| Model |
Flt
# |
Recovery Type |
Motor |
Comments |
|
Spike (2)
|
5
|
18" nylon parasheet |
RMS 24/40 E18-4W |
This flight went off as well as E18 flights in the Spike always seem
to; recovery was very close to the launch point, and still, after five
flights, there's no sign of scorching or heat damage to either the parachute
or shock cord, despite use of absolutely no wadding of any kind.
I'm sold on the "parachute compartment" recovery protection system. |
|
Fat Fat Boy (2)
|
1
|
18" nylon parasheet |
Estes D12-5 |
Perfect maiden flight, good stability and recovery. |
|
Maniac w/ Long Shot Booster
|
12
|
18" nylon X-form parachute |
Estes D12-0/D12-7 |
Boost and staging went off without a hitch, but the shock cord parted
at the mounting point on ejection and the airframe core sampled, falling
stably from approximately 1200 feet. The airframe tube forward of
the fins is a complete loss, crimped, opened at seams, and folded in at
the mouth. Fins and motor mount are undamaged, however, and the booster
was recovered without a scratch. The nose cone drifted away on the
parachute, but was later returned to Lost & Found. All that's
required for repair is two pieces of BT-56, two couplers, and some primer
and paint. Should be ready to fly again in a month or so. |
|
Fat Fat Boy (2)
|
2
|
18" nylon parasheet |
Estes D12-7 core, 3xEstes C6-7 outboards airstarted with Jet-X wick |
The airstarts failed to ignite on this flight, most likely because
I cut the Jet-X wick too short and the flame wasn't conveyed to the propellant
in the outboard motors. Fortunately, I'd followed the cardinal rule
of airstarting clusters, and used a core motor capable of flying the model
safely on its own, and the rocket boosted and ejected above ground, suffering
only a broken fin tip and one other fin cracked on landing (due to the
weight of the unfired outboards). A little CA, and it was right as
rain. |
|
Fat Fat Boy (2)
|
3
|
18" nylon parasheet |
Estes D12-7 core, 3xEstes C6-7 outboards airstarted with Jet-X wick |
Determined to show that this technique worked, I immediately prepped
up the Fat Fat Boy again, using the same outboard motors still in the mounts
and longer pieces of Jet-X. This time, two of the three outboards
ignited and the rocket demonstrated a good boost, airstart ignition (with
no visible course change from the unbalanced thrust -- this is why we airstart),
but the delay on the core motor, as on past occasions, proved short.
In this case, the result (in combination with a high horizontal velocity
due to wind and rod angle) was a shock cord failure at the mounting point.
Fortunately, the aiframe of this model is unstable without the nose cone
and nose weight, and tumbled to earth without damage, while the nose cone
didn't travel far from the relatively low altitude. |
|
Spike (2)
|
6
|
18" nylon parasheet |
Dark Star F62-6 |
Flight and deployment were textbook perfect. This flight was
after the wind had dropped off near the end of the day, but still drifted
a couple hundred yards to the secondary parking lot, where it landed on
gravel and collected a few minor chips in the paint. No other damage. |