If this were Tuesday, I would have had a two-day going, but this was Sunday.

You should see me in a suit and tie...

...on Saturdays...

... ...

__________________
Craig McGraw

BARCLONE Rocketry -- http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com
BARCLONE Blogsite -- http://barclone.wordpress.com
BARCLONE Forum -- BARCLONE Forum

BARs helping BARs

SAM 0044
AMA 352635

This began as a crisp, cool morning down here in Mobile -- overnight temps in the upper 40's, and post-sunrise temps just into the 50's. Humidity was very nice -- not dry enough to cause static, but not so moist and sticky that I had trouble breathing. (For the record, I am an asthma sufferer and can't tolerate humidity as well as most folks. It's like trying to breathe water -- literally.) The wind was light throughout the day, never getting above a mild tree-rustle. These came mostly out of the SE and ESE today, and even occasionally blew down from the N. The sky was bright blue, with high cirrus clouds building as the day wore on.

I arrived at Barclone Field, otherwise known as Griggs Elementary School, right at 4 PM. There were a couple of teens having a spirited paintball (or whatever doesn't leave any evidence) battle in the jungle gym area, and a few folks in and out of the buildings doing maintenance, but no one else hogging the field. I had it generally all to myself. My tracker/helper had other plans for the afternoon, so it really was all to myself. That was just fine with me, and it meant I didn't have to get back by any set time; I just left at 6 PM, when I got tired.

Today's effort was fifteen attempts, and fourteen flights. The non-flight was spectacular, though. More on this one later in the dialog. Mostly, I was flying models that had not been flown before, but I did bring out a few finished and painted oldies that I just wanted to put in the air again. I chose to use the A8-3 for most of these first flights, as I wanted to see the models perform at lower altitudes before making a commitment to higher altitudes. The good news is I got back everything I launched. The bad news is I had three casualties for the day, none of which were totally fatal. Actually, an assortment of odd-ball failures, which I'll try to get some pictures of tomorrow when I meet up with my helper. One casualty was an aggressive deployment charge causing the dredded "Estes Dent" in one nose cone. It nearly peeled off a chunk, and the edge of the body tube was the contact point again. Read on.

------------ Flight Report Begins -------------------

1. Estes Big Bertha, model originally built back in 1990 but not finished until about two years ago. Selected motor was the B6-4. Everything you expect to see in a mild "B" motor flight, straight boost, no rotation, and everything was clearly in visual range. The flight may have reached 250' and RockSim says about 260', so my observation was in the ballpark. Recovered about 100' from the pad on a standard 12" Estes parachute.

2. Semroc Astro-1, on a B6-4. Good motor selection for this model without going for the max. I'm estimating 600' for this one, and it landed about 150' from the pad. I attached the 2" x 20" streamer for this flight, but it still drifted a bit.

3. Barclone Sprite, on a B6-4. Very similar to the Astro-1 flight, to about 600'. I adjusted the angle of the pad more to the E and was rewarded with a landing due S of the pad, probably 150' away. OK, so I need the exercise...

4. Estes Gyroc clone, on an A8-3. This model is as raw as it can be, no paint or even primer. I've had it sitting like this for nearly four years but recently located the elastic thread I needed to jack the ailerons at ejection. As I watched the boost, I saw a minor CCW rotation, but all this did was keep the model on a straight track to deployment. If you've never seen a Gyroc come down, it is as impressive as it is simple. The ailerons jack around about 45 degrees from straight, and this induces an incredible spin in the model as it descends. Yet, as originally described in the tech papers, this same spin causes a great amount of drag and the model really floats down slowly. Having purged itself of the motor casing, the model is back to its empty weight, which is very light to begin with. The light weight, though, can also be a problem if there is a breeze upstairs -- mine drifted at least 250' W of the pad. The motor was located about 50' from the pad, on a line directly on the path to the model. I was actually surprised to find it. More exercise...

5. Estes Photon Disruptor on an A8-3. Vanilla flight to maybe 250' with no recovery issues. 12" parachute brought it back within 80-100' W of the pad.

