Launch! Schoolyard Soccer Field, July 14, 2020

Through the Summer I'm probably only doing solo launches at the nearby soccer field. It's just too hot and humid for a full day of club launches. I still sweat through my clothes, even at 7:00 a.m.

There are new signs up at the soccer field. With those two sand cranes (upper right) and myself, we could still squeeze in seven more occupants.

Paul and Carol stopped by the field for some fast walk exercise. A few years back, Paul asked me to "hold" my launches until he could leave the field. He suffers from war-time PTSD, the boost noise reminds him on incoming fire. I always respect his space and wait. While social distancing we talked, it was good to catch up.




Another test of a possible re-issue Odd'l kit - 
The CORKSCREW with an Estes A8-3 motor.
This model uses heavy wall BT-20 and a heavy wall 3" diameter base ring. A tie-die rip-stop nylon streamer brought it back easily.
It does corkscrew on the way up, getting a good 250' altitude with the A engine.
This is a great design, simple and lives up to it's name.

Here's the new Estes TAZZ,  now being built on the blog. Launched with an Estes A8-3 got it to an estimated 275'.
My paint and decals are based on the 1971 Estes catalog picture, the one I remember. I also switched out for a blunt balsa nose cone.

There was some turning during boost. Ejection popped out the engine mount, the vanes flipped putting it into a fast spin. It came down faster than I expected, but still safe. The streamer on the engine mount unfurled and was easy to follow and find.



You can tell by the gray smoke it's a Quest Q-Jet.
This time a B4-4 in the MPC RED GIANT.
It seemed to perform better than the Estes B6-4, maybe to 350' altitude. Full parachute and no damage when picked up.
The Red Giant is probably the best of the marginal MPC rocket line.





Next up, my favorite Micro Maxx rocket, the FlisKits HONEST JOHN.
I'm always surprised by how fast and high this one goes, even with the short delay before ejection. I would estimate 100'. This model is small and looks higher up than it really is.





I haven't launched the Centuri GROOVE TUBE since 2011.
This was one of the first rockets I built when I got back into the hobby around 2006. Another catalog decor complete with plenty of chrome trim.
This was it's seventh recorded launch, today with an Estes A8-3 engine. Estimated altitude was 225'. Recovery was under a 12" Semroc chute.




Here's my best launch photo of the day,
Quest STRYKER AGM, flown using an Estes B6-4. I really like rockets with BT-55 size tubes, about 2 feet tall. These seem to be stronger and a manageable size.

A textbook launch, 325' with a soft landing under a 12" Odd'l parachute.




Compared to my first Quest Striker build, the Beacon Fabri-Tac glued balsa fins seem to stay better adhered to the plastic tail cone. I actually did Fabri-Tac fillets on these joints. One fin shows a crack.

After the Stryker launch, I went to break down the camera tripod launcher. Uh, oh - where was the upper half of the launch rod?
I had thoughts that maybe it had gone up with the rocket and is now lost somewhere in the field.
It was right next to the tripod leg, stuck in the sand.

Six up, six recovered with no real damage. A great, hot start for Tuesday.