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  #1  
Old 03-08-2020, 07:23 PM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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Default WSR Beanfield Launch, 3-7-20

Comedy of errors yesterday, starting with the time I got to leave for the 1.5 hour drive to the launch. Just as I was about to start packing the car for the 1.5 hour trip, there came a knock at the door. My wife yells "It's the washer delivery guys!" We still had to clear a path to the laundry room. Got that done and got on the road. 20 minutes into the trip, I realized that I'd not brought my mucking boots, and that we'd had a fairish amount of rain in the previous couple of days.
So, it was about 12:15 when I arrived. I was shocked to find that the winds were fairly light, almost to the point of earning the title of breeze. First up would be my Estes Farside X, C6-0/B6-0/B6--6. It launched perfect, but the delay between the stages gave it a chance to tip each time it staged and by the B6-6 it was pointing away from the pad at a fairish angle. Both boosters landed within 100 feet of the pad, but the sustainer kept on keeping on. I saw the chute, but it was so far to the east that I lost it almost immediately. I walked into the beans, looking for any flash of bright red. Found a Solo cup. Then another. Never saw hide nor hair of the sustainer. After a half hour I gave up and hoped that someone else might run across it.
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Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Gee'Hod, Shrike, SST Shuttle

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

Ready to fly: Estes - Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Snake Jumper
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  #2  
Old 03-08-2020, 07:33 PM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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Second flight was supposed to be The Point, but I don't know that I'll ever be coordinated enough to both load and hook up that monster. I need to rig up a set of clips to extend the reach, but not on Saturday. Instead we got my FrankenRoc. It used to be a ThunderRoc, but a giant zipper back in 2005 really played hell with what had been a decent looking rocket. E9-4 flight that I took some attitude for, but I know what works. This did. The flight was arrow straight and arced over just before ejection. It drifted to the field across the creek, so with several miles already on my Fitbit, I decided to ford the creek. Found a spot where the jump was only about 4 feet and jumped 3.75 feet. Sunk up to my knees. Recovered a Screaming Mimi for an old flying buddy and found another spot to make my return. It was only 3 feet and again I jumped 3.5. Hit the mud on the other side and slid back into the creek up to my knees.
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Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Gee'Hod, Shrike, SST Shuttle

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

Ready to fly: Estes - Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Snake Jumper
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  #3  
Old 03-08-2020, 07:49 PM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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Third flight would be the Semroc Midget, in honor of noted Midget maven Doug Sams. A10-0T/A3-4T flight. LCO said it would scream. It was a perfectly normal flight. Landed 100 yards deep in the beans with the booster landing on the grass at the edge of the creek. Then the recovery team knocked it into the creek. Got the motor casing out, but not the adapter. Should be okay once it dries for several years.
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Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Gee'Hod, Shrike, SST Shuttle

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

Ready to fly: Estes - Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Snake Jumper

Last edited by A Fish Named Wallyum : 03-10-2020 at 08:23 AM.
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  #4  
Old 03-08-2020, 10:00 PM
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ghrocketman ghrocketman is offline
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Bummer on the Farside-X.
I never use over an A8-5 in the sustainer of any 3-stager for that reason.
If the 1/2A6-4 was still available I would use that. In my Comanche 3's I use 1/2A6-2s as they have streamer recovery and there is no chance to shred chute shroud lines.
One could use a 1/2A3-4T, but I have lousy luck staging 18mm to 13mm motors.
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  #5  
Old 03-09-2020, 06:24 AM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ghrocketman
Bummer on the Farside-X.
I never use over an A8-5 in the sustainer of any 3-stager for that reason.
If the 1/2A6-4 was still available I would use that. In my Comanche 3's I use 1/2A6-2s as they have streamer recovery and there is no chance to shred chute shroud lines.
One could use a 1/2A3-4T, but I have lousy luck staging 18mm to 13mm motors.

