To test the system the first launch was the FlisKit MMX SHREW.
This was an older brown plastic casing MMX engine.
Not as high as previous flights, maybe 25 feet. Big deal! The streamer did eject and it landed without damage.
The Odd'l Rockets prototype FLARE was actually third in the air with a A10-3t engine. Too fast for a picture it peaked at about an estimated 200 feet up.
The MPC CADET CRUISER was a disappointment.
The (recommended) Estes A8-3 only got it to 30 feet! The model fell sideways and was on the ground a second before the ejection charge went off.
I checked the finished weight and without an engine my model is 2.15 oz.
Maybe I got a bad A8-3? I'll try it again at a club launch with B6-4 and C6-5 engines before I make conclusions. The engine does hang 3/4" out the back. Maybe that might effect the C/G?
The wind was starting up. The launcher was moved to compensate.
The Estes REFLECTOR was launched with an A8-3 to about 225 feet.
I used the Estes ALTIMETER again. I checked it after the flight and it read - 0 feet! It's not me, I follow directions and knew how to put it in record/flight mode.
I've got a bad altimeter. It is going back to Estes for replacement.
More wind, the launcher was moved again - good thing!
My best flight was the Estes NIKE APACHE with an Estes B6-4.
The launch was textbook with apogee about 325 feet.
Anticipating drift, I had cut a small spill hole in the parachute.
It drifted 150 yards landing just outside the Soccer field fence on a grass landscape berm, a few feet from the street.
A little damage was found, the leading edge of one fin was dinged when the upper body snapped back. I was just glad it didn't land in the street or get run over.
Three good flights out of five launches.
I found out how piggish these birds were when I flew the GTS-1 on an A8-3 at B6-4 Field. There are two things I don't like; overflying the field, because I don't like chasing rockets back through the neighborhood or driving past them as they taunt me from the trees, and underflying the field, because flights as high as I can throw them look stupid and are a waste of Newtons. The GTS-1 looked stupid on an A8-3, but flew nicely on the B6-4. Hope I can get up and fly a few sometime this weekend.
ReplyDeleteHi Wallyum,
DeleteI agree, mine did look stupid with the A8-3 and that's a recommended engine! Your B6-4 field sounds a lot like my soccer field. The Cadet Cruiser is prepped with a B6-4 for the next launch.