6. Estes Maverick on an A8-3. I used the 2" x 20" streamer on this one, and it became the first casualty of the day. One fin is broken from the leading edge back toward the trailing edge, nearly parallel to the root, and across the grain. This appears to be acceleration fracturing, and not landing impact damage, even though the streamer failed to deploy. The model came down otherwise normally, fins-high to fins-level, spinning. Flight may have reached 300', probably not much more, and impacted about 75' from the pad.

7. Barclone Astrobee 150 Standard (one of the more-scale-like versions with the longer nose cone) on an A8-3. No issues with this flight, reached about 300' (RockSim confirms this to at least 294'), and landed on a 12" parachute about 250' S of the pad. Another stroll...

8. Estes Astro Bee, on an A8-3. RockSim says 300' but it didn't appear to be more than about 200'. Disappointing on this motor. Landed with no issues on the 12" parachute about 90' NNW the pad.

9. Semroc ARCON on the A8-3. This became the second casualty of the day but not the last. An otherwise vanilla flight became an instant wounded goose when the ejection charge went off and drove the payload section "To Infinity And Beyond", or at least to the extent the elastic allowed. The nose cone caught the edge of the sustainer tube so hard on the recoil you can still see the imprint of where the tube tried to slice out a layer of balsa. The force of that impact was severe enough that it caused the nose cone to unseat itself slightly from the payload section. Pictures of this one tomorrow, hopefully. Not the highest flight, appearing to only reach about 180-200', and it landed between 50-75' from the pad.

10. Estes Stinger on an A8-3. Again, not an impressive flight for such a performance-looking model. I would have expected better than the 200' it seemed to reach. The model was quite clearly visible throughout the flight, and seemed to be sluggish. Maybe it dragged the rod a bit getting off. Landed nearly as far from the pad as it reached upward, maybe 150-175'. Another afternoon constitutional...

11. Estes Cyclone on an A8-3. Smooth flight to 100-150' or so, didn't expect anything more with an ST-13 body. No issues, no lustre, no sparkle, just plain vanilla up and down. Landed on the 12" parachute about 70-80' from the pad.

12. Estes Meteor on the A8-3. Nearly became casualty #3, as the parachute got tired of going up and down so many times and decided to stay wrapped up in itself until it had fallen to about 50' from the ground. It decided to placate me by opening and easing the model down the rest of the way. Landed about 30' from the pad from a height of about 200'. Again, lacklustre performance on this motor.

13. Estes Cherokee-D clone on a C6-5 (with adapter). I used the 2" x 20" parachute because I knew from the previous flight two or three years ago it was going to haul on this motor. LAUNCH FAILURE! In placing this model on the rod, I failed to see that a small wrap of tape on the bottom of the rod slipped through the lower launch lug without much resistance. Everything was prepped. The button was pressed, and the motor came to life -- but nothing moved. The piece of tape acted like a hold-down lock on the Saturn-V. The model did not budge, and the launch pad paid dearly for it. The thrust from the motor removed a 1/2" diameter area of the sheet steel deflector plate like a cutting torch, and continued on into the plastic launch pad center section and one leg, welding the three pieces together but not collapsing the pad. I'm a bit surprised it didn't ignite the plastic. The ejection occurred on schedule, and resembled the infamous Mercury-Redstone debacle where it "popped its cork" on the pad. An embarrasment, nearly a disaster, but the rocket was recovered without any other incident. I chose not to re-load and just wait for another day.

14 and 15. Estes Big Bertha, again on the B6-4 for both flights. I wanted to end the day on a better note, and chose to fly BB again. The flight was so sweet and predictable that I did it twice just to smell victory. Both flights were identical to the first, reaching about 250' and landing within 50' of the pad both times. I called it a day at that point and started packing everything back up for the short drive home.

---------------------- Report Ends ------------------------------

My leg muscles are still sore from the recoveries, but it's a well-earned soreness and I'm very happy with the overall quality of the day. I am a bit bummed about the A8-3 having such poor performance on what should have been higher-performance birds, but maybe I'm just expecting too much from a low-thrust motor. I'm also bummed about the ejection charge on the ARCON flight. Such is quality control these days.

