This was the first launch of the year that we used the Tewksbury field. I brought a long my collection of low and mid powered rockets to fly on this small field surrounded by woods, and swamps. Even though there is no High Power at this launch, it is still worth going because my friends like Bill Rutland and Jim Flis were there flying there Birds. One of the first launches I got to see was Bill and Jim drag racing their large ultra light rockets. Bill had an Estes Dude with a D12-3, and on the other pad was Jim’s Decaffeinator with a C11-3. Jim Flis lost the race because his Decaffeinator did not ignite.
During the day, I made a total of ten flights. First off the pads was my Estes Minie Meanie and Freaky Flyers, both fights on A10-3T’s. Despite being made of plastic, those little birds really scoot, and I lost the Freaky Flyer. Then my Triskelion participated in a three way drag race. All three Tri’s were loaded with A8-3’s, and they flew in formation, and came down in formation. Of course a fin tip broke off when the Tri touched down. My Roachworks Mini-Ranger took off on its second flight with a cluster of three A10’s, followed by my unpainted Semroc Lil’ Ivan with an A8-3.
Today I had some fun launching UFO rockets. First one I did was my Art Applewhite 38mm UFO which took off with a G64 White Lightning motor. UFO’s always provide spectacular flights with motors that produce a lot of smoke. Jim Flis and I have something in common. He and I like to stage our UFO’s. I have done this many times staging a Quest Micro Maxx UFO from a Quest UFO. Staging to a micro max motor provides an unique challenge since the nozzle of the MM motor is so small. The first flight of the C6-0 to a MM motor proved the challenge. The small UFO did not get its extra boost. However, I tried again a little later in the day. The second try the smaller UFO successfully staged.
I only had one mishap during the launch. I used an old E15-7W motor in my Aerotech Initiator. I trimmed the delay down to be more like the recommended four seconds. Even with the trimmed delay, the Initiator still hit the deck long before the ejection charge went off. I wonder how long it would to taken for the ejection charge to fire without trimming the delay?