A little warm for Florida in December, but NO WIND!
I usually start my day with a small engine test flight.
First up for me was the Estes CURVILINEAR with the 18mm mount. The A8-3 didn't get a big altitude, only about 100'. Full parachute and normal recovery.
If I ever build this kit I'm borrowing Steve's paint and decal treatment. This looks so much better than the red white and blue Estes paint.
This one had a good ride with a C11-3 engine.
My Goony G16 was launched with an Estes B6-4 to about 300 feet.
Stable and true with no damage at recovery.
Jim Lytle always brings older builds, this time the Estes Star Wars Star Destroyer. He does a great job on his builds, check out all the paint detail!
Here's the kit that never made it into production, The AVI NIKE TOMAHAWK. I am always concerned about ejection, it's a tall model and the parachute is all the way at the top. That 12" parachute is tight in the 20 sized tube in the Tomahawk.
The Estes B6-4 boosted it to about 325', the chute did eject and open without any problem.
The older Quest X-15 was not my best.
A Chinese made Quest B6-4 got it up to about 30 feet and the rocket turned horizontal. Someone yelled "Target Attained!".
I thought it might nose into the ground but the chute ejected about 10 feet up. Whew . . . no damage.
I might retire this one . . .
I redeemed myself with the Goony NIKE G.
Great boost with a German made Quest B6-4 to 350'. Full parachute and textbook recovery.
Five launches, five recoveries with no real damage! If all the launches were this easy it'd never be a challenge.
Yup, my Quest X-15 also flew squirrelly on its' maiden flight. Built from the parts pack with extended body tube and extra weight to correct the first kit's stability issues. Went horizontal and ejected on the ground. Now a shelf queen, although a good looking one at that. Also had unstable maiden flights from the Holverson Zoomie, Estes Mini Mars Lander and Sunward Flechette. All built stock either from plans or a kit. Afraid to fly them again.
ReplyDeleteDon't you feel cheated when you spend good money on a kit, build it stock, and it flies squirrelly? Grrrr. Here's an idea: how about a top ten list of the squirreliest flights of all time, to go along with the annual top ten best? Keep on rock(ateer)in'.
Hi BAR,
DeleteIt must have been a fluke! I checked my launch records and it has flown 13 times before - stable! I like the idea about a squirrelly flight Top 10 list but it would be hard to compile. That's a lot of info to search. The annual Top 10 takes a lot of time to compile as it is!
Great weather here in north central Ohio - went to the Skybusters/NOTRA launch and had a great time! 6 rockets up - 5 2/3 rockets down. A shotgun ejection charge launched the top section of my repainted Estes Rookie into oblivion. Oddly enough I think my 2 fer $10 Estes Rookie with a BT60 booster got about as much attention as some of the big HPR rockets! I have a candidate for the Instability Hall of Shame, my Quest Totally Tubular needed a bunch of nose weight before it flew straight. I have the parts pack, plans and body tube to build a Quest X-15 - hopefully it works when it's done.0
ReplyDeleteHi Openroad,
DeleteThose Estes boosters are pretty well made, I'm surprised they weren't more popular. Estes and Hobby Lobby are blowing them out. I like them, especially the black one for D12-0 engines. I would think the Quest Totally Tubular would be stable - but then again my Centuri Finless (built from plan) is stable with B engines, but not Cs.
Really enjoyed your flights.
ReplyDeleteChris, will you be at NEFAR on the 9th?
ReplyDeleteHi Leo -
DeleteI should be there! I heard you were coming. I'll try to bring some interesting models.