2016 Launch Reports

Jan   Feb   Mar   Apr   May   Jun   Jul   Aug   Sep   Oct   Nov   Dec

January, 2016

Howie arrived at the field on Saturday moning and waited in his truck for others to show up. The weather was ideal but sadly nobody showed. I considered going myself but decided to rebuild my CATO'd Adventurer 3 which I have been putting off. Got that done! It is now ready for a personal altitude record at LDRS in June. Looking for between 11,000 and 13.000 feet. Still waiting for a replacement CTI 54mm 6GXL casing and K300 Long Burn motor from Wildman.

I have been looking at my alarmingly large build pile. I need to get some new rockets built. I started getting everything together to build my Mouse 38, Formula 75 kitbash with added payload tube and avbay, my Blue Iguana, my AGM58 sacale missile and my Broken Arrow 54.

I expect to be at our February launch with some new rockets to fly. I hope everyone else will make the effort too.

Dave L.

 

February, 2016


The launch weather started with mostly sunny and temperatures in the teens with winds around 10mph, which made it feel around 0°F. Over the next several hours, the sun went away, the wind and temperature made it to the mid teens, so it did not feel much warmer. After the last launch, the wind and temperature continued to rise while the clouds got thicker. This meant the field was frozen with a couple inches of snow. The road which started out frozen on the way in defrosted and became muddy on the way out.

Two CRMRC members were at the launch, Jeff R and myself. There was also two guests, one of which was there to get her level 1 certification. There were a total of 2 flights: 1 G, and H, for an average of G and H in total.


I spent the first half hour helping guest Merry get her orange and black PML Callisto ready for her L1 attempt. We checked the piston in the cold temperature and it still moved relatively freely. Next was packing the parachute before moving onto the motor. The motor was an Aerotech DMS H115 Dark Matter with a 14 second delay but simulations showed her rocket reached apogee in 11 seconds. We moved into the relative warmth of her car to drill down the delay.

I had read on the web how to drill down a DMS delay and explained this to Merry. She then drilled down the delay and installed the ejection charge. After that I gave her a CRMRC launch card to fill out. Jeff arrived and the two of us converted the blue pad to a 1/4 inch rod in preparation for the flight. With the motor installed and the pad ready, I completed the L1 checklist and all of us walked out to the pad to load the rocket. All of us who have certified can remember how nerve wracking it is to do that final prep: tilting the pad, putting the rocket on, inserting the igniter and then connecting up the clips. The last thing we did before walking away from the pad was to have Merry's friend take the obligatory picture of her standing next to her rocket.

The winds were around 13mph from the south as the skies and range were both confirmed to be clear. The countdown proceeded and the button was pushed. It was the first time Merry had seen a high power rocket and it was hers, so she was both excited and nervous. The dark matter sparky did the up portion perfectly to what looked to be around 2500 feet where the parachute ejected and inflated. Merry and friend watched it land in the field to the north and started walking to retrieve the rocket. With a large smile on her face, she brought back the rocket in flyable condition -- a successful L1 attempt with pictures to prove it.

CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR LARGER IMAGES


As for me, I flew my gold Gold Star on an AT SU G78-7G. I keep a stock of AT SU Gs with 4 second delays on hand to fly demo flights of my pyramid, and this 7 second motor was incorrectly sent so I used it for the Gold Star. It worked fine and the green flame with the 7 second delay took the rocket to around 1800 feet before the parachute was ejected almost perfectly at apogee. It too landed one field to the north and was recovered successfully.

March, 2016

Photos to follow


The launch weather started without a cloud in the sky, and temperatures in the upper twenties with light winds between 0 and 5mph. As the day progressed, the temperatures climbed to 33. The sun un-froze most of the ground, but in the shadow of my truck, the ground remained frozen. The path coming in from the main road was frozen when everyone arrived, but as last month the sun turned it into a greasy, slippery mess when it was time to leave in the afternoon. Only one person needed to be pushed to make it out but several cars did spend a great deal of time spinning their wheels.

Eight CRMRC members were at the launch: Jeff and son Stephen, Dave & Molly, Jim, two new members who had just joined, Dan and Melissa, and myself. There were nine guests: a father with 2 sons, a father with 1 son, a single guy who was flying a drone, and four Daniel Webster College students, including Meredith who certified L1 last month. There were a total of 23 flights: 4-C, 1-C-C two stage, 5-D, 4-E, 1-F, 2-G, 3-H, 1-I, and 2-J for an average of G and just missing a L in total.

The launch equipment was ready to go by 0955hrs and the first flight was almost exactly at 1000hrs. With so many flights, we were in almost constant motion either prepping, flying, or retrieving rockets until we left the field. Member Jim used his phone and managed to video most of the flights. Jim then put together a video of these flights. Go to the CRMRC Facebook page to watch the flights described below.