I'm working down my stash of not-flowns to a bunch of minimum-diameter BT-20 and ST-7 models, which I will probably fly using some adapters for 13mm motors instead of the 18mm motors they usually take. That way I can try them out on 1/2A stuff and be sure to get them all back.

This is the fourth time in two months that I've had good weather to fly, and I think I've flown more in this short time than I've flown in ten years, maybe twenty! It feels good to get out and burn some BP on days like this, and I don't know how many more I'll have this year before it just craps out for the winter. Hopefully I can get one or two more sessions in before the end of November.

Till then!

__________________
Craig McGraw

BARCLONE Rocketry -- http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com
BARCLONE Blogsite -- http://barclone.wordpress.com
BARCLONE Forum -- BARCLONE Forum

BARs helping BARs

SAM 0044
AMA 352635

These images were taken in a low-light condition (it has turned cloudy and rainy here in Mobile this evening) off the back of my helper's truck. It shows what a C6-5 can do to a pad when the rocket doesn't slide up the rod. In one image, you can see the piece of tape that held the rocket down wrapped around the bottom of the rod. Damage included a fused central post and tilt adjustment ring set, the steel plate, and even the plastic shroud at the base of the rod.

Attached Thumbnails

     

__________________
Craig McGraw

BARCLONE Rocketry -- http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com
BARCLONE Blogsite -- http://barclone.wordpress.com
BARCLONE Forum -- BARCLONE Forum

BARs helping BARs

SAM 0044
AMA 352635

Hel-LO! How about some rocket pics?

__________________
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 Semroc Cyber III

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

I wound up setting the models in my flatbed scanner to get these images. You can see the curve of the body tube in the ARCON nose cone, and how it was hit so hard it jarred the cone away from the payload tube. The second image shows the cracked fin, and how the force was from the front of the fin toward the rear. The model may have suffered this on landing, on further reflection...

Attached Thumbnails

   

__________________
Craig McGraw

BARCLONE Rocketry -- http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com
BARCLONE Blogsite -- http://barclone.wordpress.com
BARCLONE Forum -- BARCLONE Forum

BARs helping BARs

SAM 0044
AMA 352635

Since most of the rockets this time around were only in their undies, and not fully dressed, I didn't want to humiliate them in front of company...

I'll start taking a few digi-pics with my helper's camera of my "fully-dressed" fleet, and as I get others ready, I'll add them. I haven't been concentrating much on finishing chores for awhile, but I need to get back on to it soon...

__________________
Craig McGraw

BARCLONE Rocketry -- http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com
BARCLONE Blogsite -- http://barclone.wordpress.com
BARCLONE Forum -- BARCLONE Forum

BARs helping BARs

SAM 0044
AMA 352635

The day started off very cold (for Mobile -- 36 degrees at 6:15 AM), but the sky was cloudless and the breeze was practically non-existant. These conditions remained constant throughout most of the day, the temperature rose into the low 60s, and with only an occasional, momentary light breeze at ground level from the west. I had hoped to get to the field about 2 PM, but wound up running around looking for a handful of household necessities and did not reach the field until 4:15 PM, giving me only about an hour of remaining daylight. Mildly ticked at the loss of the better part of the day, and also growling at the poor performance of Alabama in their game with Auburn , I still managed to put up seven flights before packing up and heading home. Thank goodness the field is only a mile from the front door.

I decided earlier to limit this session to nothing but BARCLONEs and SEMROCs.

-----Flight Log-----

1. BARCLONE Ascender, A8-3, streamer recovery on a 2x20. This became the only casualty of the day, but not a loss. The rocket dropped faster on the streamer than previously, and cracked one of its six fins (did not fully detach, however). The pad was set for a straight-up launch, but there were winds upstairs that caused the model to drift east a little more than I thought it would. In the colder air, the smoke trail seemed to be more dense than in the warmer air back in October. It landed about 200' or so east from the pad.

2. BARCLONE Thunder Goony, B4-4, recovery on a 12" parachute. A good, smooth flight with no issues other than the drifting. I adjusted the pad more toward the west after this flight. Again, about a 200' walk out to retrieve it. No damage.

