Launch conditions haven't been the best this week with lots of rain, but today it stayed dry although mostly cloudy here in Redmond, Washington. Conditions were not ideal-there was also winds averaging 6 -8 MPH- but I could see that today was a launch window with the forecast calling for more rain the rest of this week. Today was the day to go, so I took four rockets and drove over to the field. Things didn't start off too well when I realized that I had not brought a 3/16 launch rod along, but there was a Home Depot close by and I picked up a 3/16 X 36" rod for $3.95 there. Back to the field. There were intermittent patches of blue sky opening up here and there, but the wind was constantly blowing cloud fronts through, so I knew that there would be no D or E launches today. I set up and started with my venerable, tough as nails Estes Alpha to test conditions. Launching on a C6-5, this was probably the most picture perfect flight of the day; near vertical trajectory and it seemed to go higher than this rocket typically goes. I was able to track it against the dark clouds, but I didn't hear the ejection charge pop. The Chute did deploy though, close to apogee, and it drifted a ways to the north end of the field.
Next was my newly rebuilt Skydart, fitted with a new BT5. I wanted to fly this E2X rocket, the first one I had launched when I became a BAR last year, on an A10-3T. This little rocket really goes, and it nearly went as high as the Alpha, probably around 900'. It's streamer brought it back undamaged.
The next two rockets were the real payoff for the day. My new Cherokee D, and my just retrofitted Goblin. I used the 18mm engine adapter for the Cherokee D's first flight. I loaded up a C6-7 and hit the button. Nice first flight; not spectacularly high as expected, but respectable. Gentle recovery on it's 12" chute. Then I got bolder and I launched it again on a C11-5. This time it got way up there. I had the launch rod angled slightly with the wind to compensate for weather****ing, and that seemed to keep the trajectory near vertical, but the breeze caused a long drift to the north. I really wanted to get a photo of it coming down on it's chute, so I had my Blackberry out and ran towards where I thought it was going. The various groundskeepers that were out mowing and pruning must have been amused at the sight of me trotting down the grass holding a phone over my head! Never did get a photo - couldn't find the shutter in time; and while fumbling with the camera, I lost sight of the Rocket. I never saw it touch down, but I could see that it was out of the park - either in the trees or behind them to the north. So it was search and rescue time. I climbed the north fence, crossed the drainage ditch and foraged through the overgrowth. The rocket gods must like Cherokee D's, because it turned up on the ground behind the second row of trees. A very close call that it missed them.
So on to the last rocket: my Goblin. I resisted the urge to launch it on a 24mm engine and used the 18mm adapter loading up a C6-7. I usually like to use C6-5s, but I felt that the extra 2 seconds would let the rocket get closer to the ground before the chute deploys and reduce the chance that those menacing RETs would get it. I had replaced the original streamer with a chute and also installed an ejection baffle. I also added extra kevlar to inrease the length of the line to the shock cord.
Even with the C6 this rocket goes like a shot! It climbed close to 1K my estimate, and came back down on it's chute, but I could see something wasn't right with it since it was dropping too quickly. It didn't drift far and it was a short walk to recover it. The rocket gods don't like my Goblin! Just like before, the nose cone snapped back and took a chunk out of a fin. Also a chute shroud line pulled away and that was why it fell back quickly. Every time I've flown this rocket, it has come back with damage. Looks like I'll be adding another foot of line to the shock cord. The fin damage is repairable with wood filler and a little paint, so this bird will fly again; on D engines, as it was meant to.

Attached Thumbnails

       

__________________
Douglas

I generally add three feet of Kevlar and three feet of sewing elastic for my shock cords. I have occasional damage, but I can generally trace that back to poor decision making on my part in choosing delays.

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II, Xarconian Cruiser Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2

The first pic here shows the Cherokee D where I found it behind the trees to the north of the field, on top of a gopher hole. The next pic is facing south showing the RETs that it just missed. Next is a shot of the field facing north. You can see the Goblin coming down on its only flight today. Not a very good pic, but I posted it because it shows the two trees that the Cherokee D landed behind on the extreme left. The last pic is the damaged Goblin - down but not out.

Attached Thumbnails

       

__________________
Douglas

Bill E, it's too bad you live far away, your photo skills would come in handy!

__________________
Douglas

No discernible skills here. Just a pretty good camera. (Two, actually. )

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II, Xarconian Cruiser Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2

The Goblin should be an easy fix. Looks like the same thing happened to this that happened to a couple of my FSI clones when I flew them on E9-6s instead of E9-4s. It was probably pointing down and picking up speed when the C6-7 charge fired. If it was a normal Estes dent, it would likely have been at the top of the body tube. (So says the voice of experience. )

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II, Xarconian Cruiser Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2

I got out to launch today taking 7 rockets along hoping to get some D and E engine and multistage action in. Not a cloud in the sky and 90 degrees here. Unfortunately we had a pretty steady breeze that I found out afterwards was gusting up to 18 mph. I felt that it would be risky to launch staged rockets. I launched my Big Bertha which flew very well on C6-5s in spite of the wind, and being a low flier, it stayed in the park. The best news was a successful launch of my Goblin which now has 3' of kevlar in addition to the shock cord. It zoomed off the pad on a C11-5. I tried to get a photo of it lifting off, but I was late on the shutter and all I got was a shot of the smoke plume and the empty launcher. The wind carried it out of the park on it's chute, but I was able to recover it and it was undamaged! No chipped fins or Estes dents or nosecone damage. Yea! Hope it's not a fluke. My only E9-6 launch was my Eliminator mod and I came close to losing that too. Even though I was at the north end of the field allowing for weather****ing and chute drift, the wind blew it all the way downfield to the south and over the fence where it touched down on the highway. Amazingly, it didn't get run over even though several cars went by before I was able to get to it. I thought I was going to have a flat rocket, but I lucked out and it wasn't damaged. I did get a lift off photo of it - my first. At that point I decided to Quit while I was ahead, picked up and went home.

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________
Douglas