Each of the sons listed above flew CRMRC saucers. Guests Oliver, Hunter, and Trevor did a great job decorating their saucers and then had huge smiles on their faces when the pushed the button to start their flight. Every saucer flight is cool because everyone gets to watch the C6-5 motor struggle to get the saucer up and then the ejection charge comes out with the rocket about 50 feet off the ground.

Member Stephen R flew his flat black Estes Mega Mosquito on an Estes D12-5. This rocket has a history as it was hung up in a tree last summer when we spent about an hour before it was successfully recovered. No trees were involved in the flight for this launch. The rocket went up about 600 feet before the parachute came out and the rocket drifted back down into the field it took off from.

New member Melissa's first club flight was an Estes Big Daddy. An Estes D12-5 did a great job with the up portion of the flight and ejected the parachute. The Estes plastic parachutes sometimes do not open up in the cold as they like to stay in a scrunched shape. This happened on this flight but the rocket did not hit the ground too hard.

Member Molly H. flew her L1 certification purple crayon Purple Haze on a CTI H123 skidmark. The skidmark was loud and sparks were everywhere as the rocket went up to about 1400 feet before the ejection charge popped the parachute out of the rocket. The parachute came out but failed to open up. The Kevlar chute protector had ridden up the chute lines. Fortunately, the rocket came down softly without damage and will fly again.


Guest Meredith managed her second flight with the club. Her first flight was last month as her L1 certification. Her second flight was preceded by passing the NAR L2 test. This time Merry brought an Apogee Components all fiberglass 4 inch kit called "Level 2." This almost 6 foot tall kit weighed a little over 12 pounds when loaded with a CTI J293 blue streak (the flight card said J243 but CTI does not have a J243). A MARSA54L handled the recovery chores, releasing the 18 inch drogue at apogee, 2900 feet, and the 48 inch main at 700 feet. This rocket landed one field to the west and slightly south of the road for about a five minute walk before picking up her intact rocket. Congratulations to Merry for her successful L2. Be prepared to open up your pocketbook.

Guest Jacob R, who was part of the Daniel Webster college support team, flew two rockets. His purple and yellow Estes Eliminator flew on an Estes D12-5 with a very successful result up and down. Additionally, the only multi-engine flight of the day was Jacob's Estes Punisher which flew on an Estes C6-0 to C6-7. The crew assigned watchers for both the booster and sustainer so nothing would be lost. The flight was perfect as the first motor lit on the pad and then its ejection charge ignited the second motor. The parachute came out and both pieces drifted to the ground where they were recovered.

New member Dan had three flights on the day, culminating in the second certification flight of the day. Dan started his day with two Estes D12-5 flights. A silver and yellow Estes Stormcaster along with a black and white Estes Cosmic Interceptor were the first two club flights Dan had. From there, the pressure was amped up as Dan worked to prepare his nicely painted and detailed 4 inch grey and blue Madcow Phoenix. Dan had to build and drill down an Aerotech H130W. This is one of the new USPS mailable AT motors with smaller grains. The flight itself was picture perfect on the way up and as it drifted down under parachute. Congratulations on your first high power flight and a successful L1.

Member Dave had four flights, from an E to an I. Dave started with his USPS Priority Mail box - based pyramid rocket he calls Going Postal. An Estes E9-12 struggled to keep the rocket up before it turned around and tumbled back to the ground for a nice up close flight. A Rocketry Warehouse Mouse 38 flew on an Aerotech Econojet F23-FJ. This grey and white fiberglass rocket is a nice flier on an F to over 1000 feet, and floats down nicely on an 18 inch parachute. A black smoke CTI H175 Smokey Sam powered a custom 4 inch Yellow Crayon went up nicely to over 1000 feet where the ejection charge popped the nosecone and parachute. The parachute was out but did not unfurl completely, again because the Kevlar chute protector had ridden up the chute lines like on Molly's flight. The rocket floated down softly enough to be flown again. Another Rocketry Warehouse kit, a 2.6 inch diameter Blue Iguana was flown on a CTI I345 white with the deployment duties being handled by an RRC2 altimeter. Dave had tested the charge sizes at home to make sure they were big enough. The charge was big enough for the apogee separation but was not big enough to split the shear pins holding on the nosecone for the main parachute deployment. Again, cold weather was suspected in causing the nylon to be tougher to break. The rocket landed hard on the nosecone, which sheared cleanly off its coupler, for the only serious damage. Dave has since repaired the nosecone.