3. BARCLONE Prometheus, A8-3, streamer recovery on the 2x20. This flight produced a notable squiggle during the ascent, which I had not noticed before. The rocket came down about 100' from the pad, meaning I had to adjust the tilt just a little more. As I examined the rocket after landing, I saw nothing to indicate there might have been anything structural to cause the wiggle, nor was there any damage from the landing. As with the Ascender, this model dropped quicker than before, and landed with an audible "thud". Other than the odd twitch, it was a good flight.

4. SEMROC Astro-Jr, A3-4T, 12" parachute. I thought I was going to lose this one on its maiden flight! It climbed to apogee very quickly and reached a much higher altitude than I would have thought, which caused a serious drift out to the edge of the field, about 300' southeast of the pad. Another adjustment to the pad was needed to stop this from happening again. This may have been the highest flight of the session. The model was very stable and clean throughout the flight.

5. BARCLONE Lil' Battle Axe, A8-3, 2x20 streamer. Another fast drop from apogee, the streamer delayed opening until about 100' AGL. It landed on the motor with another audible "thud" about 100' from the pad.

6. SEMROC Tau Zero prototype, A8-3, 2x20 streamer. Zoomed to altitude quicker than before, but as with almost every other flight the motor popped out at deployment. It was late in the session and the sun had dropped below the horizon, so by this time the thrust from the motor was a brilliant orange, and I could observe the motor "spitting" as it went through the power phase. I enjoy late evening flights like this, because there's so much more to see in each flight that you miss otherwise. I saw the motor as it ejected, as there was a flame trail tracing its path rearward. The sound of the motor hitting the ground a second later was also loud enough that I could pinpoint its location and recover it as I walked about 150' to the model.

7. BARCLONE Stryker, A8-3, 12" parachute. As before, I watched this model rotate into a heads-up attitude during the ascent, and remain that way until deployment. I am convinced this is a product of the wing configuration, and I am very pleased with it. I did not observe the "spitting" in this motor. The landing was smooth and slow, with touchdown only about 50' from the pad.

-----End Log-----

__________________
Craig McGraw

BARCLONE Rocketry -- http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com
BARCLONE Blogsite -- http://barclone.wordpress.com
BARCLONE Forum -- BARCLONE Forum

BARs helping BARs

SAM 0044
AMA 352635

Well, the day started off with a gentle ~5 MPH breeze at ground level from the ESE, and temps in the low 70s. The sky was nearly cloudless, so I was able to track the flights without too much difficulty.

The line-up today was all BARCLONE, all but two 18mm birds on "B" motors, one on an "A" and one on a "C". The remainder were 13mm A3-4T birds.

----- Flight Log -----

1. Thunder Goon, now my primary "wind sniffer", on a B6-4. Recovered on a 12" parachute. RockSim says it should have reached just under 400', and it probably did. Looked like a good climb, but I did notice some tell-tale wiggles in the contrail indicating shifting currents and what wound up being thermals. These would prove to be problematic throughout today, but I pressed on. A good recovery, touching down about 300' from the pad.

2. Spear Tip, needing another flight on the log books, on an A3-4T. Recovered on the now well-worn blue SEMROC 12" parachute I've been using for several sessions. The first attempt was a mis-fire, still don't know what happened. On the second attempt, with a new igniter, this model put in a spectacular flight to what RockSim says was about 360'. I'll take it, as my non-calibrated peepers are no longer what they never were to begin with at judging altitudes from the ground. Like the Goon before it, this flight showed the effects of cross- and rising-currents causing visible jinking in the ascent. The effect appeared to start just above the tree-tops, so this might be turbulence. The model drifted to a landing about 600' N from the pad, and may have been carried upward on one of the thermals as it crossed over my head.

3. Clipper, on another B6-4. Recovery on a 2 x 20 streamer. This model had some penetration to RockSim's predicted altitude of 748', but it also was a good thing I used the streamer, as this motor caused deployment in the upswing at a brisk 42 FPS. A B6-6 would have deployed on the downside of apogee at a calmer 26 FPS. Recognizing the pad was set up wrong for this model, I made an adjustment before this flight which brought the model down a mere 75' SE from the pad.

