Launch Report for Sunday, July 18th, 1999

Back for more!! After yesterday's 10 flights, I wanted to try for another 20 or so today, especially since I'm on vacation all week so I can put off trimming those hedges until tomorrow. :-) My father & I went to our usual flying area, the far end of Howard S. Billings Regional High School's schoolyard at around 8:15 AM to hopefully launch some of the rockets that didn't get to go up yesterday.

It was cloudier today, although the rain clouds didn't start rolling in until later and the winds were the same as yesterday except that they kept shifting direction between coming from the west and south west and it made for some nervous recoveries. The lack of sun made the orange flames quite visible. :-)

As usual, I brought my video camera to record every flight (after I bought some more videotape yesterday afternoon) while my father was at the launch controls. All motors used today were made by Estes except where specified otherwise.

Flight 238, 113th flight this year
Estes Prowler on an Estes C6-3 for its 1st flight

Prowler was up for its first ever flight and up it went on a C6-3 after its second countdown since during the first countdown, the rocket fell over with the pad. Long rockets on a Porta Pad can be a problem sometimes even with just a bit of wind. The boost was amazing with pretty much no weathercocking and the recovery looked nice on its 24" chute, but this chute is obviously too big for this rocket. As I filmed it coming down, it landed on a branch at the edge of a line of trees and then the wind pulled it off into the street and out of my recovery area. As I ran to get the rocket I heard a "pop" as a car went by. It had run over one of Prowler's fins... DOH!!! After I hopped the chain link fence to get Prowler I had to put my hand out to stop a car that was approaching so that I could get the rocket off the street. The fin was broken into three pieces.

Flight 239, 114th flight this year
Custom Serval on an Estes B6-4 for its 2nd flight

Serval leapt into the air on a B6-4 for its second flight with no apparent weathercocking (love those tubular fins!) and a nice recovery with a fairly short walk from the pad. Love those Custom kits!!

Flight 240, 115th flight this year
Estes Pegasus on a Quest A6-4 for its 2nd flight

Pegasus shot off the pad as if it was on a B14 as opposed to the Quest A6-4 that I sent it up on. The burn was really loud and the takeoff was really fast which makes me wonder if the propellant grain was fragmented, but being an "A", the burn wasn't long enough for the excessive pressure in the combustion chamber to produce a CATO. Thankfully the nozzle didn't get blocked by propellant fragments. In the end, great flight, no damage. It's a pain to have to peal those pretty labels off of Quest motors to make them fit in the rocket though.

Flight 241, 116th flight this year
Estes Skywinder on an Estes C6-3 for its 5th flight

At this point, I was starting to get a few spectators and Skywinder was up next on a C6-3 for its fifth flight. The igniter sizzled, but the motor didn't light. As I proceeded to wait out the mandatory one minute, one person said, "When's it going to take off?" and then someone else made a crack comparing my launch to how often space shuttle flights get delayed. Sighhh... :-) On the second try, Skywinder roared off the pad. As usual, it weathercocked a little into the wind and I got some great footage of it coming down. The nose cone was a little pitted from a landing on a paved walkway though.

Flight 242, 117th flight this year
Estes Hijax on an Estes B6-4 for its 4th flight

Hijax went up next on a B6-4 without payload for its fourth flight. Weathercocked a little as expected and I sure had the angle right on this one... It landed right beside my father, only fifteen feet away from the pad!

Flight 243, 118th flight this year
Estes Airwalker on an Estes B14-5 for its 5th flight

I used the last of my 1973 vintage B14-5's for Airwalker's fifth flight. Up it went in a blast of smoke and noise for a perfect flight and recovery about fifty feet from the pad. I know I keep saying it, but... I wish Estes would make B14's again!!!

Flight 244, 119th flight this year
Estes Super Big Bertha on an Estes D12-3 for its 1st flight

Super Big Bertha went up on a D12-3 for its first flight in a display of fire, power, and glory to the applause of about half a dozen spectators that had accumulated over time. The recovery made me a little nervous though as it landed in the front yard of a house across the street. My father said that it came close to a car that was going by, but my video showed that the rocket never came closer than about ten feet to it.

I was putting the igniter into the C6-3 that Maniac was going to do its flight on when I started feeling raindrops. I pulled the igniter out, packed up and that was it for the day.... That's all folks!!

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Just to say Hi?

E-mail: kbedard@rocketryonline.com

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