What a great day to fly rockets! A beautiful bright day that was not too windy. I took advantage of the great weather to fly seven rockets.
The first rocket I launched was my American Spirit with a H180-10W. The American Spirit has not flown since NSL 2003, but I wanted to test my PICO altimeter in my 4” bay for a later I flight in my Megablast, and this was my only other operational 4” rocket at the time. The H180 provided a perfect boost but the nose drag separated, however the test was successful because all three charges went off. I sometimes wish I did not sell my 360 motor, because a I200 would be the perfect motor for this rocket. Then I flew my Hotel Express with my RMS 29/120 loaded with a G77-10R reload for another perfect flight.
After an hour of prepping, I launched my Megablast with an Animal Motor Works I195 White Wolf motor. I used a plugged bulkhead to prevent a possible blow by. The flight was awesome! The white motor had a “Pig Tail” effect similar to the pig tail the Aerotech I357T has, but white! I thought that it looked so cool. To top of a perfect boost, the Megablast landed under chute after a perfect Dual Deployment decent.
Next up was my Fliskits Frick and Frack which I had loaded with a C6-0 and a C6-3. Awesome flight and Jim Flis himself commented how the stages landed right next to the launch pad it was launched from. Following that flight, I launched my ESRA Missile once again with dual E9's. I originally planned to fly it with dual C11-3’s, but the nice weather convinced me to go with the cooler motor combination.
After the baffle problems with the last flight of my EZ2C at a previous CMASS launch, Jim Flis wanted me to fly this rocket again to see if baffle failure of the last flight was just a fluke. After a clustered boost with a C6-5 and a C6-7, the parachute suffered meltdown and the rocket came down with blob recovery. Jim wanted to figure out what went wrong with its baffle, so he borrowed my EZ2C to do an autopsy.
My final flight of the day was my Estes D-Region Tomahawk powered by an old E27-4T. This flight was participating in NAR’s old motor testing program. It was a great flight, and the ejection was right on 4 seconds! As usual, two of the fins got knocked off when it landed.
Just wanted to mention one interesting cato I saw. Someone found out the hard way what happens when you put to much igniter in a motor. Apparently, this rocketeer decided that some BP in the core will help ignite an AMW I375GG on its third try. Lets just say it was a bit to much for the motor and it failed spectacularly.
We had a new vender show up this launch. Mike from Cosmodrome Rocketry was there with an assortment of his kits. I was impressed the quality of the parts in the bag, and how affordable the kits were. I ended up leaving the launch with an Aerobee Hi kit. I also bought my second Praetor and a Tri Glide from Jim Flis. Also, as a bonus to finish a beautiful day, I saw a double rainbow!
| Pictures :) | |||
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My American Express sits on the Launch Pad ready for liftoff. This rocket is a rebuilt LOC Ultimate. |
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My American Express climbs with the power of an Aerotech 29mm H180-10W. |
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My Hotel Express takes off with an RMS 29/120 loaded with an G77 Redline motor. |
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G77 Redline continues to push my Hotel Express skyward. |
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Jack Canyon makes adjustments to the launch pad that is holding his Honest John Rocket. |
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Jacks Honest John takes off with a Pro38 H153 |
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Jacks Honest John recovers nicely with its big parachute. | ||
| Select Videos :) | |||
| My American Spirit takes off with an Aerotech H180-10W. This flight tested a new Pico Altimeter. Even though the momentum of Apogee deployment popped the chute, the test was successful. | |||
| The Megablast takes off with an AMW I195 White Wolf motor. I love the performance of these AMW 38mm white motors. | |||
| My Fliskits Frick & Frack launches with a C6-0/C6-3 combo. You can hear Jim Flis commenting on how the booster landed close to the launch pad. | |||
| I launch my ESRA Missile again with dual Estes E9-6 motors. This rocket flies great with this motor combination. | |||