A³maQ

Launch

Launch Report for Sunday, September 10th, 2000
(Page 1 of 6)

This was only my second A³maQ launch and it was my first time to the club's Granby launch site just outside of Granby, Quebec, Canada.  My parents & I arrived at the launch site to find that the winds were virtually dead calm, coming in out of the southwest at about 5 km/h or less.  Temperature was about 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees F).

I brought my NCR Command Control launch controller and my Aerotech Mantis launch pad which I set up as Pad 6 as well as my camcorder that I used to record most of the flights.

Flight 450, 101st flight this year
Keith Bedard's LOC/Precision Hi-Tech H45 on an Aerotech F50-4T for its 1st flight

My first flight of a LOC/Precision rocket!!  With the winds so light, I decided to fly the big stuff right away before the winds picked up.  It was a perfect flight with a landing only about 150 feet north of the pad.  The flight of an Aerotech G-Force preceded mine, but I didn't have my camera ready to film it on time.

Yves Lacombe's Aerotech Arreaux on an Aerotech E15-4W

Our club president's Arreaux turned in a great flight after one misfire on a Copperhead.  It landed maybe about 50 feet northeast of the pad.

Flight 451, 102nd flight this year
Keith Bedard's LOC/Precision Legacy on an Aerotech E15-4W for its 1st flight

My still unpainted LOC/Precision Legacy made its maiden voyage on a two year old Aerotech E15-4W after one misfire on a Crapperhead.  It weathercocked quite a bit into the wind and the chute lines got tangled in the shock cord so it came down a bit fast.  There was no damage to the rocket and it landed about 300 feet southwest of the pad.

Jacques Beauséjours' Estes Phoenix on an Aerotech E15-4W

The Estes Phoenix flies better on the E15-4W than the D12-3 that Estes recommends that you fly it on.  Yves commented that it does roughly 1200 feet on an E which sounds about right given the flight duration.

Dominique Martel's Estes Bandit on an Estes A8-3

	Affectionately known as the rocket with "2.3 fins" from damage it sustained in a previous flight, it provided a spin stabilized flight with no further damage.

Dominique Martel's Estes Bullpup on an Estes B6-4

Dominique's beautiful scale Estes Bullpup took to the sky on what I'm guessing was an Estes B6-4 given the flight time.  Excellent flight!

Jacques Beauséjours' Aerotech G-Force on an Aerotech G40-4W

The Aerotech G-Force never fails to impress and this flight was no exception!

C. Garrett's Estes Scorpion on an Estes A8-3 for its 1st flight

Mr. Garrett's Estes Scorpion made its first ever flight at this launch after a previous misfire.  These little rockets have great performance even on "A"'s and they even fly well on A3-4T's with an adapter.  Estes has released a lot of kits identical to the Scorpion including the Screaming Eagle, Pegasus, America, Athena, and the glider carrying Manta as well as a couple of others.  This Scorpion's flight was perfect!

Nick Palis' scratch built Triton 30C on an Aerotech F50-4T for its 1st flight

This experimental camera rocket went up on an Aerotech E30-4T for its first ever flight.  This system was designed to expose an entire roll of film over the time of the flight.  Unfortunately, I don't know the owner's name nor do I know the name of the rocket at this time.  Very impressive though... I can hardly wait to see the photos!

Aerotech Initiator drag race, both on Aerotech F25-6W's

With more than one Aerotech Initiator present at the launch, we decided to have a drag race on Aerotech F25-6W's.  Only my second ever drag race, and the club's first of the day, this drag race set a precedent for the rest of the day since there were no fewer than two more drag races throughout the day.  As far as this drag race went, my Initiator on Pad 6 didn't even get off the ground.  This was a sign of things to come since even after six more tries with this motor and another F25 and different launch control systems and different types of igniters, Initiator simply refused to fly today.

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E-mail: kbedard@rocketryonline.com

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