4. Snitch, on a B4-4. Recovered on the 12" parachute. I had repaired one of the fins from the previous flight of this model, but the landing was harder than the CA glue it had been repaired with. The same fin cracked again on landing, in the same place. I'll remove this fin and replace it with a new one for the next flight. I did not notice the jinking on this model as it climbed to a predicted 470'. Landing was only 20' S of the pad, which was sweet.

5. Eaglet, on the A3-4T. Recovery via 12" parachute. A nice, vanilla flight, but with another long walk out to retrieve it, about 350' S of the pad. RockSim says 555' on the altitude, and I can't disagree.

6. Flash, on the A3-4T. Recovery via 2 x 20 streamer. This was a mistake, as the model landed hard on some pea-gravel in the "playground fortress" area east of the pad. One fin was broken off, with a jagged edge showing a high-energy impact. RockSim says 605' on the altitude, and about 450' E of the pad for touchdown.

7. Lil' Battle Axe, on a B6-4. Recovery via the 2 x 20 streamer. This was the first time I had flown LBA on a "B" motor, IIRC, and as with others today, I watched the model's contrail jinking in the currents. The 0.05" thick pressed-paperboard fins from SEMROC held up well, though. There was no damage to the model at touchdown. RockSim says the model reached 812', but also that this was the wrong time delay for this motor; it should have been the B6-6. Deployment velocity was a whopping 64 FPS, for which there was a price to be paid shortly. Touchdown was about 150' N of the pad.

8. Gryphon, on an A8-3. I wimped out here because this model is so small it would quickly become invisible on anything greater. I believe firmly this model should be restricted to 13mm motors for any future flights. Recovery was supposed to be the 2 x 20 streamer, but after the LBA flight it decided to break free at deployment. The model was visible all the way down to a spot about 150' N of the pad, and was mostly horizontal; the problem was, it came down inverted, and landed squarely on the vertical fin, which cracked. RockSim says about 460', and again this was the wrong time delay. It needed the A8-5 for a softer deployment. The A8-3 deployed at 50 FPS, which finally snapped the connector line. The streamer was recovered, however, still folded but not wrapped with the shroud.

9. Loadmaster B, on a B6-4. Recovery via the 12" parachute. This model was visibly caught in a thermal less than 100' up during the decent. Great hang time! RockSim says 505' for the altitude. The model touched down about 150' N of the pad.

10. Stryker, on a C6-5. Recovery via the 12" parachute. I had checked the RockSim altitude prediction before selecting this motor, and I knew it was supposed to be about 842'. Before sending it off, I made a second adjustment to the pad, lowering the angle to take it slightly farther out in an effort to compensate for the upper winds and make sure it stayed in the field. I didn't want it drifting too far N of the pad. So much for good intentions. The model ripped skyward, but did not climb out as beautifully as it had on the previous sessions. It also became obvious to me that there was a slight misalignment in the fins after all, as it rolled very slowly through the entire ascent. I think I may have counted five total revolutions. The model never reached the predicted altitude, probably not even 600'; however, the lower angle took it out nearly 1000' from the pad, and by the time the parachute deployed it was clearly on the backside of apogee. The parachute came out and held on, but by now the model was below a safe height to make it back to the field. I watched as the model slowly came down behind the tree line in a subdivision adjacent to the schoolyard. That was the last I saw of it.

----- End -----

__________________
Craig McGraw

BARCLONE Rocketry -- http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com
BARCLONE Blogsite -- http://barclone.wordpress.com
BARCLONE Forum -- BARCLONE Forum

BARs helping BARs

SAM 0044
AMA 352635

I got out to the field about 3 PM and flew until the sun had dropped to just above the horizon. Winds were out of the SSE about 5-8 MPH, and the temperature was a balmy 75 or so. This may the last good flying session for 2006; reports are the weather is about to tank just before Christmas Day, so I was happy to have this one last opportunity to burn some powder...