Along with videoing the launch, member Jim had five flights, the most of any flier. A nicely painted and detailed black Estes SR-71 flew on an Estes C6-3. The large winged kit is not one to fly on windy days and the weather cooperated for a nice flight. Jim had the first CRMRC flight with fly-away rail guides on his Rocketry Warehouse Formula 38. These work by having a plastic wrap around which has 3 railbuttons. A rubber band opens the wrap around once the rocket is off the rail. The AT E28-7 powered rocket veered significantly after it left the rail and it took a while for the wrap around to release from the rocket. The chute deployed successfully for a recoverable flight but the fly away railguide was disappointing. A natural fiberglass and black Gary T designed Painkiler Micro flew on another AT E28-7. Another nice flight up and down. Jim's final two flights were on AT G53-7 motors. A nicely painted red, black and white Estes Pro Series II Ventris flew with the club's first ever use of a Jolly Logic chute release. This lightweight (1.5 lbs) rocket flew to over 1400 feet on the G before the nosecone popped off and an furled up parachute ejected. At about 300 feet, the Jolly Logic chute release opened up allowing the parachute to open up and bring the rocket gently down. The chute release is an easy way to add dual deploy without impacting the airframe design or adding extra charges. I have seen a lot of favorable reviews of this product; watching it work was impressive. Jim's final flight also used the G53 and the chute release, with the same successful results. This time it was a taller Estes Pro Series II Argent for another smooth flight up and "dual deploy" on the way down.

As for me, I was kept busy keeping the launch moving as RSO and LCO, administering an L2 test, selling and prepping 3 CRMRC saucers, and approving two successful certification flights. In spite of this, I managed to fly 2 of the 3 rockets I brought. My small flight was a Quantum tubing copy of an Estes Fat Boy, called Fat Boy III. This flew on a CTI E22 to over 600 feet before apogee and nothing happening. I relearned something I already knew, that Quantum tubing is highly temperature sensitive and the cold weather caused it to shrink fit to the nosecone. The rocket came in ballistic and landed in a puddle with about 1/4 inch of ice on top. Only the fins were sticking out above the ice and water. The soft mud stopped the rocket without any damage and the shrink fit nosecone was on so tight that no water seeped into the rocket. My second flight was my reliable 1/4 scale Patriot in the dual deploy configuration. A KBA J740 green flew the rocket to just over 3000 feet before the RRC2 separated the rocket with a streamer at apogee. This was followed one second later by the RRC mini deploying the backup charge, and then at 700 feet the RRC2 blew off the nosecone which floated away on an 18 inch parachute, and also pulled out the 58 inch main parachute to bring the rest of the rocket down slowly. The final charge going off was the RRC mini deploying the backup charge at 500 feet. This rocket landed about a one minute walk away, closer than the Fat Boy III.

All in all, the weather cooperated for a launch with more flights than had been happening lately for the CRMRC and two successful certifications. Flying stopped at 1430hrs and when we packed up the launch equipment. Thanks to everyone who helped with the takedown. Then, one at a time, everyone drove up the slippery road. I made sure everyone was out of the mud before leaving the field and made it to pavement at about 1500hrs. Four of us capped off the day at Linda's for a meal and rocketry talk.

April, 2016


Video of the day's launches by Jim V. are HERE

It was another great day to be outside with temps in the 50s and no real clouds to speak of, just some light high altitude haze. The winds were higher than the predictions, starting around 7mph at the start of the flying day and ending at about 12mph. The driveway down to the launch location was dry and easily navigated. The parking lot was a different story as one person managed to get his vehicle stuck in some mud. Three of us went over to try to push him out but were unable to get the car moving forward. I grabbed a tow strap out of my truck and hooked it to the front of both vehicles. With the transmission in 4WD LO, he was out in no time.

The field itself was mostly dry but had many wet areas with mud and water. The ditches between the fields were full of water. There was also a lot of dry grass which was left over from last fall, so skidmarks were limited. The launch was attended by 3 guests: a father and son, and the wife of one of the members, along with 6 members: Jeff & Stephen, Scott, Ken, Jim and myself, Howie. We started flying around 1010hrs and by the time we were done, there were 11 flights, totaling a J motor. The flight summary is: 1-B, 1-C, 3-F, 4-G and 2-H, averaging an F. All flights were done by CRMRC members.

Steven flew a white and multi-colored Sharpie Estes rocket called Starbase on an Estes B6-2. The flight went up nicely and landed under parachute in the field. There was slight damage as the fincan came off but the rocket is repairable and will fly again.

Jeff finally got his high flying PML IO off the ground on an AT G40-7W. The delay was about a second early but really did not impact the flight that much. It peaked out around 1500 feet before the 24 inch classic PML red and white parachute brought the rocket down nicely.

Scott came to fly after a long hiatus and managed two flights. First was a metallic blue Estes Ninja on an Estes C11-3. The 3 second delay was perfect for this flight and the rocket was easily recovered. Scott's second flight was of a modified Estes Big Daddy with plywood fins, rail buttons, and a 29mm motor mount. An AT SU G80-7T snapped the rocket off the pad. It corkscrewed upward which everyone thought was due to going too fast or having exceeded the speed of some of the rocket materials. Later examination of the launch rod showed that the short rail swayed in the wind and likely caused the rocket to not start out straight. This rocket went to about 2000 feet and just about as far downwind before everyone lost sight of it. It was not found in spite of Scott bringing his First Person View (FPV) drone to scan the suspected landing area.

Jim managed the most flights, 4. All of Jim's flights used his Jolly Logic Chute Release (JLCR) to prevent the rocket from drifting too far downwind while under chute. This worked flawlessly every time, although setting it to 200 feet did bring the rockets very close to the ground before the chutes inflated to slow the rockets' decent. Jim's low flyer was a primer grey Estes PSII Partizon. This 56 inch tall, 2.5 inch diameter rocket flew on an AT SU F24-4R to around 500 feet. The JLCR did its work at 200 feet. A green Estes Honest John which still needs the decals applied flew to about 700 feet up before the AT SU F24-4 ejected the tightly furled parachute. On the way down at 200 feet, the JLCR popped and the chute inflated to bring the rocket safely down. Another primer colored rocket, a Madcow Mini Black Brant II flew on that same motor to around 900 feet. The motor popped the chute and the JLCR took over again for another fun to watch flight. Jim's last flight was his nicely painted red and white, 46 inch tall, 2.5 inch diameter, Estes PSII Ventris. The first attempt to fly had the forward closure come off when the igniter lit so the top half of the rocket ejected on the pad. Fortunately, the motor did not light and so there was no damage. Examination of the casing showed the forward closure's threads did not work. This was a casing that was purchased used, caveat emptor. A second AT G64-7W was tried with a different casing and this flew to almost 2000 feet before the motor ejected. As with all his flights, the JLCR took over, this time at 300 feet, and the rocket landed safely on the field to the west. Jim had a good day and expects to spend some time painting his rockets now that the weather outside is nice.

As for me, I got 3 birds off the ground. I moved the high power pad to a muddy spot for the first flight of the day and flew my slightly modified PML MR-1b (the "B" stands for rail buttons) on a CTI G69 skidmark which was not used at the previous month's launch. No issues with the flight as it landed on a field to the northeast. My purple, assemble on the field, Hanger 11 Arthur kit called King Arthur flew on a CTI H120 red lightning drilled down to 7 seconds. Another flight with no issues landing on the launch field. My final flight was my custom made Coors beer bottle on a CTI H151 red lightning which went up absolutely straight and came down on the 36 inch X parachute in the same field as it was launched from. There were some newbies who had never seen any of my beer bottles fly and they were in awe as to how well the flight went. I had prepped my Giz Gone Wild to be flown on a CTI K940 white thunder but by that time the winds were too high for me, averaging around 12mph.
It was a great day to be outside with the bright sunshine and no bugs. Flying stopped at 1400hrs and when we packed up the launch equipment. Thanks to everyone who helped with the takedown. Four of us capped off the day at Linda's for a meal and rocketry talk.

 

May, 2016

Saturday started out a bit cooler and windier than the forecast had predicted but by 1000hrs, the winds dropped to less than 6 MPH and the sun's warmth made it feel in the upper 60s. Throughout the launch, the sun poked in and out of the clouds, so it did not seem that strong, but it was. The drive down was dry and the only real moisture was in the ditches between the fields. The bugs were minimal. The grass averaged about 12 inches and yellow dandelion flowers were everywhere.

The most notable flight of the day was CRMRC member Jim's successful L1 certification flight. Congratulations to Jim. A total of 4 CRMRC members were present and 3 guests showed up. Members were Jim, Dan, Melissa, myself and the guests were Jim's SO, Dan's dad, and someone who was driving by and noticed the signs. There were 12 flights and 13 motors burned, totaling a K. The average flight was a small H with the details being: 1-B, 2-D, 1-D to C, 1-E, 2-F, 1-G, 2-H, 1-I, and 1-K.

Member Melissa had two flights. Her first flight was a teal colored Estes Plasma Probe on an Estes B4-4. The flight card listed the altitude as reported by Estes, as 800 feet. I comment to her that there was no way any rocket could get to 800 feet on a B motor, and while there was not altimeter on the rocket, my guess was that the flight maybe made it to 400 feet. The parachute did come out and the rocket landed safely getting closest to pad for the day. Melissa's big flight was a blue Estes Big Daddy on the mighty Estes D12-5. Again, listing the spec sheet altitude, the flight card had 900 feet. My guess was the actual altitude was also under 400 feet too.

Member Dan managed the most flights with four birds off the ground. A black and white Estes Cosmic Interceptor flew on another mighty Estes D12-5 and landed safely. The only complex flight for the day was Dan's red and white Extreme 12 on a D12-0 to C11-3. The staging worked perfectly at about 50 feet off the ground with apogee around 700 feet and the parachute came out just a second after apogee. A white and sky blue Aerotech Mustang flew on an AT E26-6T. This midpower flight was nice with everything working exactly as planned, including a safe landing on two 12 inch yellow parachutes. Dan's big flight for the day was a purple Estes Partizon on an AT G53-7FJ. The motor left a nice trail of black smoke as it went up and then ejected two red parachutes to bring the rocket down safely.

