LAUNCH! Schoolyard 12/15/10

What a great, COLD day at the soccer field.

Five went up, one was lost - a surprise sacrifice to the rocket gods.

First up was the downsized Odd'l Rockets BREAKAWAY.

Straight up, great altitude for the MMX engine.

Here it is after landing. This smaller version falls horizontally like it's bigger (kit) brother.

The FlisKit MMX HONEST JOHN flew. Great high boost, but at ejection I noticed the separation of the body and nose cone on the streamer. The shock cord broke through at the engine block. I found both pieces, it's an easy repair.

Every launch needs a little comedy, right?

The Quest LPB SAUCER got a big 15 feet! More of a big arc than a launch. It's tired and retired now. I'll save my MMX engines for "real" rockets.

This was the GREAT SURPRISE of the morning.

The Maple seed recovery CYCLONE had a vertical boost on a 1/2A3-2t engine.

At ejection, both upper and lower parts separated and went into a fast helicopter spin.

The lower "stabilizer" half with two fins and the engine mount landed first, in the field.

The upper spin unit stayed up way too long and went just over the high fence into a back yard. It must have been spinning and drifting for 20 seconds.

This thing flys and recovers better than the old Gyroc or the re-released Flutter-By rockets. Helicopter recovery with no elastic, flaps or moving parts! It's a fascinating build and a better flyer. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Check it out HERE.

I rarely "fly naked" but the instructions said it'd be best to flight test it unpainted, until you know how it flys. Jonathan Mills gets all the credit for the many prototypes and design work.

A build thread on this blog is upcoming.

Last up was the reliable UP! CUP on a B6-2.

You can see in the picture my "hi-tech" glove used to get a little angle on the launch rod. I know the Quest launcher has a tilt angle adjustment on one leg, but after the clips were attached to the igniter, this was easier.

I had the FlisKits INTERLOPER ready to go, but when I got to the field one of the fins was loose! I'll have to save it for another day.