Launch Report - Eat Cheese or Fly, '97

I arrived at Parking Lot E in the Bong Recreational Area at about 9:30. The site was still being set up, so I asked what I could do to help. I was given the Indian pump and asked to fill it over at the hand pump. That done, I wandered around a bit to see who else was there.

The range opened at about 10:00 and I was the second launch. I tried out my new Estes Skywinder on a B6-2. The launch was fine, but the ejection charge fired while the rocket was still ascending. The nose cone popped off, and without the nose weight the rocket did not helicopter. I *knew* I forgot something. I left off the masking tape on the nose cone base. Oh, well. Got a minor nick on the end of one of the fins, but otherwise no damage.

After taping the nose cone and re-assembling the Skywinder, I tried it again. Used a B6-2 again, and again the ejection charge fired while the model was still going up. This time the nose cone stayed on and the helicopter recovery worked great. Hey, this is a NICE model.

The wind started to pick up a bit and we had a breeze from the south during most of the launch.

My Estes Sea Dart was launched on a B6-4. It flew very nicely, but on recovery I found one of the parachute shroud lines had pulled loose. It was an older parachute where the shroud line end is trapped under the tape disk. I think I'm going to rebuild all my chutes to pass the shroud line *through* the tape disk and tie it off to prevent future recurrences.

I adjusted the Quest HL-20 following the last club launch by adding more weight to the tail (dried yellow glue around the engine streamer pod). There was some kidding about it possibly needing some wind to glide correctly, since it was fairly nose heavy at the last launch. It went up on a C6-3 and, following the normal, slightly corkscrew power phase, it glided beautifully -- off to the north, and into or past the tall (over head height) brush bordering the north of the launch site. Yep, it needed more wind ;-) It glides pretty well for a draggy brick . I grabbed the ejected motor casing and streamer as I headed into the brush but after a 10-15 minute search I had had no luck spotting the model. On my way back to the field, I found someone else's model and brought it back to the RSO table, so my trek wasn't a total loss.

The third launch of the Skywinder was on a C6-5. I figured a -3 delay would be too short, like the B6-2. Very nice launch, arcing over and ejection right at apogee! The rotors opened up and again, a very nice helicopter recovery. Hey, I *like* this model.

The fourth and fifth launches of the Skywinder were also on C6-5 motors. Man, this is a nice *reliable* bird. Next to no prep required and good repeatable flights. I think the C6-5 is THE motor for this rocket. It should make it *very* easy to get a qualified flight in C Helicopter at the October meet.

The second launch of the HL-20 started out as a perfect replica of the first. It went up on a C6-3 per usual, but after ejection it came down in a nose heavy near-dive. Guess it's not the wind, guys. ;-) There may have been some debris left in the motor tube from the first launch. I'll check it out before the next club launch and see if we can't get this thing to glide reliably.

It took a bit of doing to get my Estes Nighthawk into the air. I'm not sure if I should call this a new model or an old one. I lost the original glider back in '73 on a launch from the soccer field below Bowles Hall on the U.C. Berkeley campus when it flew off into the eastern foothills behind the campus. I rebuilt the glider in '83 after our move to Racine but never got around to relaunching it. When I became active again this summer, I couldn't find the power pod - so I rebuilt it in July. Now, it's a 'new' glider and a new power pod - is it a new model? Anyway, I tried to launch on an A8-3, but the ignitor fizzled. On the second try, the motor lit, but the power pod hung up on the launch rod. The motor burned and we got the chute ejected while still on the rod, but no damage. On our third try, again on an A8-3, we finally had a launch. The flight was pretty good, but the glide was *almost* a spiral. There was no damage to the glider, but I need to work on the glide to open up the circle a bit. We'll see how it goes at the next

I built an Estes Yankee Clipper with some modifications - in particular, a 24mm motor mount. I assembled it with epoxy and made two nose cones - one with extra weight for use with larger motors and one without.

The first launch of the Yankee Clipper was on a B6-4. Good flight, ejection way up there and clean recovery.

Next the Clipper went on a C6-5. This is a fairly clean model so it definitely goes up there. I think it was still going up at ejection, so I'm going to have to try a C6-7. The wind carried it past the brush (willows?) and on into the prairie area north of the launch site. I was afraid I had lost the model, but I finally spotted it almost 100 yards north. Then, on my way back in, I found a foamie Manta that the guy parked next to me had launched. He was pleased that it was recovered.

I wanted to launch on a D12 and an E15, but I didn't have a long enough delay for the D (I only had a -5 and wanted a -7) and I didn't want to lose the model in the wind. I stuck with the C6-5 for its last flight of the day and again had a good trek to the north to recover it.

I built a Big Bertha clone with 24mm motor mount to use as a booster for my Manta, but forgot to install a launch lug. And *then* I forgot that I had a kit along with me that I could have swiped a lug from! Oh, well. I'll have it for the next club launch. I think I'll build another as well, with through the wall to the motor mount fins, epoxy and a stuffer tube.

I was very impressed by the two level-1 certification flights that went up during the afternoon - particularly Mark Meier's beautifully finished Phoenix. It had a spectacular launch with a slight arc into the wind. The ejection looked like it was right at apogee and it drifted down in the plains north of the launch area.

Larry Stern put up the other certification flight. I don't know whether it was based on a kit or scratch built. It looked (to me) like a pretty generic high-power rocket. I didn't realize it was a certification flight or I would have watched more closely. It was a nice launch, much higher than the Phoenix and good deployment. Since it went higher, Larry had a much longer chase, but it was recovered in good shape.

I got to participate in tracking for the 'G 8-ounce water-loft' event. I'm really impressed with the setup we have available to use. The automatic (just point it at the other tracker and press the reset button) alignment and digital readout is really something. Talk about easy to use! I was paired with Gary Miller at the west tracking site and he walked me through how it was done. He tracked the first two rockets and I tracked the third, which turned out to be the winning flight. All our tracks closed! :-) Dan Wolf loaded his water into a couple zip-loc type baggies, but the baggie broke open in the rocket for a DQ (any ideas why, Dan?). Mike Vande Bunt had the highest launch but lost his payload section (disappeared somewhere out on the prairie) for another DQ. Steve Koszuta loaded the water into his blow-molded nosecone and plugged the hole with duct tape. He had the lowest launch of the three competitors, but he successfully returned 8+ ounces of water, even if the base of the cone did get dented.