Launch Report: October 18, 2003
Pictures from this launch are on the Zia Spacemodelers launch page. Another beautiful day down in the valley for the Zia Spacemodeler's October launch. No clouds, no wind. Since the last launch I had built several new rockets, so I started off with three maiden launches. The first was my scratch-built G80 rocket inspired by Robert DeHate's similar design. It is basically a spent G80 motor casing with fins and a nosecone, with the nozzle bored out and replaced with an 18mm motor tube. There was some question as to whether or not the G80 rocket would be stable with its relatively small fins, so I jammed a cube of modeling clay up into the nosecone before the flight. The rocket coned significantly on flight with a C6-5, but otherwise was a good stable flight. Unfortuantely, I used one of Dan's old Estes plastic parachutes in this rocket and it snapped three shroud lines on ejection. As a result, the parachute became a large streamer and the rocket fell faster than intended. A fin snapped off on landing but otherwise there was no damage. It shouldn't be too difficult to repair. The next new rocket was my Quest Mirage on a C6-5. This is a dual-parachute design, with the payload and booster sections coming down separately. Unfortunately, I neglected to put any payload in the upper section of the rocket, so it was very light for its parachute and ended up drifting for the better part of a mile. Otherwise the flight was fine, but next time I will put a rock in it or something. The last maiden flight was my Estes Chrome Dome, a shiny sparkley rocket that I bought because Nina likes sparkley stuff. Other than its chrome finish there isn't much to say about this rocket. After my long walk for the Mirage I put a B6-4 in this rocket. Worked like a charm. Other people at the launch were sending up lots of large rockets, so I kept myself busy with smaller things that didn't require long hikes. I launched my Mini-Meanie on an A10-3T, which was a good short flight but it cracked a fin on landing. Then I launched one of my Gnomes on a 1/4 A motor for my entry in the "closest to the pad" informal contest. At this point, Mark Hamilton announced that he had an H238T for sale! I immediately jumped on that offer, as I had brought the Nerd Magnet along in case of just such an opportunity. The new Aerotech motors are finally shipping with non-copperhead ignitors. Instead of wrapping the shock cord around my hand and then stuffing it, I folded it in an accordian style. I also used my Eliminator to act as a ramrod to push tthe nomex and shock cord pile farther down the tube. As a result there was no problem with the launch at all. I have had lots of problems with the Nerd Magnet recovery harness jamming in the tube, but this system seemed to work perfectly. Last flight of the day was my Estes Wizard, drag racing against Nathanial's Viking. It was a very close takeoff. He lost a fin on landing so I guess I "won." Good launch. It looks like Aerotech propellant is getting more available, and that's great news [except for my pocketbook]. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||