Ye Olde Rocket Forum - Launch Date: 17 Feb, 2017

A February day with unseasonably warm weather marked the date for my first launch session of 2017.
As an added bonus, my 8 year old grand-daughter and 6 year old grandson had the day off from school, so this was a great chance to get them their first exposure to model rocketry. Infect them with ‘The Rocketry Bug’, so to speak.

We arrived at my favorite park at about 11:00 a.m. armed with three of my rockets. Temperature was at 57 degrees and there was very little in the way of wind. The park surface was in great condition.

First model prepped and launched was the ol' Hornet. Another picture perfect flight on an A3-4T, with my granddaughter being the one to push the button and send it on its way. The model came in for a great landing amidst the ‘OOOhs’, Aaaaahs, and “Awesome!s” from the kiddos. They both assumed the role of recovery crew, bringing the model back safely.

Now that the Flagship flight was concluded, I prepped the Estes Lynx.
My grandson sent this one on its way. Another perfect flight on an A10 engine. Again, the young-uns went on recovery.
I was beginning to enjoy this! All I had to do was model prep. and serve as RCO/RSO, and the kids did the rest.
Next, it was time to break out my newly-built Generic E2X. Remember, this was the model that was supposed to be for one of the grandkids, but which I purloined for my own selfish gratification.
I’m not about to beat myself up with guilt over that, so it’s time to move on.
Let’s see…what motor am I supposed to use for this model’s first flight?
Let us consult the kit instructions!!!
“Empfohlene Estes Motoren: A8-3 (erster flug)…”
“Whaaa?…Oh…Woops…wrong instruction sheet…Here it is:”
“Recommended Estes Motors: A8-3 (first flight)”.
That’s better.
A quick check into the range box revealed that nary an A8-3 had I. But there was a package of C6-7’s. Perfect! I’ll roll with that!
Actually, these engines were ones that I had purchased way back in the mid-1990s alongside a Black Brant II kit, with the intention of getting back into the hobby. That early foray into BAR-dom never materialized. The BBII never got built, and was eventually donated to a neighbor kid. For some unknown reason, I held on to the C6-7s.
Hope these 20 year old motors are still good. I was about to find out.
Yes, I realize that shoving a C engine into a small-ish bird is asking for trouble on a moderate-sized flying field. But, having flown many C engine streamer duration competitions in my distant past, I know that a relatively heavy, BT-50 sized bird like the GE2X would not land too terribly far from the launch pad if recovered by streamer. And it’s equipped with those sturdy plastic fins that can better withstand a harder landing than their balsa wood counterparts.
So, in went a dual crepe paper streamer system and a C6-7.
Oops…no plastic plugs for C6s in the range box, either!
No worries, Mate. Not a deal-killer!
Must break out the paper clip and a little ball of wadding…..just what McGyver would have done, were he in this very situation!

Soon the model was prepped and placed on the pad.
“OK, guys,” I told the kids, “This one’s going to go super high, so watch carefully.”

My granddaughter launched the bird for a pretty spectacular flight. At ejection, I saw the dual streamers eject and knew that the model would land close by. My trepidation of using the C engine vanished. Again, my young recovery crew ran and brought the model back intact.

Well, that went so well, let’ do it again. The E2X was prepped with another C6-7 engine, and promptly sent aloft by my grandson. Again, another great boost and coast. This time, however, we all lost sight of it after ejection.
As I stood peering in the direction of where I thought the model would come down, my granddaughter exclaimed, “Is that it over there?” I looked and saw a white and red object on the ground about 100 yards away. It was the E2X. Phew, got it back!

The E2X was the only one of the three models that showed any sort of damage: Apparently, dymo labels don’t do well in the vicinity of engine heat.

Anyway, it was a superb day of rocket flying, the kids are anxious to do it again, and they are excited to start building the Generic E2X kits they each got for Christmas!