Rocket Log

This is a list of most of the my launches since 1994. All launches took place at our cabin in Mansfield, NY on "the Back Hill" unless otherwise noted.
Date Rocket Engine Launcher Altitude Weather Performance Comments
7/27/94 Alpha III A Pat High Calm Went almost straight up and landed close to the launchpat. The parachute worked perfectly and we recovered it easily.
  Alpha III A Sean High Calm Same as above.
  Alpha III B Dad Very High Windier Was going perfectly until the parachute drifted it into a tree. It got stuck. We decided never to use parachutes again.
  Sky Winder B Sean Low Windy The wind kicked up so we turned the pad in the direction of the wind. The nose cone blew off. (It had a clay weight) Nose not recovered. (The rotors didn't work either)
8/3/94 Bandit A Pat High Slight Breeze We did not use the parachute. We used streamers. It flew to the left and landed on the opposite side.
  Bandit A Sean High Slight Breeze Same as above.
  Bandit A Grandma High Slight Breeze Same as above.
  Bandit B Mom Very High Slight Breeze Same as above, but higher.
Date Rocket Engine Launcher Altitude Weather Performance Comments
7/27/94 Alpha III A Pat High Calm Went almost straight up and landed close to the launchpat. The parachute worked perfectly and we recovered it easily.
  Alpha III A Sean High Calm Same as above.
  Alpha III B Dad Very High Windier Was going perfectly until the parachute drifted it into a tree. It got stuck. We decided never to use parachutes again.
  Sky Winder B Sean Low Windy The wind kicked up so we turned the pad in the direction of the wind. The nose cone blew off. (It had a clay weight) Nose not recovered. (The rotors didn't work either)
8/3/94 Bandit A Pat High Slight Breeze We did not use the parachute. We used streamers. It flew to the left and landed on the opposite side.
  Bandit A Sean High Slight Breeze Same as above.
  Bandit A Grandma High Slight Breeze Same as above.
  Bandit B Mom Very High Slight Breeze Same as above, but higher.
  Bandit B Dad Very High Slight Breeze Same as above.
8/15/94 Bandit A Sean High Breezy It flew very good and landed near the pad.
  Bandit A Pat High Breezy Same as above.
  Bandit B Rhetta Greenman Very High Breezy Rhetta accidently launched at "5". It went way to the side.
  Bandit B David Greenman Very High Breezy David's went very far to the side. It took us a long time to recover it. After about 5 minutes, David recovered it.
  Bandit B Sean Very High Breezy It would not start the first time. Then on the second time, it fired. We recovered it easily.
  Bandit A Pat Lower Breezy It was going fine until it started coming down then the nose cone came off when the shock cord broke. It landed in a tree. We recovered it.
            At this point, I stopped keeping the log for a while, though I continued flying. I flew the Gnome, the Yankee, and the BailOut For sure, but other than that, I don't recall any other flights. I also flew the FatBoy several times.
4/3/00 Sky Winder A Pat Low Cloudy, not much wind First launch of Sky Winder since loss of nose cone on 7/27/94. Didn't go high because we used an A engine. It landed a few feet from the pad after the blades deployed.
  Sky Winder B Dad Med Cloudy, not much wind Went higher this time, due to bigger engine. Also landed near the pad.
  Sky Winder C Pat High Cloudy, not much wind Best flight was with C engine. It landed in a pine tree, but was recovered, minus one rubber band.
  Alpha III B Dad Very High Cloudy, not much wind First flight since last summer (we recovered it when the tree it landed in was cut down). Went very high, into the clouds, but we recovered it easily
  Alpha III B Pat Very High Cloudy, not much wind Also went very high, and easily recovered.
  Bail Out B Dad High Cloudy, not much wind First flight since nose broke off. Was a good flight and the long streamer made it easy to see.
  Bail Out B Pat High Cloudy, not much wind Same as above.
  Alpha III B Dad Very High Cloudy, not much wind Shot was over to the treeline going toward Scott's, then blew all the way to a tree in the back woods. We shook a nearby tree to try and knock it down, only to get it stuck on a lower branch. We did get it down with a long stick, without any damage. Us
  Sky Winder B Pat Med Cloudy, not much wind A good flight and easy recovery. Blades worked great.
  Sky Winder B Dad Med Cloudy, not much wind Same. C engines proved to be the best. A good launching day.
4/24/00 Alpha III A Pat Med No clouds, slight breeze Good flight, landed a few feet from the pad
  Bail Out B Nora Med No clouds, slight breeze Good flight, landed a few feet from the pad
  Sky Winder C Pat Very High No clouds, slight breeze Blew way over into the side woods. This time, we recovered the nose, but the body is way up in a tree. If there is a lot of wind, it might come down.
  Fat Boy B Nora High No clouds, slight breeze A good flight, first since fin repairs. Recovered easily.
  Bail Out B Nora Med No clouds, slight breeze Good flight and easy recovery
4/25/00 Alpha III A8 Pat   Clear, breezy Landed near property line at trees.
  Bail Out C Pat   Clear, breezy With paratrooper. Landed near each other.
  Fat Boy B Pat   Clear, breezy That Fat Boy can fly!
  Alpha III A Dad   Clear, breezy Landed in fir trees.
6/4/00 Yellow X Flier A8-3 Pat Very High Clouds, Slight breeze Went into a clump of pinetrees, drifted away from launchpad. Sean found it on the ground.
  Blue X Flier A8-3 Sean Very High Clouds, Slight breeze We tried to aim this one to compensate for the breeze. Landed on top of an evergreen tree. Sean is climbing, but it is difficult. About halfway up, things look hopeless. Pat hands a long stick up to Sean. He got it with the stick and slowly makes its
  Alpha III A8-3 Dad Low Clouds, Slight breeze Took off at a sharp angle, but drifted back to us. Dad recovered it.
  Fat Boy C6-3 Pat Med Breezy Good flight.
  Alpha III C6 Dad Very High Calm Rocket veered off at a sharp angle and went out of sight. Lost it.
  Fat Boy C6-3 Pat Med Calm Good flight. Landed 300' from pad.
  Fat Boy C6-5 Pat Med Breezy Another good flight for the Fat Boy. The longer delay in the engine helped in the recovery.
6/23/00 Star Wars Nubian Fighter A10-3T Pat Low Slight Breeze Supn out and crashed, no damage.
  Star Wars Nubian Fighter A10-3T Pat Low Slight Breeze A little better, but another crash. No damage. Center of Gravity seems off.
  Star Wars Nubian Fighter A10-3T Dad Low Slight Breeze A little better still, but still spinning. Something is affecting the balance.
  Star Wars Nubian Fighter A10-3T Pat Low Slight Breeze Less wadding, better flight, but still a lot of spin.
  Yellow X Flier A8-3 Pat Very High Slight Breeze Nice parachute recovery.
  Yellow X Flier A8-3 Dad Very High Slight Breeze No parachute, slight damage to tube, good recovery.
  Blue X Flier A8-3 Pat High Slight Breeze Modified parachute, lost.
  Fat Boy C6-5 Pat Very High Slight Breeze Lost in the trees (we found it the next day in a pine tree)
  Star Wars Nubian Fighter A10-3T Pat Med Slight Breeze Perfect flight.
6/28/00 Star Wars Nubian Fighter A10-3T Pat Low Clouds, Slight breeze Pat shortened the streamer to try and stabalize the rocket. Still very wobbly. It spun out in all different directions.
  Star Wars Nubian Fighter A10-3T Dad Low Stiffer breeze Pat turned the launch pad. I think the design is flawed and the CG is off - causing the unstability. Another crash.
  Yellow X Flier A8-3 Pat High Breezy Excellent flight. Recovered 35 yards from the pad.
  Yellow X Flier A8-3 Dad High No Breeze Another excellent flight.
  Yellow X Flier B6-4 Pat Very High No Breeze We decided to use a "B" engine amd really get some altitude. The conditions are perfect for high flights. No parachute. OOPS - It flew into a cloud and we never saw it again. Lost in Space!
  Fat Boy C6-5 Pat High No Breeze Good flight from a reliable rocket.
  Fat Boy C6-5 Dad High No Breeze Perfect flight.
  Fat Boy C6-5 Pat High No Breeze Last flight today. We'll spend a few minutes looking for lost rockets. Rocket veered sharply to the right. 20 minutes later, Pat found it.
7/22/00 Hyper-X B6-4 Pat Low High Clouds, Slight Breeze After takeoff it veered sharply to the North woods. Seems off balance. Crash. Pat recovered.
  Hyper-X B6-4 Pat Med High Clouds, Slight Breeze Perfect launch. It went up straight and came right back down to us. Easy recovery.
