Saturday, October 30, was finally the day to put my new LOC/Precision Vulcanite H76 to the test and attempt to get my Tripoli Rocketry Association Level 1 certification. If all went well I also intended to go for my Level 2 certification as well. We got to the launch site early so I could get our shelter set up before the other rocketeers arrived and it would be time to help set up the launch equipment. Precisely at 9:30 the other people started showing up and we quickly got the gear unloaded and set up. By shortly after 10:00 we were ready to go, so I started preparing my new rocket, Flying Colors for launch. For my L1 certification attempt I would be flying a Cesaroni 538I303-16A motor with the full 16 second delay. The preparations went smoothly and I soon found myself standing at the launch pad double checking my check list. This was the first time I'd flown a Cesaroni motor and I couldn't believe how easily it had gone together. With some trepidation I turned in the flight card for my rocket and when the Launch Control Officer (LCO) was ready to go quickly started the video camera rolling and got back to the flight line. Here is the launch, both at full-speed and at 1/30th normal.
Video: Level One Certification Launch
Video: Level One Certification Launch (Slow Motion)
After walking 1.21 miles I found my rocket in good order laying on the desert floor. Actually I should say that I found Jim, our local rocket finder, standing next to my rocket laying on the desert floor. After snapping some photos to document the condition of the rocket I opened the payload bay to check my altimeter. The altimeter reported a maximum altitude of 6732'. Pre-flight simulations had predicted 6735.91841'. Apparently it is unusual to have a prediction that close to the actual altitude as several comments were made about it.
I didn't initially find any damage, but when carrying it back to the launch site I noticed that I had lost some paint toward the leading edge of the sustainer, apparently from an impact with something. I had not initially seen it because it was on the side of the rocket that was laying on the ground. The underlying fibreglass and kraft paper tubing was undamaged, so I passed my L1 certification flight!
By this point the weather had degraded to the point that I could not attempt my L2 certification due to low ceilings. I grabbed some lunch and prepped my Aerotech Arreaux, Dragon Fly for flight. This is the rocket that was lost for nearly 2 weeks in the Spring on its second flight. I had not had time to paint it in the Spring, so this was the first time it would be flown in a completed state. I had acquired 3 Aerotech G76G-10 reloads for this rocket for use in the Fall launch window. I prepared the motor and was about half way through when I discovered that the reload kit had included the wrong igniter. There were actually three igniters in the package and all of them were too short to be used. Fortunately one of the other rocketeers was able to provide me with a a suitable igniter and I finished preparing the rocket. As I was completing the assembly of the rocket the skies decided to clear and it was obvious that I could go for my L2 attempt, but I didn't want to leave a loaded rocket sitting around and I could not unload it, at least not without compromising the ejection charge of black powder. I hastened to get the Dragon Fly launched and recovered so I could get going on the Flying Colors. Below are the videos for the Dragon Fly's launch.
Video: Dragon Fly, Flight #3, Launch
Video: Dragon Fly, Flight #3, Launch (Slow Motion)
Dragon Fly landed .34 miles from the launch site and achieved an altitude of 2948' vs. a pre-flight estimate of 2665.10535'. Recovering it was straight-forward, but ate quite a bit of time. By the time I got back to base we had clouds moving back in and I had to hurry to get my L2 attempt ready to fly. For this flight I would be using a Cesaroni 658J357-17A with the full 17 second delay. The ease of assembly of this motor really helped get me to the pad quickly, so quickly that I went through my check list twice again to make sure I'd not forgotten anything. With even more nerves than before I turned in the flight card for my L2 attempt. Again I started the camera rolling when I got the sign from the LCO and cleared the area. Flying Colors once again leapt off the pad and tore off into the sky. Below are the videos for this launch.
Video: Level Two Certification Launch
Video: Level Two Certification Launch (Slow Motion)
We lost track of it for a while but it was spotted coming down on the chute. While this was the highest flight of the day, it was also the shortest walk I had, landing only .34 miles from the launch site. There was no new damage. I took a picture of the rocket as it lay, but somehow I don't have it in the camera. Apparently I didn't get the shutter release fully depressed. I did open the payload bay to see my altimeter and have a photo of it, the only one I thought to take of it all day. So my highest flight to date has photographic record. The pre-flight estimate for this flight was 7408.37892'. The actual altitude was recorded as 7434'. This should have been my first supersonic flight with a predicted maximum velocity of 1180.7712 ft/s (805mph), but unfortunately I don't own the instrumentation necessary to verify that. Given the accuracy of the height prediction however, I strongly suspect that I achieved at least that velocity.
Below are photos taken during the day by my daughters and myself.
Photo Album: 2010-10-30, Rockets (TRA Certification Day)
Map of Launch and Landing sites:
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