For the first time since Katrina, I've managed to get a weekend that behaved reasonably well, without any major complaints. The wind was calm this morning, but started picking up from the south and southwest just as I got out to the schoolyard about 2:30 PM. I'll guess the gusts were above 8-10 knots, but it was mostly in the 4-6 knot constant wind speed range. Not unmanageable, but it caused my 13' x 9' blue tarp to lift up and knock everything over a couple of times. Temperature was a comfortable 67-70 degrees, and the sky was blue, with just some thin high-altitude clouds here and there.

I managed eight flights during the two hours I spent at the field, using exclusively A8-3 motors. The models on the list were all first-flighters, including a few BARCLONES, and the flights were similar. Flight 3 was the highest-performance, since the model was the smallest in diameter.

Flight 1:

Model: BARCLONE "Blue Sneek" prototype with original fins.
Recovery system: Short streamer.
Comments: Four small fishing sinkers were added to this model when the first flight sims suggested the model didn't have a very good stability margin, but the slightly undersized fins showed themselves to be a potential issue. The new PDF has had the fins increased about 10%, and RockSim says this will help, even allowing me to remove some of the ballast.

At about thrusting burnout (transition), the model exhibited a corkscrew effect. This may or may not be a stability issue, because with a streamer on this model, the added weight brought the model down too fast. One fin was broken and was canted off at an angle. Repairable. What I am not sure of yet is whether this broke due to acceleration going up (the corkscrew at burnout might have been the result), or from the hard landing. A parachute would have been a better choice.

The model was recovered within 10' of the pad, and I thought the model was going to land on the pad from the way it came back.

Flight 2:

Model: BARCLONE Sprite.
Recovery system: 12" parachute.
Comments: This model was trim and proper, and had one of the straightest flights of the day. I changed the tilt and angle of the pad to compensate for the wind, and it brought the model back on a line that crossed the pad and touched down within 100' of the pad. There were no odd flight tendencies, like the Blue Sneek had, but I did have an "Estes Dent" in the nose cone. The ejection charge must have been a little hot with this motor, as it was with the next flight. No other damage found on landing.

Flight 3:

Model: BARCLONE Aerobee-Hi Semi-Scale.
Recovery system: 12" parachute.
Comments: An excellent launch and another straight flight, reaching higher than any other rocket in the lineup. However, at deployment the parachute opened explosively and was completely ripped from the model. It drifted and was recovered about 70-100 feet beyond the model. The model rolled rapidly as it descended, breaking two fins off completely and cleanly at the glue joint between the fin and the conduit shroud (a CA joint, which I've found to be brittle and weak when used for attaching fins to the body, but which in this applicatiion was a balsa-to-balsa joint). Repairable, but I may need to use thin smears of epoxy to reattach them to provide the needed holding power.

Flight 4:

Model: Estes Cougar.
Recovery system: 12" parachute.
Comments: No issues. This was the largest model I flew, and it didn't reach the same altitudes that the others did. Still, it was a smooth and relatively slow-moving flight on the way up. Those four large fins caught the shifting winds upstairs and you could actually see the model correct its flight path in response to the crosswind shear. Parachute deployment was a bit lower than I expected. No damage on landing.

Flight 5:

Model: SEMROC Astro-1
Recovery system: 12" parachute.
Comments: Another great flight for the day, with no issues whatsoever. With the A8-3 the model reached a conservative altitude, better than the Cougar, but not as high as the earlier Aerobee-Hi in flight 3. It can easily become a favorite model to fly because of the good flight characteristics. No damage on landing.

Flight 6:

Model: SEMROC Astrobee 350.
Recovery system: 12" parachute.
Comments: The model flew quickly to altitude, but the parachute ripped away at deployment. Not certain if this was due to a hot deployment charge, or just an attachment thread giving up the ghost. Model landed safely with no damage, but the parachute was not recovered. It drifted well out of the range before it came down.

Flight 7:

Model: Quest Astra.
Recovery system: 12" parachute.
Comments: Nice flight, though not as stable as I had hoped. One or more fins are apparently angled, and this induced a CCW spin as it ascended. The model reached a moderate, if conservative, altitude; nothing to be ashamed of on this motor. The model recovered properly very close to the pad, maybe within 50'. Another great beginner's model, similar in appearance and in flight to the Estes Alpha. No damage on landing.

Flight 8:

Model: Estes Antares.
Recovery system: 12" parachute.
Comments: Smooth ascent, but with a slight squiggle in the flight at burnout similar to what happened to the Blue Sneek in flight 1. Might have been a shear at altitude, as the model showed no damage to the fins after landing. The model landed close to the pad, again, maybe within 60'. I didn't have to walk as far to this one as I did to some of the others.

__________________
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

Good deal. I was beginning to think you only designed rocket and didn't actually fly them.

__________________
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

Funny, I was beginning to feel the same way...

I feel like I've had a full work-out today. You wouldn't think just launching a few models and recovering them could make you this tired, but I'm actually a bit stiff and sore tonight.

__________________
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

Yeah, kind of like me.

If I wasn't so stinkin' picky about my finishing techniques (which I've come to refer to as "NBF3FA*," or "Not Bad From 3 Feet Away"), I'd probably get more done.

(*Your mileage may vary. Feel free to substitute a larger number.)

Plus, actually *working* ~45 hours a week might have something to do with that. TV news isn't like my old radio job, where automation cut my actual working hours to 1.5 per day, and finally replaced me.

And then there are "Those Other Hobbies" I've been seeing... writing, music, and so on. Oh! And the *big* one: raising kids.


Cheers,

--Jay

Try launching a few rockets, recovering them, and putting out the brush fire that one starts. I KNOW tired.

__________________
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