  Yellow X Flier A8-3 Nora High No Breeze Another perfect launch. Drifted to the South of the pad. Brian and Red recovered it.
  Fat Boy C6-3 Brian High No Breeze Perfect. Went to the NE of the pad and came back toward us. Pat and Brian recovered it.
  Blue X Flier A8-3 Pat High No Breeze Went up to the East and drifted a little South.
  Hyper-X B6-4 Pat Med No Breeze Went straight up. Nose cone rotors spun perfectly. Drifted 50' to the South. Pat almost caught it.
  Fat Boy C6-5 Brian High No Breeze Went up to the North of the launchpad. On seperation, it drifted back a little for an easy recovery.
  Blue X Flier A8-3 Nora High Clouds moving in Shock cord broke, but we recovered both pieces.
  Hyper-X B6-4 Dad Med No Breeze Perfect flight. Nose cone rotors spun it to a soft landing.
  Hyper-X C6-3 Pat High No Breeze Veered east into the woods, we lost it.
8/4/00 Flash B6-4 Pat   Slight Breeze, Clear Scrubbed, could not get the engine in. Down for repairs.
  Mk-109 A8-3 Pat Low Slight Breeze, Clear Misfire. On second try, the rocket fired but spun out and crashed.
  Mk-109 A8-3 Dad Low Slight Breeze, Clear Misfire. On second try, the rocket fired but spun out and crashed.
  Fat Boy C6-5 Pat Very High Breeze picked up a bit Perfect flight. It went straight up and drifted into the arms of a pine tree. Recovered
  Banshee A8-3 Pat Low Breezy Spin out and crash.
  Yellow X Flier A8-3 Dad Low Breezy Another crash. Shock cord burned and nose seperated, but was recovered.
  Flash B6-4 Pat Very High No Breeze Perfect Flight. Drifted right back to us.
  Blue X Flier A8-3 Dad High No Breeze Good Flight. Drifted toward pine trees west of the pad. Dad recovered.
  Fat Boy C6-5 Pat Very High Slight Breeze Perfect. Flew NE of pad and right back.
  Mk-109 A8-3 Pat Med Slight Breeze Very Good. Easy Recovery.
  Fat Boy C6-5 Pat Very High Slight Breeze Perfect. Pat Recovered.
8/19/00 Moondog A10-3T Dad Med Gusts of wind, partly cloudy A good flight, landed near the launch pad. No streamer or parachute.
  Moondog A10-3T Pat Med Gusts of wind, partly cloudy Veered off to the left, recovered.
  Bail Out A8-3   Low Gusts of wind, partly cloudy Very low. We decided to use a bigger engine next time. Recovered and reused most of the wadding.
  Bail Out B6-4   Med Gusts of wind, partly cloudy Good flight and easy recovery.
  Airwalker B6-4 Pat High Gusts of wind, partly cloudy We put a small moth in the payload section. It was a good flight, but a hard landing. The moth flew away after recovery. No streamer or parachute.
  Airwalker B6-4   Very High Gusts of wind, partly cloudy A high flight. The shock chord broke and we couldn't find the payload section. The body was found.
  Moondog A10-3T Pat Med Gusts of wind, partly cloudy We put tape around the nose for a tighter fit and a more stable flight. It worked well and landed near the pad.
8/25/00 Moondog A10-3T Nora Med High Clouds, Slight Breeze Bad igniter. Second try was perfect. Pat recovered.
  Fat Boy C6-3 Dad High High Clouds, Slight Breeze Perfect flight. Went to the North of the launch pad and Pat recovered.
  Bail Out C6-3 Pat Very High High Clouds, Slight Breeze We loaded the "guy" (two clothespins ties together on a streamer) into the payload bay. Both recovered
  Mk-109 B6-4 Nora High High Clouds, Slight Breeze Very good flight. Pat recovered it.
  Yellow X Flier A8-3 Dad High High Clouds, Slight Breeze Shock cord broke, but we recovered both pieces.
  Blue X Flier A8-3 Nora High High Clouds, Slight Breeze Perfect flight. Landed 30' from pad.
  Fat Boy C6-5 Pat Very High High Clouds, Slight Breeze Wow. Pat said "Perfect flight. This is the best rocket." Landed 20' from launchpad.
  Flash B6-4 Nora Very High High Clouds, Slight Breeze Streamer came off, but we recovered the rocket.
  Banshee B6-4 Dad Very High High Clouds, Slight Breeze Pat recovered it.
