Sunday afternoon launch

Girl scouts watch as the rocket they prepped heads skyward (Click to enlarge).

The John Paul II TARC teams had scheduled a TARC practice for this past Sunday, which provided a perfect excuse for some of us to drag out rockets eager to be flown. We assembled at Pegasus around high noon - me, Duane, Brian, Doug and family, Vinny and Jeannie (Duane's neighbors), the two JPII teams and one of the Girl Scout TARC teams. After setting up the range, Duane shifted into TARC mentor mode, spending most of the launch showing the girl scouts how to prep and fly mid-power rockets and heckling the JPII TARCers with unsolicited commentary and advice, some of which was actually useful <smile>. He must have anticipated being very busy, as he only brought one rocket - an Estes Mammoth. 

The most interesting launches of the day were made by Brian, who brought a few of his FAI competition models, pistons, and a superb homemade tower. He made a couple of S9 helicopter duration flights - the first stayed aloft for a respectable 105 or so seconds before disappearing behind the Blue Origin building, while the second maxed out at 300 seconds (yay!). Unfortunately, both drifted way, way out of the field to the west and Brian was able to find/recover only one. He seemed unperturbed by the loss and went on to fly a S6 streamer duration bird, which stayed on the field - 40 mm diameter models don't drift very far on sub-A impulse.

Always cool to see pistons in action. I was timing the flights, so I don't have any pics to post - maybe next time.

Doug's V-2 gets going (Click to enlarge).

His Geezer TARC rocket starts its wacky flight
(Click to enlarge)

Doug made several flights, starting with his red Estes V-2. The thing I like about him is that he is fearless - he has absolutely no problem cramming a C motor into a light rocket and letting her rip. My Geezer self doesn't do that anymore; I'm too old for chases and too fearful of the rockets drifting away. Anyway, the V-2 put in a flawless flight, which is more than I can say for the next bird to launch - Doug's Pringles can Geezer TARC rocket. Loaded with a single egg and an Estes E16, it lumbered off the pad and immediately went unstable, tracing a nice spiral in the sky. Surprisingly, the egg survived smack down with the ground - pretty good packing on Doug's part!

Another of Doug's rockets on a Quest Q-jet
(Click to enlarge).

The Neon Tiger rises on a C6-3 (Click to enlarge).

The TARC rocket was followed by a four finned rocket I did not recognize, but it shot off the pad like a bullet, getting way up there before popping its parachute. An Estes Neon Tiger was next - the C6-3 carried it to a respectable altitude, whereupon the cylindrical glider detached for a nice circular glide in. I was jealous - my model's glider flies a straight path, making for long recovery walks (usually done by Duane).

The last image of Doug's Wizard before it became parts (Click to enlarge).

Doug's final flight of the day was a classic example of what happens when you pair a rocketeer who likes using the most powerful recommended motor with a contest rocketeer. Doug had brought along an unpainted Estes Wizard with misaligned fins and in not-so-good shape overall. Common sense would have it powered by a low impulse A motor - if it was to fly at all - but nooooooo... The two of them decided that cramming a composite Quest Q-jet C18W into the back end was a good idea, sure to achieve a spectacular altitude - if it held together. Which it did not; the model rekitted itself soon after leaving the pad, parts raining down on the field.

Alas, poor Wizard - its life was so short. And to think that its demise was celebrated by much laughter on the part of those on the field... A truly horrible ending.

Duane loads Jeannie's Ghost Chaser on the pad (Click to enlarge).

The last flight of the day was made by Jeannie's Estes Ghost Chaser on a Quest B6-4 - its first. Unfortunately I did not get a launch picture, as we were starting to break down the range and I was busy packing my stuff. The flight went well, with the parachute fully deployed for a gentle landing in the field. It should be noted that Duane still had not flown his Mammoth - indeed, it didn't fly on Sunday. I think Brian's helicopter birds sailing away on the breeze kinda spooked him a bit. I certainly can't blame him, as the Mammoth gets some decent altitude on Aerotech F motors.

And now for my flights...

The Star Traveler (Daffy Duck) lifts off on a C6-3 (Click to enlarge).

The first (and the first flight of the day) was that of my MPC Star Traveler, featuring Daffy Duck. Being somewhat heavy, the only recommended motor is the C6-3, which gets it to about 300 feet or so. My flight was fairly conventional and hohum - the parachute deployed near apogee and it touched down softly on the field. Boring, but it needed to fly. No shelf queens in my fleet.

Skyblazer II heads skyward (Click to enlarge).

And coming down under parachute (Click to enlarge).

My second and last flight was that of the Mad Science Skyblazer II rocket. An off-brand kit, it has plastic fins, couplers and nose cone; the latter is two piece, enabling one to put a small altimeter inside. This I did, loading a Flightsketch Mini, plus I strapped an Estes Astrocam to the side. I too was kinda spooked by the wind (too much electronics to lose), so I chose a B6-4 for the motor - turns out a C6-5 would have been a better choice as far as altitude, but I was playing it safe. Everything went well - the rocket struggled to 218 feet and was down in just under 45 seconds. I got good video and altimeter data, which I merged using RaceRender later that evening.

Frame from the Skyblazer II Astrocam video showing shock cord and wadding (Click to enlarge).

Here's the flight video: