Launch Report for Monday, August 28th, 2000

The winds were quite calm today and so I decided that I just had to send up a few after work. There was a very light almost non existent breeze coming in out of the north east and there were patchy clouds but visibility was quite good. Temperature was around 26 degrees Celsius (78 degrees F).

I brought my NCR Command Control launch controller along with my second Estes Porta Pad launch pad as well as my camcorder to film every flight.

Flight 425, 76th flight this year
Estes Red Storm on an Estes B4-4 for its 7th flight



Red Storm turned in its usual perfect flight. It was especially nice since the wind was so light and the area was quiet so the sound was recorded quite nicely.



This was my first use of one of the Centuri C5-3S "Super C's". I ordered these from Earle's Hobbies & Crafts in California about a month ago. They were manufactured in December of 1980 which makes them nearly 20 years old. This one worked great in my Estes Maniac!

Flight 427, 78th flight this year
Estes Longshot on a Centuri C5-3S for its 6th flight



I used another 1980 vintage Centuri C5-3S in my Estes Longshot and it was another perfect flight. The landing was less than perfect however since it landed a bit hard and broke a fin.

Flight 428, 79th flight this year
Estes Delta Star on an Estes B4-4 for its 7th flight


	I was hoping to send Delta Star up as a two stager today, so I sent it single stage first to get an idea where it would land. For some reason, the chute lines got very tangled and several of them separated from the chute.

Flight 429, 80th flight this year
Custom Serval on an Estes B4-4 for its 6th flight



Serval turned in its usual perfect flight and it landed about 150 away from the pad in the adjacent field that's separated by a chain link fence. Luckily, there's an opening in the fence to get from one schoolyard to the other.

Flight 430, 81st flight this year
Custom Serval on an Estes C6-5 for its 7th flight

Flight 431, 82nd flight this year
Estes Delta Star on an Estes B4-4 for its 8th flight



I decided to try to send Delta Star up again, this time using Maniac's 12" chute. The delay on the motor was only about 2 seconds instead of the 4 that it was supposed to be so the chute ejected early and its weighted nose cone popped off the payload section from the momentum and it was lost for good. Delta Star landed just clearing a line of trees about 330 feet from the pad and a kid on a bike picked it up and returned the rocket to me. After about twenty minutes searching for Delta Star's nose cone, I gave up and I continued flying. This was quite a bummer since the Estes PNC-50Y plastic nose cone has long since been discontinued and now I'll have to use a substitute.

Flight 432, 83rd flight this year
Estes Thunderhawk on an Estes B4-4 for its 11th flight



Thunderhawk made an excellent flight, but it landed in almost exactly the same spot as Delta Star did on the previous flight, just clearing that line of trees again... I was very lucky! By now, it was clear that not only was there increasing winds higher up, it had now shifted direction and was coming in from the east.

Flight 433, 84th flight this year
Estes Alpha III 02 on an Estes A3-4T for its 9th flight


	I turned the launch pad to face more into the east to compensate for the new wind direction and I sent my second Alpha III up on an A3-4T in a homemade 18mm to 13mm adaptor. My angle was much better this time since the rocket landed only 49 feet southwest of the pad.

Flight 434, 85th flight this year
Estes Red Storm on an Estes B6-4 for its 8th flight



	This flight was particularly special to me because it was starting to get dark and so the motor's flame showed up especially well on video and even the descent footage was excellent, especially with it descending in front of the setting sun. Again, the rocket landed fairly close to the pad, but just on the other side of the fence as can be seen in the last photo.

With the exception of losing Delta Star's nose cone, today was an excellent day of flying. I may come out here after work more often since the winds are lighter at this time, it's quieter, and the video footage seems to turn out better. Today was a good day to fly! :-)

Time at Liftoff:
Flight Duration in Seconds:
Distance from Launch Pad in Feet:	~150 northeast

Time at Liftoff:
Flight Duration in Seconds:
Distance from Launch Pad in Feet:	~330 northwest

Time at Liftoff:
Flight Duration in Seconds:	23
Distance from Launch Pad in Feet:	49 southwest

Time at Liftoff:
Flight Duration in Seconds:	23
Distance from Launch Pad in Feet:	49 southwest



With the winds so light, I just had to send up Serval again, this time on C6-5. Excellent flight!