Launch Report for Saturday, October 29th, 2005

Location: Schoolyard of Ecole Polyvalente Louis-Philippe Pare in Chateauguay, Quebec, Canada

Local Weather

Local Temperature at Ground Level: 8 degrees C (estimated)
Humidity: 65% (estimated)
Wind Speed: 10km/h (estimated)
Wind Direction: North (estimated)


Some Interesting Statistics For This Launch...

Total Number of Flights Today: 4
Total Motor Power Used: 29 N-s
Most Powerful Motor Used Today: Estes C5-3 (9.5N-s)
Least Powerful Motors Used Today: Estes B6-4, B8-5 (5 N-s)
Shortest Duration Flight in Seconds: 9 (Estes Omloid)
Longest Duration Flight in Seconds: 34 (Quest Big Rage)
Number of Non-Estes Motors Used Today: 0
Number of Landings Outside Recovery Area: 1
Cameras used to take photos: Canon Powershot A60, Sony TRV-103 camcorder
Launch Pads Used: Estes Porta Pad #3, Estes Big Foot #2
Launch Controllers Used NCR Command Control
People Present at the Launch Myself and my wife Sharon


Flight#
772

32nd flight this year

Estes Omloid
on an Estes C5-3 for its 3rd flight

Time at Liftoff::

14:19:47
Flight Duration in Seconds: 9
Landing Distance in feet from the pad: 103 Northeast
The first flight of the day was also my first ever egg lofting flight.  Although my Estes Omloid had flown before, this would be the first time it would carry nay kind of payload.  The boost of this puppy on a 1994 vintage C5-3 from an old bulk pack was nice.  Would have been a great flight... if only I remembered to put in the parachute!  The rocket came down in "break-away drag recovery" mode and the egg capsule hit first with a thud and the result was a very smashed and messy egg inside the unbroken egg capsule and two broken fins.  Oh well, that's part of the fun, isn't it?  Well, the splattered egg anyway... :)


Flight#
773

33rd flight this year

Quest Big Rage
on an Estes C5-3 for its 10th flight

Time at Liftoff::

14:29:02
Flight Duration in Seconds: 34
Landing Distance in feet from the pad: 71 South
My Quest Big Rage had a bad day today.  While setting it up on my Estes Porta Pad #3, I stripped the wing nut that tightens the tilter, so I had to take this pad apart and set up my Estes Big Foot #2 pad instead which I used for the rest of the day.  Another great boost on another one of those 1994 vintage C5-3's from that bulk pack and while I remembered to at least put the chute in this time, the shock cord came untied from the payload section at apogee!  The booster section came tumbling down and landed fins first in the soft grass.  One fin dug itself into the ground and propped the rocket up in an odd position as shown above.  The payload section soft landed with the parachute just outside the schoolyard about 400 feet away, but still in the school's parking lot in a small puddle of water, but no harm done.  When I got to where the payload section landed, I discovered that the nose cone had popped off as well so now I had something else I had to look for!  Thankfully, I didn't have to search long since I found the nose cone undamaged while I was walking back to the pad.

 

Flight#
774

34th flight this year

Estes Skyraider
on an Estes B6-4 for its 9th flight

Time at Liftoff::

14:39:17
Flight Duration in Seconds: 29
Landing Distance in feet from the pad: 194 South southeast
It always amazes me how well my 1982 vintage Estes Skyraider performs since it always seems to go as high as rockets about half its size.  It didn't disappoint this time either with a nice boost on a B6-4 and a long descent even on a 12" parachute.  Good thing I didn't use the 18" parachute that was originally supplied with this kit!  Even still, it was a bit of a walk to get this one back.

 

Flight#
775

35th flight this year

Estes Firestreak
on an Estes B8-5 for its 4th flight

Time at Liftoff::

14:47:31
Flight Duration in Seconds: 26
Landing Distance in feet from the pad: 66 South
Despite nearly 800 flights since 1981, today was the first time I had ever used a B8-5.  My Estes Firestreak got the honor of being my first rocket to use one flying on a 1994 vintage B8-5 and it got up there pretty darn quick!  Even my wife Sharon noticed that it got up there a lot faster than the other rockets I launched today.  Because I knew that Firestreak would do at least 600 feet on this motor, I used a 18" x 1" orange streamer to recover this one.  A great flight with a short walk to recover it.  It did break a fin on landing unfortunately.

 

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E-mail: kbedard@rocketryonline.com




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