Launch Report for Sunday, July 29th, 2001

Total Impulse Today:  217 N-s

Launch Location
The Schoolyard of
École Polyvalente Louis-Philippe Paré
Chateauguay, Quebec, Canada

For the fourth time, my father & I headed out to our new favorite launch site at the École Polyvalente Louis-Philippe Paré here in Chateauguay, Quebec, Canada for the last launch during my nearly finished vacation.

I brought my NCR Command Control launch controller, Estes Porta Pad 03 launch pad to fly the stuff that uses 1é8 inch launch rods and my Aerotech Mantis for the bigger stuff.  I also brought a bunch of small & large rockets that I prepped last night before going to bed.  As usual before a big launch, I didn`t sleep well since I was anxious to burn some AP.  As always, I brought my Sony TRV103 digital camcorder and all the photos & videos that appear on web site were produced using this camera.

Winds were coming in out of the southeast at about 5km/h and the temperature was about 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees F) with sunny skies with patchy clouds.

All the motors I used today were made by Estes unless otherwise specified.

The images you see below are thumbnails and clicking on them will magnify the image by a factor of four.

Fire in the hole!!!...

Flight 557, 76th flight this year
Estes SM-3 Seahawk on an Estes D12-5 for its 3rd flight

With the winds as light as they were, I was going to start off with the Aerotech rockets & motors until I realized that I had forgotten at home the new pack of Copperheads that I bought yesterday.  My Dad offered to go back to my house and get them and so he did.  In the meantime, I launched some smaller Estes stuff alone.  First of the day was my Estes SM-3 Seahawk on an Estes D12-5 for its third flight.  Excellent boost, but the chute lines once again got tangled in the rear fins and having gotten up at 6:30 in the morning to come here, I was in a less than cheerful mood and some colorful metaphors got caught on tape as the rocket was coming down. :)

Flight 558, 77th flight this year
QED Hot Dog on an Estes B6-4 for its 6th flight

Next up was my QED Hot Dog on a B6-4 for its sixth flight.  An excellent boost and recovery with deployment a bit past apogee.

Flight 559, 78th flight this year
Estes Longshot on an Estes D12-0 staging to an Estes B6-6 for its 9th flight

Next up was my ill fated Estes Longshot on a D12-0 in the booster staging to an Estes B6-6 in the upper stage for its ninth and last flight.  The boost was amazing with a lot of altitude and then a long drift on the upper stage's 12 inch chute.  It seemed clear that I was going to get the upper stage back, but it snagged on the only power or telephone line in the area.  I wasn't going to screw with trying to recover a rocket from a power line and so my only hope was that a breeze might blow it down at some point.

Flight 560, 79th flight this year
Scratch built Jupiter 1 on a Centuri A4-4M for its 5th flight

My 1982 vintage scratch built Jupiter 1 was up next on a 1973 vintage Centuri A4-4M long mini for only its fifth flight.  A very quick boost off the pad and streamer deployment was right at apogee.  Those old motors have tons of tracking smoke... anyone ever notice that?

Flight 561, 80th flight this year
Estes Fat Boy on an Estes C6-3 for its 2nd flight

My semi-painted Estes Fat Boy was up next on a C6-3 for only its second flight.  It veered a bit in the direction that the launch angle was set to, but the flight was stable with chute deployment past apogee and a landing on a paved track & field track.  No damage to the rocket though.

Flight 562, 81st flight this year
Aerotech Arreaux on an Aerotech E15-4W for its 5th flight

My father had returned with a bag of my other Aerotech motors since he couldn't find the spare igniters that I bought yesterday.  I used the igniters from these motors to start lighting my Aerotech motors and first to go up was my never disappointing Aerotech Arreaux on an Aerotech E15-4W for its fifth flight.  As always, an amazing flight and soft landing reasonably close to the pad.  As usual, deployment was a little past apogee.

