How's this for a recovery crew? Some of our younger club members are walking their rockets back to the launch site. Three of the boys came dressed in NASA flight suits!
Note the streamers on their rockets. Wind gusts were were sometimes above 20 mph. I wimp out in high winds and downgraded power, most of my launches were using A engines.
Just for yucks I brought out the SPUDNIK with an A10-3t engine.
There's a reason this didn't become a kit. It's almost stable! Altitude was probably 75 feet.
Low power choices were slim today.
I launched the Estes CURVILINEAR twice, both with A8-3 engines to 175' feet.
The 12" parachute was taped closed so drift was minimal.
Steve Moon said it best: "With today's winds, you fly the rockets you aren't worried about losing."
Here's my MPC X-2 INVADER launched with an Estes B6-4. If I lost it, no big deal. Alititude was a low 250 feet. The reefed chute kept drift low.
Robert Jacks has been positing his Dr. Who Tardis build on the Rocketry Forum. He brought it out today for some test launches. It was a beautiful build.
The first launch was with a D12-3 engine. It was launched three times, each time using a larger engine. It looked to be stable with no fins, just under powered.
Another A engine was in the Quest A1 ESCORT. This A engine was a Chinese made Quest A6-4. Stable and true to about 175'.
Five launched, five recovered with no damage. Next week at NEFAR I'll launch bigger models with bigger engines.
There was probably three rockets stuck in the trees.
LOVE the Spudnik!! I think I have a solution to the stability problem - it’s probably not one that will let you make up Oddl Rocket kits but it should let me build a stable flying potato. Once I try it out I’ll post the results on YORF and TRF....
ReplyDeleteHi Openroad,
DeleteThe stability has to do with all the irregular surfaces on the potato. I used the same jig to "drill" the dowel and engine tube, but with all the dips and divots in the surface it's hard to get everything perfectly lined up. I've made three of these trying to get it right but flight results are inconsistent.