Member Jim took it easy after his L1 certification flight with two other flights on two mid-power single use F44-4W EconoMax motors. All of Jim's flights used the Jolly Logic Chute Release (JLCR) which allows almost any rocket to use dual deploy with just a single ejection charge. Another Estes Partizon which is now also painted purple on one of the EconoMax motors to about 1000 feet and then the JLCR took over as it opened the chute set to 300 feet for a successful flight. Jim's other F44 powered flight was his red and black Rocketry Warehouse Formula 38 which flew to 825 feet where the pink X parachute came out but did not expand until the JLCR allowed it to open. The cool thing about these two flight cards was that Jim was able to write "cert level 1" because of his first flight of the day, which is listed next. Jim's certification flight was a nicely painted red and black 4 inch Mega Der Red Max with all the decals. Jim assembled the AT H128W and certification pre-flight check was successful. The up portion to 1021 feet was perfect as was the motor ejection. The rocket drifted down with the chute bunched up until the Jolly Logic Chute Release open up and then the chute fluffed, leading to a soft landing and a successful L1.

I had acquired 2 older AT motors from someone who has left the hobby which I flew, plus one of my own motors. An AT H112J-M drilled down to 7 seconds did not light with the enclosed copperhead, but a Wildman Big'em allowed the motor to ignite and power my blue sparkle painted 4 inch Lil Rascal. The delay was 3-4 seconds long and the rocket was heading down quickly when the nosecone ejected. The speed was too much and a fiberglass fin was ripped off, for the only unsuccessful flight of the day. The other AT I used was an I284W on my dual deploy PML 3 inch AMRAAM. The 6 pound, 7 ounce rocket made it to exactly 2700 feet before apogee separation. The RRC2 continued to do its work, ejecting the main and the rocket safely landed on the ground.

The big flight of the day was my black, almost 18 pound, 5 inch diameter, 84 inch tall Giz Gone Wild with both a RRC2 and a MARSA on board which flew on a CTI K940 white thunder. The motor roared as the rocket flew up to 4058 feet. It drifted down almost 3300 feet before the nosecone was ejected. The nosecone was on its own parachute which pulled out the freebag containing the main parachute. Both the nosecone and rest of the rocket drifted down under their own chutes for a successful flight.
Jim videoed every flight and his edited video can be found HERE

Everyone helped pack up the launch gear and we were off the field around 1500hours.

 

June, 2016

The weather was exactly as predicted, 70s-80, mostly sunny (no clouds for most of the launch), and winds light (starting around 7 but quickly dropping to under 4 and remaining there). The grass was about 18 inches tall everywhere but most everywhere was dry. As we were setting up, the land owner drove onto the field, but as with any dairy farmer, did not have time to stop and watch. Setup took longer than normal because we set up the large yellow pad at 500 feet along with the normal blue pad and red rack. Additionally, we set up Jim's EZup to allow us some shade from the unrelenting sun. By 10:15, we were ready to go.

A total of 4 CRMRC members were present and 1 guests showed up. Members were Jim V, Jeff R, Dave L, myself and the guest was my son, who provided some entertainment flying his racing drones around us. There were 10 flights attempted, with 13 motors. Only 10 motors were burned, and you will see the reason why later. Counting only those motors which burned, the total was a K and the average was just smidge under a G. These were: 1-C, 1-E, 1-F, 3-G, 1-H, 2-I, and 1-K.
Member Jeff flew his nicely painted red and black PML IO on an AT G40-7W. The IO is a high flier and flew to around 1000 feet on the G, with the motor eject performing nicely and the rocket returned safely to the ground.

Member Dave L.managed four flights, including 2 first flights for the high power rockets he was planning to fly at URRF. The smallest flight was his custom silver Sputnik on an Estes C6-5 which came down via tumble recovery. Dave's other tumble recovery rocket was a modified USPS box called Going Postal. This cardboard pyramid flew to about 150 feet on an Estes E9-6 and landed back in the tall grass just fine. Dave did fly high power too, with a white, red and black Rocketry Warehouse Broken Arrow 54. This 56 inch tall, 2 inch diameter rocket was equipped with a Strattologger CF altimeter and a Garmin GPS. The CTI I180 skidmark was the only skidmark of the day and it was loud and showy with black smoke and sparks, as all skidmarks are. The Strattologger CF did a nice job at apogee, about 2500 feet and at 500 feet by popping out the 36 inch main parachute. Dave also flew a scratch built red and black rocket he called Marauder on a CTI I345 white thunder. This flew with the similar electronics as the Broken Arrow 54 but the results were not as successful. The flight up was straight as an arrow and the rocket separated at apogee as planned, but the main did not come out in spite of the charges having fired. It landed hard but relatively flat about 20 feet from where we were standing so some minor repairs, and it will be flyable again.