That was my first three stager, but I still have an MPC Microsonde and a Semroc Cyber III to fly. The A8-5 sounds like a pretty good idea. Especially in retrospect.
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Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Gee'Hod, Shrike, SST Shuttle

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

Ready to fly: Estes - Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Snake Jumper
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  #6  
Old 03-09-2020, 06:39 AM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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Flight 4 was the first of two redemption shots on the day. The last time I flew the TLP Perseus was in this same beanfield on a D12. It was waiting on the pad for the previous flight to land when it suddenly took off on its own. The surprise on all of the faces on the flightline would have been funny if not for the fact that a) it was my rocket, and b) that it was obviously having trouble gaining altitude. As it was, it crashed hard into the beans after an arcing, 100 foot flight, pretty much destroying the front end of the rocket. A POWR-PRANG to make GH proud. With the rebuild finished, I loaded another D12-5 and tried again. This time there was no shortage of power, and the Perseus arced back over the flightline, wiggling a bit, but for the most part flying as expected. It landed on the other side of the creek again, but by this time I had a savior stationed there to keep me out of the waves.
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Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Gee'Hod, Shrike, SST Shuttle

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

Ready to fly: Estes - Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Snake Jumper
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  #7  
Old 03-09-2020, 06:44 AM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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Flight #5 was another two-stager, an Estes Beta that I'd picked up on eBay several years back. The Beta was my first rocket, so I've always had a spot for it. This one came in pieces, but was easily made flight-worthy again. A10-0T/A3-4T was again a great combo, staging close enough for all to see and taking the sustainer 100 yards into the beans.
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__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Gee'Hod, Shrike, SST Shuttle

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

Ready to fly: Estes - Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Snake Jumper
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  #8  
Old 03-09-2020, 06:52 AM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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Next on the day was another redemption flight, the RDC Starflight. This would be the third flight for the Starflite, but I was hoping for none of the trouble that had plagued the previous two. The first had been a massive E9 CATO, and the second a perfect flight with a payload section rebound into a fin that caused major damage. This one was charmed, and quite possibly the best flight of the day. Power was from an E12-6, which turned out to be a perfect pick as it ejected just as forward motion stopped. Recovery was deep in the beans after a 1000' + flight.
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__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Gee'Hod, Shrike, SST Shuttle

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

Ready to fly: Estes - Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Snake Jumper
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  #9  
Old 03-09-2020, 06:58 AM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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The Estes Sky Warrior was my next flight. It was a Hobby Lobby clearance bird that had wildly warped balsa and wound up built only because I found a mystery piece of BT-55 that had a 24mm engine mount already glued into it. The Sky Warrior fins were uncovered after a year + under a book and a donor nose cone was located. Not really a Sky Warrior, but close enough that I felt I could use the decals. D12-5 flight was as hoped with a shorter than expected recovery walk.
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__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Gee'Hod, Shrike, SST Shuttle

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

Ready to fly: Estes - Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Snake Jumper
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  #10  
Old 03-09-2020, 07:06 AM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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My finale on the day would be my Semroc LAUNCH Missile. This bird had a tough path to completion. I started it years ago as a lunch project when I was still on night shift. There was some kind of issue on the way home one morning and the body tubes were crushed, then the remaining parts were scattered. I eventually rounded up what I had left and bought replacement tubes from eRockets. Pretty happy with the final results. Flight would be on a B6-4 because I'd planned to fly it at B6-4 Field and didn't change the motor out. The flight was perfect, and after a short recovery walk into the beans, my day was done. You may have noticed that I had only on pad shots for these rockets. That wasn't the plan, but none of the 1147 shots I got with a new Minolta camera with speed burst turned out. Timing was such that I wound up with mostly smoke trails and crotch shots, and the resulting clarity was poor. Thank the rocket godz for cell phone cameras.
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__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Gee'Hod, Shrike, SST Shuttle

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

Ready to fly: Estes - Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Snake Jumper
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