  Fat Boy C6-5 Pat Med High Clouds, Slight Breeze Shock cord broke, but we recovered both pieces.
9/4/00 Moondog A10-3T Pat Med Overcast, Windy, Mist-Wet Good flight. The wind blew it back to us.
  Moondog A10-3T Dad High Overcast, Windy, Mist-Wet Arced to the North. Nose cone failed to come off. Rocket came straight down and we lost it. Found on 4/16/01 when the grass was low.
  Banshee B6-4 Pat High Windy, Drizzle Went straight up and blew south of the pad. Last flight of the day.
10/1/00 Gnome A10-3T Pat High Clear, Sunny, Slight Breeze Good flight. Pat recovered.
  Gnome A10-3T Dad High Clear, Sunny, Slight Breeze Another good flight. Pat almost caught it.
  Blue X Flier A8-3 Pat High Clear, Sunny, Slight Breeze Good.
  Fat Boy C6-5 Pat Very High Clear, Sunny, Slight Breeze Pat recovered it.
10/15/00 Cruise Missile A10-3T Pat Med Clouds, No wind Good flight - straight up.
  Cruise Missile A10-3T Dad Med Clouds, No wind Another good flight. Landed 20' from the pad.
  FireFlash B6-4 Pat Med Slight breeze, clouds moving Glue gave way in the upper part of the rocket (it is 3.5' tall). Nose was deep in the ground.
  Alpha III (2) A8-3 Dad Med Slight breeze, clouds moving Easy recovery.
  Big Bertha B6-4 Pat Med Slight Breeze Very good flight. Breeze blew it back to us.
  Big Bertha C6-3 Dad High Slight Breeze Excellent. Good altitude. Flew south, but drifted back.
  Fat Boy C6-5 Pat High Slight Breeze Perfect. Pat recovered 25' from pad.
  Yellow X Flier A8-3 Dad High Slight Breeze Shock cord broke, but we recovered both pieces.
  Blue X Flier A8-3 Pat High Slight Breeze This one is even faster than the yellow one. Drifted north. Pat recovered.
  Big Bertha C6-5 Pat High Slight Breeze Excellent flight. Drifted back toward launch pad. Pat recovered.
4/9/01 Gnome A10-3T Pat Med Stiff Winds Launched at the base of the hill at the friary in Ellicot City, MD. Went off into the adjacent field. First recovery attempt was unsuccessful, but later recovered by Chris Frunzi.
  Fat Boy C6-5 Paul Gorczyca Very High Stiff Winds Shock cord broke, but we recovered both pieces. It landed close to the pad.
  Mongoose B6-0/B6-4 Pat Very High Stiff Winds My first two stage rocket. It was a good flight, but it drifted into a tree. It was recovered by Eric Hall the next day, but it had rained during the night, so it was pretty beat up. Booster stage recovered by Bill Rezebek.
  Snitch B6--0 Ed Reilly Low Stiff Winds A good flight, it flipped over and landed on the "gear" successfully. It was a very low flight, it probably needs a "C" engine.
4/16/01 Snitch C6-0 Nora Low No wind Back at the cabin. Perfect flight. Flipped over for a soft landing. Recovered 20' from the pad.
  TIE Fighter B6-4 Pat Low Cloudy, 50Deg. Needs a bigger engine, rolled over. Recovered close to the pad.
  Darth Maul's Ship C6-3 Dad   Slight Breeze No go. The nose cone came apart during launch preparation…
  Blue X Flier A8-3 Dad High Slight Breeze Prefect flight. Lost sight of it for a few seconds, but recovered successfully.
  Federation Blockade Ship B6-4 Nora Low Slight Breeze Crash. Rocket very unstable.
  Bail Out C6-3 Dad High Slight Breeze Easy recovery. Broke a fin when it hit the ground. Guy landed in a pine tree and was recovered.
  Cruise Missile A10-3T Pat Med No Breeze Good flight. Landed 30' from pad. Streamer did not deploy because the wadding was packed too tight.
  Big Bertha C6-3 Pat Very High Slight Breeze Excellent. Perfect flight recovered 10' from pad.
  Snitch C6-0 Dad Med Slight Breeze Great flight. Landed near the pad. We found the Moondog that was lost on 9/4/00. It will be able to fly again - after a cleanup.

Last Updated on 4/19/01
By Pat O'Malley
Email: [email protected]
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