Member Jim V. also got four birds off the ground. There are certain areas where Jim does things that other fliers in the club do not do. For example, his red and black 38mm diameter Rocketry Warehouse Formula 38 flew with fly away rail guides along with a Jolly Logic Chute Release (JLCR) controlling when the parachute fully opened. This flight on an AT F44-8W Economax went to around 1000 feet before the nosecone came off and then the JLCR popped at around 300 feet when the chute fully opened. Jim is the only one in the club to use the fly away rail guides and also a JLCR. The latter he uses a lot. Jim also used an AT G53FJ-7 to propel his red and white Estes Ventris to around 1500 feet before the motor ejected the nosecone and parachute. The parachute did not open until the JLCR let it at 300 feet, and the rocket was successfully recovered. A purple and white Estes Part[i]zon also flew on an AT G53FJ-7 to over 1000 feet before the ejection charge and successful laundry deployment, including the JLCR at 300 feet. Jim's big flight of the day was his L1 rocket, a classically painted red and black Estes Mega Der Red Max on an AT H97J-8. The flight up was spectacular with dense black smoke following to around 1500 feet. There was a bonus delay of about 4 seconds so the parachute opened up well after apogee and very shortly thereafter the JLCR opened the main. Fortunately, no damage was done and the rocket landed just fine.

My one planned flight was my 8 inch diameter, 90 inch tall, 60 pound GizXL Gone Wild on a CTI K1440 white thunder and then airstarting 3 CTI J400 smokey sams at 1 second after main motor burnout, to an expected 5000 feet. This would have been cool with white smoke then black smoke. What actually happened was about as far away from what was planned as possible yet still considered a success. The main motor lit at takeoff but at about 300 feet it CATOed, causing the rocket to separate with flames around it. Fortunately, this caused the wires leading to the 3 Js to separate, preventing them from igniting. From there, the MARSA and MARSA54L altimeters did what they were supposed to, firing the apogee and main charges immediately. The nosecone popped off with its own parachute and dragged out the freebag with the main parachute. All of this happened below 300 feet, so the main parachute only fully opened with the fincan about 20 feet off the ground. The rocket landed safely, with the nosecone parachute and main parachute about 2 feet apart. Jeff managed to get several excellent images of the flight, including one perfectly timed when the CATO happened and the midsection of the rocket is engulfed in flames. Jeff's images can be seen at the CRMRC facebook page.

Jim videoed every flight and his edited video can be found HERE
Everyone helped pack up the launch gear and we were off the field around 1530hours.

 

July, 2016

There was no club launch in July.

 

August, 2016

The weather was a bit windier compared to the prediction as it started at 3mph from the SSW, quickly went to 5-8mph and then as the afternoon wore on, was 13+mph, peaking out exactly at 20mph on the anemometer. Skies were cloudless overhead for most of the day and temperatures were in the 80s. The grass was about 6 inches tall and even most of the ditches were dry. The dryness was unexpected as we had received a lot of rain earlier in the week. There was 6 foot tall corn two fields to the east and one field to the north so I moved the launch area a couple hundred yards to the south from where we normally launch. Jim was there as I drove up, setting up his EZup. By 10:15, we were ready to go with the red pads and one H-J blue pad set up.

A total of 5 CRMRC members were present and 6 guests showed up. Members were Jim, myself and three new members, Kevin T, with son Zach and Paul S. All of the new members were from north of the border and brought their paperwork to join the CRMRC. The guests were two fathers with a total of 4 boys aged 2 to 8, along with a friend of Kevin/Zach/Paul along with his son. There were 18 flights attempted, with 19 motors. A total impulse was a J and both the average motor and average per flight was an F. These motors completed the alphabet from C to H: 6-C, 2-D, 1-E, 1-F, 6-G, and 3-H.

The day started with the four young kids flying CRMRC saucers on the standard C6-5. The dads were excited to see some larger rockets fly but the kids were most excited looking for grasshoppers. The boys did enjoy watching their saucers fly. Hopefully, they will come back to future launches; I know the dads wanted to.
Guest Alex, son of the friend of Kevin/Zach/Paul, had built his first rocket to fly at the launch. It was a naked Estes Bull Pup which flew twice on Estes C6-5s. Alex prepped his rocket with the help of everyone on the field, including a request to remove the Estes logo on the parachute to reduce the drift on the way down. Both flights were nice on the way up and ejected just a little late, but came down just fine. It was great to see a first time flier flying such a small rocket on the large C6-5 motor.

New junior member Zach also got two birds off the ground. First was a nicely painted red sparkled Estes Big Daddy on the long burning Estes E9-6. The winds caused significant arching into the wind for what ultimately was a more than one to one flight upwind (meaning it went further to the south and east than it did go up in height). Not being experienced in looking for rockets in big fields, it took them a while to find it as they were too far to the right and not far enough away. But it was recovered and will fly again. Next was another nicely painted a yellow and red LOC Graduator which was expected to go to 1100 feet for its maiden flight on an AT G 104-8. The flight was picture perfect and the altimeter read 1099 feet when the rocket came back. Video of Zach's successful LOC Graduator flight is HERE

New member Kevin came down from Canada to get his level 1 on a nicely built Wildman Darkstar Jr. This nicely painted black and yellow dark star with radiation stickers flew on an AT H148R-8. The flight up was nice and the ejection charge popped the nosecone a second late but the parachute never came out. The rocket drifted down in a flat spin so it did not hit hard. It was well built so nothing was damaged but the certification was deemed as having an unsuccessful recovery. The cause was the large parachute jammed into the airframe and not coming out. To my somewhat trained eyes, I would have used that chute in a 4 inch diameter rocket, rather than the 2.1 inch one it was in. Video of Kevin's flight: is HERE

New member Paul flew three rockets successfully. A pink and black Estes Leviathan flew on an AT F52-8T. The Jolly Logic Altimeter 2 registered 975 feet and max speed of 195 mph. The purple parachute came out just fine and the rocket landed safely. A nicely painted purple 2 inch Giant Leap Rocketry Talon flew on an AT G77R-8 to 672 feet according to the Altimeter 2, with a max speed of 166 mph. Paul's big flight of the day was the second Dark Star Jr of the day on another AT H148R. The red flamed H did a nice job propelling the rocket up. Paul learned from the unsuccessful flight in front of him, using a significantly smaller parachute. The combination of the 21 inch purple rocket and the 34 inch round parachute worked to a tee as the rocket came down under chute for a successful certification. Congratulations to Paul. Now is the time to raise the credit limit on your credit card.

Member Jim had the most flights, burned the most propellant and had the only complex flight of the day. A Squirrel Works Two Cool For Spool is a two stage spool rocket where each half of the spool is a stage. Jim flew both of these on D12-0s and it worked to perfection. The bottom half was lit on the pad and when it was burned out, it lit the other half of the spool which flew even further. The staging went off without a hitch for a really cool flight and two spool halves drifting to the ground. Jim also flew an Estes Pro Series II Nike Smoke painted in the classic colors of red, white and yellow on an AT G33-7J. Inside the rocket was a Jolly Logic (JL) Chute Release and a JL Altimeter 3. The black smoke motor propelled the rocket to 831 feet according to the Altimeter 3 and the Chute Release opened up the chute at 300 feet for a nice flight. The same rocket also flew on an AT G64-7W with the same JL electronics inside. There were two differences: the altimeter read 1528 feet and the Chute Release was set 100 feet lower, at 200 feet. Jim's high flier was another Estes Pro Series II with the same electronics inside, a white and orange Argent. An AT G75-8J propelled the rocket to 1607 feet after which the Chute Release allowed the red parachute to fully open at 300 feet for fourth successful flight.

As for me, I managed two flights. My Wildman Dark Star Lite kit called Gold Star on a CTI G131 Smoky Sam with a 7 second delay. This G is considered high power and is just 3 Newtons short of an H. This flight is also the reason why I just bought set of JL electronics like Jim has. The flight went high and drifted one field upwind, stopping just short of the corn. It would have been nice to know how high it went and to have the parachute fully open much lower than apogee. My second flight was my Hanger 11 Arthur kit called King Arthur, on a CTI H123 Skidmark. I would not want to repeat this flight again even though it was successful. The motor delay as about 3 seconds late and the rocket was coming in ballistic when the nosecone popped off at less than 100 feet. I need to remind myself that when setting the motor delay on windy days, it is better to go shorter since the rocket weathercocks and does not go as high as normal. At the speed the rocket was traveling when the nosecone came off, there was too much pressure for the main chute to come out of the tube. This is where my insurance chute paid off. I had tied a small 9 inch chute directly to the nosecone. This caught the high speed wind and turned the rocket from pointing to the ground to the open tube facing skyward without zippering because it was so small. Additionally, it pulled the main chute out of the tube, which fluffed in the air and allowed the rocket to drift slowly to the ground. I had asked Jim to borrow his Chute Release but that had already released inside the rocket before the nosecone came off.
Link to Jim's video of most of the launch is HERE

After the successful L1 attempt, we packed everything up and were off the field around 3:30 to end what was a great day flying rockets.


September, 2016

There was no club launch in September


October, 2016

The field had recently been trenched and drainage pipe put in so there were trenches about every twenty feet, diagonally going from northwest to southeast. This limited the driving on the field significantly. It also made walking in most directions difficult. The good news was that corn on the fields to the north and east had all been harvested. The weather started in the 40s and made it to the 60s, mostly sunny, and winds starting 3-5mph and getting higher as the day went on, eventually gusting up to 30mph as the day went on. The red pad and blue pad were set up and ready to go by 1000hrs.

