Before I left for the field I was down in the basement looking for likely victims and found a 12" nylon chute that I'd forgotten I had. It had seen duty already in the Big Betty without incident, so I figured it would be fine in the Patriot.



Well, I figured wrong. The Patriot was in trouble from the start.





At liftoff it kinked to the left pretty badly, but straightened out and recovered over the trees on top of the hill. It was drifting back my way and actually looked like it was going to land on the hill next to the pad, but again the breeze shifted. It still almost made it down without a problem, but at the last second the chute caught a branch on the edge of one of my pet trees.



Pretty sure this is recoverable. I'm just not sure who the recoverer will be. Football season has started and the fields are going to be busy the bulk of the week. It's BOUND to attract some attention.

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

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

In paint: Canaroc - Starfighter Scorpion Centuri - Mini Dactyl 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

After I fumed at the loss of the Patriot, I decided to walk the field to see if I could find the missing Lil Hercules. As I mentioned, 1/2A6-2 Field is undergoing a major overhaul. It's dimensionally challenged, so I thought that they were just going to make it a soccer field, but they've left the dirt infield as it was and cleared out some of the outfield overgrowth. It now has a pretty decent outfield for t-ball and coach pitch.



Then I walked up over the hill to see if the shotgun ejection had fired it toward the school. It hadn't, but I stopped to visit an old friend.



It kills me daily.

Next on the pad was the Semroc Micron on an A8-3.



This one is pretty much the same as the Lil Hercules at this field, iffy at best. Flight was high and straight, ejection LOUD and turned the streamer to confetti. Literally.



The 18" streamer I started with was barely 6" when I recovered it. You could see little bits of mylar winking in the sun on the way to the school roof.

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

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

In paint: Canaroc - Starfighter Scorpion Centuri - Mini Dactyl 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

Next off would be the FSI Micro, just because I thought it would be funny to fly the Semroc Micron and FSI Micro back to back. (It would have been funnier still if I'd brought the Estes Micron, but I wasn't feeling humorous when I was slogging through the basement picking birds.)



A8-3 flight, this time with a chute instead of a streamer, which contributed to the fin breaking off on the first flight here last year. Impressive height, a slight arch back toward the school, then rode the breeze back to the field for a HARD landing.



I thought sure I'd find another broken fin, but all was well on recovery.

Sticking with the FSI theme, next to fly was the FSI Viking III clone on a B6-4. I've had a hard time getting enthused about this one. It was supposed to be a 24mm clone based on a BT-50 main body, but the thrust ring stuck when I was gluing it in and I had to go the more traditional 18mm route instead.



Another camera issue caused me to only catch it queefing on the pad.



Flight was high and straight, and it rode the breeze over the fence into the forbidden zone for a homer. As it landed I heard applause and turned to find a car full of people sitting on Woodfill Avenue watching. That was cool.

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

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

In paint: Canaroc - Starfighter Scorpion Centuri - Mini Dactyl 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

From this point I had a more permanent audience. William is 9, going to be a 4th grader at B6-4 Elementary, owner of a Crossfire and Amazon, and has probably not stopped talking about flying rockets since he walked out into his back yard and found a 50 year old kid actually flying. I had a half finished Astron Stinger that I built using the vintage cone from the same batch as the ill-fated Astron Drifter, so I decided to press my luck and see if I could give the Drifter some company.



Haven't gotten any real inspiration on this one as far as paint or decals, so it's languished all summer in ready to fly condition. A8-3, as you might expect. Fairly high, dead straight. Nice soft landing that drew loud WOWs from the hillside. William had seen his first rocket launch.



Next was the only mini-engine flight of the day, the Retro Rocketry Blue Max. This 1/2A3-2T flight would be the first for this bird in almost NINE YEARS!



Very impressive flight, surprisingly high and fairly straight. Nose blow recovery because it's only slightly larger than an Estes Quark. This one will likely fly here again.





Now William was REALLY chattering. Fifty million questions. Yes, in fact I just lost two in the trees today. The sight of my Patriot hanging in the tree just about left him speechless. No.

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

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

In paint: Canaroc - Starfighter Scorpion Centuri - Mini Dactyl 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

By this time the offer to press the button was just too much for William. I told him he had to ask his Mom if it was okay to do it, and luckily she decided to come out and watch. Finding out that I was a neighbor set her at ease, and like her son, she was thrilled to know that the field was suitable for flight operations. William chose the Star Snoop, so it became a photo op flight since I missed everything the last time. A8-3. Reefed chute tucked into the cavity of the nose cone. Kinked right off the pad, but recovered without incident. I need to start printing Goony decals. I have the Sky Shriek and Zoom Broom finished, but the rest only started in 1:1 size.





By this time it was seriously closing in on 7:00 and dinner time, so I called last flight. William picked the Astron Constellation, which seemed like a safe bet. A8-3. Same reefed chute as the Star Snoop.





Wouldn't you know, it landed on the infield, which is summer hard from lack of rain. Same kind of mid-fin break that I had on the Zepher 5 and Semroc Mark II. Ugly to look at, but not that bad to fix. I promised that I'd knock on William's door the next time I was flying, which gives me a convenient excuse to head up to the field sometime soon. I think I missed a Big Betty flight in the sequence, but you know how those go, eh?

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

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

In paint: Canaroc - Starfighter Scorpion Centuri - Mini Dactyl 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

Looks like a fun afternoon with lots of great flights and great pictures. I had to work Saturday, so yesterday was lawn mowing day. ROCI has another launch coming up in September, but that is a way down the pike.

How high is your Patriot? I've found a bit of weight on the end of a light cord makes a nice recovery device when they're stuck on the edges. Looks like an easy catch, though I can't tell how high it is.

__________________
www.wooshrocketry.org NAR Sec. 558
Look us up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/guytogo75?feature=mhee
unstable by design

I saw that, but as usual it's the weekend of my birthday, and my wife expects me to spend it with her. At a recycling event for her company.

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

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

In paint: Canaroc - Starfighter Scorpion Centuri - Mini Dactyl 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

That's a pretty good idea. It's about 40 feet up and I still have enough left in my arm to make a throw like that. Might try it after dinner. Thanks for the idea.

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

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

In paint: Canaroc - Starfighter Scorpion Centuri - Mini Dactyl 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

I use the "David Vs. Goliath" technique, it's a bit easier on the arm.

__________________
www.wooshrocketry.org NAR Sec. 558
Look us up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/guytogo75?feature=mhee
unstable by design