April 2, 1997 - Launch Report
Oh well. I have my own problems. I had a homemade x-form chute to try out in the SuperShot this time. We set up the launchpad and loaded a C6-7 into it. I didn't want to use the 7 second delay, but I had 6 of them from a Blast-Off pack. I sure wish Estes would just put 8 of the other three motors in (A8-3, B6-4 & C6-5), instead of the 6x4. I hoped the x-form chute would deploy soft enough so that the fishing leader wouldn't zipper the bodytube (BT). We'll see later that it didn't succeed 100%.
"5-4-3-2-1" Whoooosh!
"Wheeee!", chime the three girls. A nice high flight that leaned into the
breeze. The smoke trail ended and I could see the rocket arc'ing over...
Ummm, 7 seconds is a long time isn't it?
Pop! The nosecone shot out and the chute deployed beautifully. The rocket had travelled a fair distance into the wind. The boys set off through the soggy grass toward the landing zone. I'm very pleased with the x-form chute. It brings the rocket down just a little quicker, but doesn't seem to drift nearly as much. The boys had to go about 100' in the upwind direction to retrieve the rocket.
We sent the Twister up on the mandatory A8-3. Several others on rmr have warned me not to try anything bigger. I won't. I almost lose sight of it on almost every flight now! The tail landed less than 50' away, but the nose spun over towards the helicopter team. They were watching our flights too, so there was no problem.
All told, we sent up the SuperShot 2 more times, the Twister twice more too. All the kids got to push the button and loved it. I just make sure *I* have the safety key when mounting the rocket on the launchpad. I also hold the controller with them as they push the button. I don't want someone to jerk away and flip the launchpad onto its side at ignition.
As we were packing up, I remembered to look for something that I had meant to check after the first SuperShot flight. Uh-oh, the fishing leader *is* starting to notch the top of the BT. Two small zippers about a 1/4" long. Hmm, I'll need to try reinforcing the edge some more. More CA and maybe a band of electrical tape. The nosecone is balsa, so I can sand the shoulder down for more clearance. Could also try a wrap or two of duct tape on the leader itself, just where it contacts the edge of the BT.
A friend has given Kyle a derelict Big Bertha that he found in his backyard last summer. It's missing a fin and never had any paint or decals put on it, but it's actually in fair condition. It's so clean, I'm sure it was lost on its maiden flight. The next launch report will likely be including it. This is why I was using the C6-7's in the SuperShot. I'm saving the C6-5's for the Big Bertha!
I've also blown the bank account and bought an Estes Shadow (nice looking rocket!) for myself. (MINE! MINE!) I'm going to alter it to take 2 'D' motors instead of one. Nervy and ambitious, that's me! I've read several of the rmr archives about such stuff and I'll need to use a bigger stuffer tube to handle the dual ejection charges. The plan is to also buy a Mean Machine (more $) and use 2' of its BT for the Shadow's stuffer. Then I'll use the remaining parts of the Mean Machine to build a 32" Sub_Shadow replica for Kyle. The problem is, his Sub_Shadow will go higher on one D12-5 than my Shadow will on two. I'm sure I'll end up hearing all about that. =:->