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| Model | Flt
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Recovery Type | Motor | Comments |
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| Super Firefly |
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Estes 1/2A3-2T | This was the first flight on this rocket since spring 1998 -- boost was the same as always, but the pod hung on the wing, resulting in a Red Baron descent. Time to try again. |
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Second try for the day, and the same result again -- Red Baron. This is getting annoying. This time, the pod finally worked loose from the glider about ten feet up, revealing that the glider trim had changed and it was flying a little nose down -- I found the decalage wedge under the stabilizer had gotten lost; I made another and spot glued it in place. |
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Third time, the pod completely failed to separate from the glider, remaining attached at the regular attachment point, but angled up -- only a partial release. The glider came in steep and hot, and landed with a bonk -- the glider itself wasn't damaged, but two small locator tabs that hold the pod parallel with the glider were stripped off when the glider struck the ground pod first. This one is retired, at least until I can make repairs. |
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This was the usual flight for the Alpha -- straight and high, with predictable deployment and recovery. Conditions were so good, I decided to try a little more power. |
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This flight was very high -- probably around 800 feet, give or take -- and recovery was still close by. Anything this good deserves repeating. |
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Once again, high, straight, and recovered without much of a walk. Time to try something a littel different, that I haven't done in a while. |
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I put my 13mm adapter into the Alpha for this flight, and away we went
again -- staging went off perfectly, and although the 4 second delay was
a bit short (6 would have been much closer to apogee), there was no problem
and the rocket recovered close to the pad once again. I noted on
recovery, however, that the shock cord was nearly broken at the mount end
-- too much exposure to powder gas appears to have degraded the material,
and it's time to replace the shock cord.
With that, I was done for the day. |