After a launch, I'll inspect, repair and clean up any soot.
The three friction fit C6-7 engines were pulled from the Defender right after the flight.
TIP: Hard to believe, but it's easiest to pull a friction fit engine from the engine mount tube while the engine is still warm, immediately after a flight!
For the picture, the three engines were rotated out, away from their center positions, to show the charring on the casings.
This end burning was twice what the first B6-6 engines showed. There must be a lot of central "flash" during the thrust stage of the burn.
Something else I found interesting:
The paint on the black fin trailing edges was charred.
The paint on the white fins is still like new!
(But, the white fins are a little farther away from the engines.)
The exposed decal lip, below the largest transition, is peeling back!
I'd mentioned how fast these clusters are off the pad.
While the other decals are fine, this roll decal has the upper edge exposed to the windstream right below the adapter.
I love the smell of burnt BP motors from a cluster rocket. AP motors, not as much.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that too. Engines do seem to shrink a little bit after flight. Thank goodness, because it seems that motor mounts tend to shrink over years (or maybe it's just soot buildup) so even though it's harder put an engine in, I know I can still remove the casing after launch.
ReplyDelete