Launch Report for Saturday, July 21st, 2001

Total Impulse Today:  128.5 N-s

Launch Location:  Chateauguay, Quebec, Canada

My father told me of a possible new field where we could fly and so today, we decided to go check it out.  This was the schoolyard of another high school whose name I can't remember offhand.  It's on the outskirts of Chateauguay, Quebec, Canada and there are no houses in the area which makes it perfect for high altitude attempts and for flying larger rockets in the E and possibly F class.

I brought my NCR Command Control launch controller, Aerotech Mantis Launch Pad, and a bunch of some of my larger rockets and some others which hadn't flown yet.  As usual, I also brought my camcorder to record every flight.

Winds were coming in out of the west at about 10km/h and the temperature was about 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees F) with mostly clear skies.

And so begins the launch...

Flight 534, 53rd flight this year
Scratch built Callisto on a Centuri C5-3S for its 1st flight

First to go up was my scratch built Callisto which is basically a super stretched Estes Mach 12 that is about 5 1/2 feet long.  This was a rocket that I really should have built with 3/16" launch lugs since it was teetering all over the place on a 1/8" rod and it was difficult to position it for launch.  The old Estes Cobra-1500 suffered from this problem too.  A great flight though on a 1980 vintage Centuri C5-3S motor.  It only managed to get about 400 feet but that's about I predicted anyway.  If I wasn't restricted by the Mach 12 fin unit/motor mount, I would have built this baby with a 24mm mount instead if an 18.  I used an 18 inch chute to recover this one and it worked out well.

Flight 535, 54th flight this year
Estes Vagabond on an Estes A8-3 for its 1st flight

The Estes Vagabond is a little known rocket that was sold exclusively with a starter set.  I got this one off a "Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe" (YORS) auction awhile back and it made its first flight today on an A8-3.  Great flight and recovery on a 12 inch chute.

Flight 536, 55th flight this year
Estes Fat Boy on a Centuri C5-3S for its 1st flight

The Estes Fat Boy is a rocket that I've had for awhile, but it only made its first flight today after sitting in the construction room for over a year waiting to have the excess sealer sanded off its fins.  Up it went on another 1980 vintage C5-3S for a scary liftoff since it arced sharply to about 45 degrees before correcting itself and then flying straight up.  I need a longer launch rod for this one or maybe a bit of weight in the nose.  Recovery was perfect on the 12 inch chute.

Flight 537, 56th flight this year
Estes Maxi-Alpha 3 02 on an Estes D12-3 for its 3rd flight

My second of three Estes Maxi-Alpha 3's went up on a D12-3 for its third flight for a perfect and uneventful flight and recovery on a 24 inch chute.

Flight 538, 57th flight this year
Estes Super Big Bertha on an Estes D12-3 for its 2nd flight

My still unpainted Estes Super Big Bertha went up next on an Estes D12-3 for only its second flight.  It drifted quite a ways (284 feet) on a 24 inch chute so next time I think I'll try an 18 inch chute since it's definitely light enough for it despite its size.

Flight 539, 58th flight this year
Estes SM-3 Seahawk on an Estes D12-5 for its 2nd flight

My Estes SM-3 Seahawk was next on an Estes D12-5 for its second flight.  Recovery wasn't pretty since some of the chute lines got tangled in the fins.  I've had this happen before with my Estes Python which uses the same fin set.  The boost was great though!

Flight 540, 59th flight this year
Estes Maxi-Alpha 3 02 on an Estes D12-3 for its 3rd flight

After realizing that I forgot my 24mm adaptor my for my Aerotech Arreaux, I decided to send up my Maxi-Alpha 3 02 again on a D12-3 to test the winds at altitude to determine if an E flight for this rocket would be safe.  By now, the winds had picked up and it landed 194 feet east of the pad.  Curiously, it made a perfect straight up three point landing on an asphalt walkway.  This rocket is considerably lighter than an Arreaux, so an E motor flight for this rocket was going to be trickier than for an Arreaux, but I decided to go ahead for an attempt.

Flight 541, 60th flight this year
Estes Maxi-Alpha 3 02 on an Aerotech E15-4W for its 4th flight

I prepped Maxi-Alpha 3 02 again for an E motor flight.  Up it went on a deafening  Aerotech E15-4W for its fifth flight and nearly its last since it just barely cleared the school roof, landing just in front of the building.  I followed the rocket throughout its boost with my camcorder as the AP smoke trail blew over me and the camera leaving me reeking of AP all the way home (cool! :).  The landing was still on the school grounds though and it was quite impressive considering that the winds had started to pick up throughout the morning.

Today was a great day of flying since not only do I have new secluded flying field that will almost always be available for me to use, but I was able to evaluate the feasibility of this field using some rather large and powerful rockets.  Next time, I'm planning to fly my Arreaux on an E15, my Initiator on an E30 and if winds permit, I may try to fly my Hi-Tech H45 on an F50.  Can hardly wait! :)

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