----- Flight Report -----

1. Estes Der Red Max clone, 12" parachute, on a B6-4. I noticed some crosswind activity in the contrail at about the 150' AGL mark on this flight, and this pattern continued through almost every flight. Other than this, the flight was what you'd expect. The landing was about 100' north of the pad.

2. Barclone Stryker, prototype #2, 12" parachute, on a B6-4. Not even in primer yet. The maiden flight for this model, but since I knew the performance of the previous model, felt comfortable giving it some power. Again, at about 150' AGL, the model corkscrewed for one complete rotation and altered the flight path toward the north. The pad was oriented about 3 degrees to the SSE, so we have another instance of the model arcing with the wind instead of into it. The landing was about 250' NNE of the pad.

3. Estes Rascal clone, 12" parachute, on a B6-4. I rotated the pad slightly, and on this flight it paid off with a landing about 20' north of my van. Almost thought it was going to land on the roof. The van was about 20' north of the pad.

4. Barclone Tradewind, prototype #1, on a B4-4. The pad now was pointing too much to the SE, and while the model remained generally inside the boundaries of the field, it landed on the roof of the school building about 500' north of the pad. It was a beautiful deployment, and the flight was much higher than I thought it had reached previously on a B6-4. Hopefully someone at the school will find it before the weather gets bad, and can retrieve it. It is in primer, but not otherwise painted. Sigh. Another prototype to build.

5. Barclone Thunder Goon, prototype #1, 12" parachute, on a B4-4. Without changing the rod angle or direction, the model now flew too much to the SW and drifted about 200' NNW of the pad. I said the crosswinds were bad, but I was fighting them on nearly every flight by this point. I never found a groove that gave me a consistent return path.

6. Barclone Blue Sneek, prototype #1B, 12" parachute, on a B4-4. On the first attempt, I had a misfire. The igniter fired, but the motor didn't. Waited for a minute, popped off the power, and replaced the igniter. Second attempt fired it off, and again I watched a wild corkscrew at about the 150' AGL mark. This was getting to be an irritation now. My feeling is it's a horizontal rolling turbulence coming off the top of the tree lines. The model stayed inside the field, landing about 150' NNW of the pad. I was happy to get the models in this same general area of the field.

7. Estes Citatiion Patriot clone, 12" parachute, on a B6-4. This flight was nice and stable, with no corkscrewing noticed. The model simply tracked straight to altitude, deployed, and sweetly dropped about 5' in front of my van. Another close miss.

8. Semroc prototype Tau Zero, model TZ-10, 2x20 streamer, A8-3. I got too much masking tape around the middle of the motor and it jammed with about 3/4" still sticking out the back. It didn't hurt the flight much, but it was a bit sensitive when it hit the 150' AGL mark. The model swung around from a path heading south to one that was nearly 90-degrees vertical. This is a good indication there was a reversed-direction air current at the moment the model passed the mark. The model fell tail-down and landed rather hard on the motor, but no damage was done. Touchdown was about 75' due south of the pad this time.

9. Estes Cougar clone, 12" parachute, on an A8-3. The light-power boost was a refreshing change from the other flights, and recovery was about 30' north of the pad.

10. Quest Payloader One, 12" parachute, on a B6-4. I had planned to fly the A8-3 on this one, as well, but somehow managed to stick the B6-4 in it instead. WOW! I think this one reached 500-600 feet before I realized I had picked the wrong motor. A nail-biter of a recovery from that height, what with the strong upper winds. This one touched down about 600' north of the pad, and about 150' west of the building where Tradewind ended up.

11. Estes Big Bertha, 12" parachute, on a B6-4. Smooth. No issues to mention, and touchdown this time was about 150' south of the pad.

----- Report Ends -----

__________________
Craig McGraw

BARCLONE Rocketry -- http://barclone.rocketshoppe.com
BARCLONE Blogsite -- http://barclone.wordpress.com
BARCLONE Forum -- BARCLONE Forum

BARs helping BARs

SAM 0044
AMA 352635

Okay, who has Craig in the gift exchange? He needs a digital camera.

__________________
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 Semroc Cyber III

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