There were a total of 12 people at the launch, 5 members and 7 guests. The guests were a father & two sons, and a father & 3 sons. The members were Paul, Kevin & son Zach, Jim and myself. There were a total of 14 flights, 9 by CRMRC members and 5 by guests. The total was a K, and the overall average motor and average flight was a G. CRMRC members averaged an H.

Congratulations to member Kevin for his successful L1 certification flight, which can be viewed from onboard HERE.

Guest Merrick flew an undefined blue and green rocket that weighed 4.0 ounces on an Estes C6-5. This was a bigger motor than usually used to fly the rocket so Merrick was excited to see it go so high before the parachute came on and the rocket drifted north as it came down.

Guest Xavier flew a 2.3 ounce, blue Estes Baby Bertha on a Estes B6-4. This was another flight that came down successfully under parachute.
Guest Ben had 3 flights and used up 4 motor. A custom 2.9 ounce, 1" diameter, 20 inch tall, black and white rocket called Boson flew on an Estes C6-5. The flight went up and came down under parachute. Another custom rocket, 1.33" in diameter, 24 inches tall, weighing 6 ounces was also painted black and white and called Hephnestus. This flew on an Estes D12-3 which went up nicely, and came down to be recovered. The only complex flight of the day was Boson flown with a small booster on an Estes B6-0 to a B6-6. People were assigned to watch both the booster and sustainer. The flight was really cool as the first motor ignited the second on the way up and the booster was recovered. The sustainer separated at ejection due to an old elastic shock cord with the body tube floating down and the parachute drifting beyond sight to the north.

Member Kevin flew his first successful H motor flight for his L1 certification. His Wildman Darkstar Jr rocket was painted black with yellow decals and highlights and flew on an AT H180W. There was a Raven3 and an Eggfinder in the rocket but none of that was used for ejection. The motor ejected the parachute on the 5 pound, 1 ounce rocket at 938 feet and the 36 inch orange chute brought it down safely for a successful flight.

Member Zach flew a red Estes Big Daddy on an Estes D12-3 as part of a two Big Daddy drag race. The 3 inch diameter rocket is 18 inches tall and weighed 9.2 ounces. This flight was cool because both rockets took off almost simultaneously with both rockets being recovered successfully.

Member Jim flew a nice orange and black Rocketry Warehouse Formula 54 on a CTI G57 classic. The 1 pound, 14 ounce rocket flew up to 1646 feet with motor ejection. The Jolly Logic Chute release opened the chute at 300 feet to allow the rocket to drift smoothly to the ground.

Member Paul had the most flights with four. He had the other Estes Big Daddy on an Estes D12-3 as part of the drag race. This 9.4 ounce, blue and yellow rocket flew successfully. A classically painted red and black Estes Der Red Max (La Max Rouge) flew on an Estes C6-5 for a nice flight. The 3.2 ounce rocket came down successfully. A custom blue and white called BlueBird Zero also flew on another Estes C6-5. This 2.4 ounce, 1.2 inch diameter, 26 inch tall rocket had a nice flight and landed undamaged. Paul's big flight of the day was a 1 pound 7.6 ounce Estes Leviathan painted purple with a black flame. This is a 3 inch diameter, 41.5 inch tall rocket which flew with an onboard Jolly Logic Altimeter II. An AT G64 was drilled down to 6 seconds and this seemed about right for the ejection charge. The purple parachute brought the rocket safely down to the ground.

My day was not successful. My first flight was my 5 inch Wildman Gizmo (without the added 4 feet) on 38mm CTI H123 skidmark with a JL chute release set for 300 feet. The side of the rail I used was not clean so the rocket barely made it off the rail and went to less than 50 feet before hitting the ground before the ejection charge. There was a small chip to the nosecone but otherwise no damage as the ejection charge went off with the rocket on the ground. My other flight was a naked 5.5 inch 1/3 scale custom Nike Smoke on a CTI K 454 skidmark. The recovery duties were handled by an RRC-2 set for apogee only and then a JL chute release set for 500 feet. The flight was expected to go over 3000 feet but by the time the pad was moved to 200 feet and the rocket was launched, the winds were averaging about 15mph. So the altimeter separated the rocket at 1942 feet. It drifted down to 500 feet when the JL chute release opened and allowed the main chute to catch air. But the rocket was traveling too fast so the chute was stripped and the 17 pound rocket hit the ground hard, breaking off a fin. It will be some work but the fin can be replaced.

The field was cleared of all our equipment by about 1300hrs when some of us went to Lindas for lunch.

H.D.



November, 2016

There was no club launch in November

 

December, 2016

There was no club launch in december

 




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