Aren't you tired from just reading that? :p


So, you ADMIT that you're seeing OTHER hobbies!

Uh, I've been watching baseball while building rockets, so I guess I can't talk. Last night I tried to combine painting the windows up by the ceiling with watching football. :eek: Won't be doing that again. I don't have a fear of heights, but I could develop one REALLY fast if I get orders to do that again. It only takes one slip, and I had 7/8's of one.

[Lugnut]

:) Nice launch report. Looks liek you had fun. Cool pic of the old Centuri super kit. Would love to find an old wreck on ebay and rebuild it (like the rest of my Centuri stuff).

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

:) Nice launch report. Looks liek you had fun. Cool pic of the old Centuri super kit. Would love to find an old wreck on ebay and rebuild it (like the rest of my Centuri stuff).

It's going to be both a blessing and a curse. I like having it, but it's going to be a PITA to restore it to flying condition.
The bright side is that it was $20 with postage and handling. I'm not out much if I can't fix it. :cool:

[ghrocketman]

This past weekend I flew in my backyard:
1972 Enerjet Aero-Dart Clone (on an original Composite Dynamics Pro-Jet E20-7 and a RMS 24/40 F21-7 and an OLD Estes E15-6)
Centuri-Semroc Jaguar (C5-3 and C11-5)
Centuri-Semroc Scorpion (C11-3 and D12-5)
Semroc Recruiter (B4-4)
Aerobee-Hi (A8-5)
Estes K-41 Mercury Redstone (C6-5)
Estes SkyDart (B4-2)

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

This past weekend I flew in my backyard:
1972 Enerjet Aero-Dart Clone (on an original Composite Dynamics Pro-Jet E20-7 and a RMS 24/40 F21-7 and an OLD Estes E15-6)
Centuri-Semroc Jaguar (C5-3 and C11-5)
Centuri-Semroc Scorpion (C11-3 and D12-5)
Semroc Recruiter (B4-4)
Aerobee-Hi (A8-5)
Estes K-41 Mercury Redstone (C6-5)
Estes SkyDart (B4-2)

COOL! I want a backyard like yours. Wanna trade for one with a pool?
Any pics? Flight details? The Aero-Dart clone sounds interesting, as do the Merc Redstone and Sky Dart.

[Royatl]

This past weekend I flew in my backyard:
1972 Enerjet Aero-Dart Clone (on an original Composite Dynamics Pro-Jet E20-7...

How did that work? I'm sitting here looking at an E20-10 and an F45-8 (I've got three more somewhere) and I'd love to fly one sometime, but I just assumed the delays probably wouldn't work or the propellant has oxidized to the point of uselessness.

[ghrocketman]

The E20 Pro-Jet worked fine....Lot # was 816 (1981 mfg.); delay and ejection nominal.
I have several of these and fire one off every 2-3yrs or so....never had a problem.
I have heard that this may/may not be the case with the old early 1970's Enerjet composites.
I actually ignited the Pro-Jet the same way I always used to...with a solar igniter shoved all the way up the core with very short 1/4" of leads out the nozzle.
I think the propellant must be similar to "Blue Thunder"; easy to ignite, does not oxidize over time, burns with virtually zero smoke.

I no longer have any of the F45's....would you want to part with one...if so PM me ?

[ghrocketman]

Bill,
It is nice being able to fly in my backyard....It is large and borders a 600+acre cornfield to the north, that the Combine just leveled (no more pesky corn stalks to hide rockets now).
Unfortuantely I have no pics of the launches....should have though...it was during a family party.
The Redstone is an original Estes kit I just built....I have two more "buildable" K-41's in my collection.
The Sky Dart Clone has no decals as of yet....somone just beat me out of a set on ebay ! :(
On the last flight of the Aero-Dart, the chute (A NICE neon-green 30" Thrustline nylon chute)came detached from the rocket (yukk)....it actually recovered via tumbling payload attached to body via 7ft of kevlar shock cord.
Unfortunately it slammed into my deck where all the observers were, scaring many of them !
Other than embarassment, damage was limited to one small fin dent and a smashed "moldin oldies" Orion/Athena/AeroDart nose cone.

My Centuri Scorpion landed on the roof of my house, which was a nuisance to get down.
Other than that, the flights were nominal with no damage.

For some reason I just have not been able to bring myself to launch my Enerjet Athena Clone in my backyard for its first flight. I spent a LOT of time on this one and am a little apprehensive to fly it.

I would not trade my new house or rocket-capable yard for one with a pool....it helps that I'm installing a pool next year ! :D