No one to blame but myself Launch
 

Finally made it to my first TORC/OAMC cornfield launch yesterday. After an incredible weather day on Friday, Saturday didn't really match up well, but we've flown in worse. Temps in the low 50's with a fairly stiff 13mph breeze. I arrived late and left early, all because of my own screw ups.
My first flight of the day was a Stickershock Dark Max on an Estes E9-4.



I SWEAR I didn't see those packing crates in the background when I took this shot. I think someone Photoshopped them in. :rolleyes:



After sitting on the pad for a round due to a bum igniter, (a leftover from NARAM that I found in one of my big Goonies,) the Dark Max left the pad and immediately began arcing into the wind. I forgot to reset the burst mode on my camera, and barely managed to get the liftoff shot. It seemed like it burned forever and was still under power when it disappeared into a cloud. I never saw a thing until it was well on the way down. It recovered fairly close because I used a small chute. That was a good thing. I'd need those saved steps later.

This was later. This is an upscale of the FSI Dart that I call the Kingpin, also on an E9-4. I knew this would likely scoot because it was barely more than minimum diameter and fairly sleek.



No igniter problems this time. The Kingpin left the pad quickly and did exactly the opposite than expected. No windcocking at all, it actually headed out with the wind, which I knew would mean trouble. It wiggled slightly on the way up. I got an ignition shot, but that was it. It left quickly. :rolleyes:



This one also disappeared into a cloud. People were looking at me wide-eyed when I started out to retrieve it. One guy asked "You're actually going to look for that?" I figured with the bright orange I had half a chance and started out toward the most likely landing area based on the wind. I checked right and left as I walked, looking up the rows for any flash of orange, but saw nothing. I finally came to the edge of the creek and was about to give up when I caught that flash of orange.
Across the creek. :(
"No Bird Left Behind" flashed through my head and I began looking for a crossing place. The creek wasn't running full steam, but it was moving fast enough and deep enough that I saw very few rocks near the surface. I finally found a sand bar that left about a four foot jump uphill to the opposite bank. Just under the surface I could see four rocks that would work as steps as long as I stayed lucky.
I stayed half lucky. Rock #3 rolled away when I stepped on it, and as a result I missed #4 completely. I was calf-deep before I knew it, but I made it up the other side of the bank pretty quickly, squishing the whole way up.



I found the Kingpin about 100 feet in. Then I got to recross the creek. I figured it would be a bit easier because the bank looked over the small beach. I made my way down to the water's edge and jumped. I made three of the four feet up and landed on my good right ankle. That shoe squished more loudly the rest of the day.

Awesome photos! Thanks for sharing.

Third flight was supposed to be the maiden flight of my Estes Mega Red Max on an Estes F50-6T with an Estes Sonic Igniter. I bought a pack of the igniters before the ill-fated flight of my Ventris last May and the ignition was the only good thing I could say about the flight.



I was trying to get the launch shot and didn't hear it fart the igniter, but the LCO did. Pulled it down, pulled the igniter. Dead, but I still had two left.



I was trying to get the launch shot and didn't hear it fart the igniter, but the LCO did. Pulled it down, pulled the igniter. Still good. Must have heard a phantom fart



I was trying to get the launch shot and didn't hear it fart the igniter, but the LCO did. Pulled it down, pulled the igniter. Dead, and now I'm down to the last one.
While I was reloading, another guy brought his MDRM to the flightline. I got to see the liftoff before putting mine on for the last attempt.



THAT'S what I was hoping for out of mine. I think he flew his on a G40-7W. It windcocked pretty aggressively.



Meanwhile, I was trying to get the launch shot and didn't hear it fart the igniter, but the LCO did. Pulled it down, pulled the igniter. Dead, and now I have to buy something that actually works from Lee at Merlin.
As I walk up toward the trailer, I see a crowd gathered. Turns out they're checking out the other MDRM that had just landed behind the trailer.



Ouch. His had been flown with a motor with a seven second delay, and was facing down when it ejected. Apparently the nose cone rebounded into a fin and this is the result. I decided right then that both the MDRM and Leviathan were grounded, as all I had was 6 and 7 second delay motors. I'll use them up if we ever fly on a calm day.

Flight #3 would be the Estes Super Nova Payloader.



Not a bad looking bird, but nothing about it gives you a sense of confidence. Very shaky due to the parts not fitting all that well, but it's a big bird. I bought this rocket for my son as a Christmas gift, but he lost interest completely not long after. It sat forever in my shop, and this year after Christmas I decided to give it a try on a night when I was building a bunch of almost RTF birds for the 2014 season at B6-4 Field.



I built it with an E-mount, so this was my third straight E9-4 flight of the day. It left the pad nicely, topped out at around the 700 foot mark, give a take a few hundred marks. :rolleyes: Ejection was perfect and it appeared to land softly in the corn a couple of hundred feet off the flightline.



Yeah, so much for softly. :eek: I lost two fins and the lower launch lug. Not too excited about this one anyway. I think I might see how it handles B6-4 Field on a C11-3.

At this point I went back to the car to see what else I could fly. It was 3:20, and I'd planned to leave by 4:00 so I could have dinner with my wife. (Both kids out of town for the weekend. Not wasting that opportunity.) In the car I found an Enerjet Athena clone just MADE for an E9-4 flight. That would be a cool way to end the day, right? Yeah, it would. Pulled off the nose section to drop in the dog barf and found that I'd forgotten to put a screw eye into the transition section. Same with the Mega Mini Max. No recovery works at all! (I guess I was planning to use an old Estes mount.) Picked up the TLP Perseus instead. Barfed it up, opened the trunk to check my motor stash, and found about 30 E9-4s. Not a C11 of D12 to be found. :o I had my new Green Goblin with me, but the only motors I'd been able to buy that morning on the way to the field were Estes F15-6, and the way the wind was blowing I was afraid I'd have to cross the creek again if I tried to fly it. Instead I licked my wounds, opened a fresh Gatorade, and started for home. Had a nice dinner with the wife at a place the kids wouldn't approve of and finished the day with a movie on the couch.
We'll get 'em next time. In the meantime, I better stock up on C and D motors. :cool:

Thanks. :rolleyes: Even a bad day flying is better than a good day doing yardwork, so I had that going for me. :D

Someone really needs to GMO that corn so that the stubble is easier on landing rockets.


Bill

I was lucky. When I was on my long hike for the Kingpin, I found a path through the corn that made it almost like walking on a dirt road. I have no idea what a GMO is, but if that's the result, I'm all for it. :cool:

I have learned that Sonic igniters were basically designed to be used on handheld launch controllers (like that long-lead Electron Beam called the E Launch controller) and they simply fire too quickly to actually light a motor - especially White Lightning - when used with the typical 12V relay-based club system.

But not flying the MDRM under those conditions was probably the right thing to do.....