Flight 563, 82nd flight this year
LOC/Precision Legacy on an Aerotech E30-4T for its 2nd flight

This was a bit of a scary "flight" since the E30-4T that I used in my LOC/Precision Legacy CATOed immediately after liftoff.  A burnthrough occurred that not only penetrated the casing, but also the 24mm motor adaptor, motor mount tube, and also the rocket airframe.  Also, the ejection charge fired immediately which popped the payload section and deployed the parachute while the motor was still thrusting out the side of the rocket.  Legacy then plopped to the ground all the while spewing tracking smoke and then it fizzled out.  I'll be in touch with Aerotech on this one!

Flight 564, 83rd flight this year
Estes Rampage on an Estes B6-4 for its 8th flight

Next, I tried to send up my Aerotech Mustang on an E15-4W, but the igniter just  wouldn't fire and I was beginning to suspect that my batteries may be giving out.  I decided to fly my Estes Rampage instead on a B6-4 for its eighth flight.  Excellent boost & recovery.

Flight 565, 84th flight this year
Scratch built X-2 on a Centuri A4-4M for its 8th flight

Another 1982 vintage scratch built rocket that I built as a teenager was up next on another 1973 vintage Centuri A4-4M long mini for its eighth flight.  Like Jupiter 1, it shot off the pad and the motor blew out a lot of tracking smoke.  This one also landed on that same paved track and it suffered a broken fin.

Flight 566, 85th flight this year
Estes Satellite Interceptor on an Estes B4-4 for its 8th flight

My 1981 vintage Estes Satellite Interceptor was up next for a flight on a B6-4 for its eighth flight.  This rocket looks great on the pad and in the air and it's a shame that Estes doesn't make kits like this anymore.  Satellite Interceptor broke a fin on landing.

Flight 567, 86th flight this year
Estes Rattler-7 on an Estes B4-4 for its 8th flight

The Estes Rattler-7 was up next on an Estes B4-4 for its eighth flight for a great boost with deployment at apogee, but quite a long drift downrange.

Flight 568, 87th flight this year
Scratchbuilt Black Bertha on two Estes B6-4's for its 15th flight

Next up was Black Bertha (formerly Big Bertha II) which is a scratch build that I based on Big Bertha except that it's a bit shorter, has a payload section, and it flies on a cluster of two 18mm motors.  Today, it went up on a pair of B6-4's for its fifteenth flight.  This rocket was originally built in 1982 and it's still flying today!  It has a weathered look much like the bottom of the space shuttle.

Flight 569, 88th flight this year
Quest Big Rage on a Centuri C5-3S for its 7th flight

Next up was my Quest Big Rage on a 1980 vintage Centuri C5-3S for its seventh flight.  It was a perfect boost & recovery... uneventful flight.

Flight 570, 89th flight this year
Estes Mach 12 on an Estes B6-4 for its 4th flight

My Estes Mach 12 was up next on a B6-4 for its fourth flight.  Deployment was past apogee with a short 19 second flight time, but as always, it flew flawlessly.

Flight 571, 90th flight this year
Aerotech Mustang on an Aerotech E15-4W for its 3rd flight

This is the flight that convinced me that my flying day was cursed... Convinced that my Copperheads weren't lighting because of contact problems rather than battery problems, I cleaned all the contacts and I put my Aerotech Mustang on the pad to fly with it's E15-4W still inside it.  I counted down, the motor lit, and indeed it was the contacts that were dirty... no problem... perfect boost, high altitude flight, nice deployment and descent... then it started drifting further north... towards the school's roof... which at the time of this writing is the permanent home of my Mustang unless I can get in touch with someone who has the keys to that roof so that I can get my rocket back.

With the loss of the Longshot, Legacy, and Mustang today, I lost more than $120 CAD in rockets.  I suppose I could cut off the back end of Legacy to make a shorter version though I'll have to build an entirely new motor mount for it.  Despite suffering the worst losses that I've ever had during a single launch, I still had fun for the most part although I couldn't help but feel that I was the victim of some really bad luck.  Bad luck is something that I previously never really believed in, but considering how good the flying conditions were today, I have to wonder if my flying day was a little jinxed.  I'm a few rockets short, but I'll be back there with a vengeance next weekend if the weather holds up! :)

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