I puzzled over how to name this post for quite some time. I'll tell the tale and then you'll see why.
We had a late start on our day at the range due to Sam having a school event in the morning, so it was afternoon before we got to the launch site.
As I unloaded the car I realized that I hadn't charged my AltimeterTwo since I last flew it more than a year ago. That meant it was almost certainly "flat" inside my rocket. I cracked open the payload bay and sure enough, there was no charge at all. I fortunately had come prepared to charge USB powered devices and got the altimeter plugged in and charging while I worked on the rest of the rocket.
I began loading up the 232H123-14A motor I purchased last and pulled out my Android with OpenRocket on it to determine what delay I should use, only to discover that I hadn't gotten the motors loaded into the rocket configuration file and therefor couldn't run a simulation. I was left to guess as to expected altitude and what delay I needed to use. Based on past experience I guessed I would fly 2000'-2500' and opted to not make any adjustment to the delay grain, as they have always been just right, or on the short side for Flying Colors, and loaded the motor.
I then waited around while the altimeter was charging. I set up my cameras at the pad and test recorded a flight of another Vulcanite. With the number of rockets headed to the pads slowing to a trickle I decided it was time to get Flying Colors assembled and flown. Final assembly was quickly completed and soon Flying Colors was on its way, atop a column of black smoke and sparks. I lost sight of it for a short time, but spotted the smoke trail as it was descending and saw the recovery system deploy. Since it had headed up wind it landed reasonably close to the launch site. Samantha and I quickly reached it. Everything looked fine at first, but then Sam spotted the "zipper." Thanks to the fiberglass reinforcement I did during the build it isn't bad and should be reparable, but it could keep me from flying next month. I need a number of supplies in order to do the repair right. It has been suggested that I cut off the damaged portion, but if I do that the payload bay coupler is going to hit the recovery system mount point inside the airframe.
Of course this damage could have been avoided if I had made appropriate decisions. When I discovered I couldn't simulate the flight I should have aborted the launch. If I had simulated the flight I would have seen that I needed to adjust the delay grain by 3 seconds. Since I didn't make this adjustment Flying Colors descended some 400' before ejecting the recovery system which allowed it to build up a head of steam which resulted in the "zipper" when the recovery system did deploy. I'm lucky to have gotten off with as little damage as I did and will definitely take this lesson to heart. Don't guess, simulate. If you can't simulate, don't fly.
So, back to naming this post. With the damage that occurred to the rocket during the flight I considered several names for the post, along the lines of "Rocket vonZipper!", but decided most folks wouldn't get the reference. Also I'm not happy about the outcome of the flight, so I'm not really in the mood to joke about it.
Photo Album: 2012-11-03, AARG Launch, Hutto, TX
Video: AARG, 2011-11-03
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Showing posts with label Flying Colors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Flying Colors. Show all posts
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Sunday, October 23, 2011
YAOLD (Yet Another October Launch Day)
It was another fine day for flying, with clear skies and mild temperatures. I sent FLying Colors flying on it's 10th voyage, powered by a CTI 538I303-16A, to an altitude of 6374'. Everyone lost track of it, so I was forced to rely entirely on my Walston Tracker to locate the rocket. This was the first time I had to rely entirely on the tracker. It led me on a bit of a circuitous route since my rocket had landed beyond a ridge, but I did locate it.
When I returned from recovering Flying Colors we loaded a motor in my wife's Wildman Wildchild that she has named Wild Flamingo on a CTI 108G68-13A motor. My AltimeterOne altimeter was attached to the shock cord using the vendors included wire clip. When we recovered the rocket there was no sign of my altimeter and it appears to be lost for good. It was a first generation AltimeterOne which differed in a couple ways from the current product, so I'm not happy about having lost it.
Photo Album: 2011-10-22, TIR Launch
Video: "Flying Colors", Flight #10
When I returned from recovering Flying Colors we loaded a motor in my wife's Wildman Wildchild that she has named Wild Flamingo on a CTI 108G68-13A motor. My AltimeterOne altimeter was attached to the shock cord using the vendors included wire clip. When we recovered the rocket there was no sign of my altimeter and it appears to be lost for good. It was a first generation AltimeterOne which differed in a couple ways from the current product, so I'm not happy about having lost it.
Photo Album: 2011-10-22, TIR Launch
Video: "Flying Colors", Flight #10
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Flying Season Returns
After getting several days of rain last week, the BLM cleared the launch site for use. The weather forecast looked good for Saturday, so yesterday was our first launch of the fall season.
My daughter got to launch her new Dark Star Mini on a Cesaroni 84-G88-1A to 1754'. The expected altitude was 2287', but the wind was blowing pretty good when she flew and that likely had a significant effect.
After recovering the DS Mini I flew Flying Colors on its ninth flight. I loaded an 819J354-16A, the highest impulse motor I expect to be able to load in this rocket and sent it to 8091' AGL, a new personal best. In addition to my AltimeterOne, I had my new AltimeterTwo mounted and was looking forward to getting data from it, but due to some delays after I armed it, it apparently timed out and turned itself off before launch. This flight was projected to be supersonic and I really wanted to see if I made it. I'll have to wait for spring now to see if I'm actually exceeding Mach 1 as predicted and to test if I exceed the single-axis G limit of the AltimeterTwo, as none of my remaining reloads for this season will do either of those jobs. In addition to my altimeters I was once again flying one of Vern's prototype "Kate" nose cones. She performed up to her usual high standards and did an excellent job reporting the events of my flight. Thanks to the landing coordinates she provided I was able to once again walk right to Flying Colors, which was recovered in excellent condition.
Unfortunately, due to other commitments, we were unable to stay for the entire day. The winds were calming as we left and it looked like a number of big rockets and motors were being prepped for flight.
Photo Album: 2011-10-08, Tripoli Idaho Rocketry
Video: 2011-10-08, Tripoli Idaho Rocketry Launch Montage
My daughter got to launch her new Dark Star Mini on a Cesaroni 84-G88-1A to 1754'. The expected altitude was 2287', but the wind was blowing pretty good when she flew and that likely had a significant effect.
After recovering the DS Mini I flew Flying Colors on its ninth flight. I loaded an 819J354-16A, the highest impulse motor I expect to be able to load in this rocket and sent it to 8091' AGL, a new personal best. In addition to my AltimeterOne, I had my new AltimeterTwo mounted and was looking forward to getting data from it, but due to some delays after I armed it, it apparently timed out and turned itself off before launch. This flight was projected to be supersonic and I really wanted to see if I made it. I'll have to wait for spring now to see if I'm actually exceeding Mach 1 as predicted and to test if I exceed the single-axis G limit of the AltimeterTwo, as none of my remaining reloads for this season will do either of those jobs. In addition to my altimeters I was once again flying one of Vern's prototype "Kate" nose cones. She performed up to her usual high standards and did an excellent job reporting the events of my flight. Thanks to the landing coordinates she provided I was able to once again walk right to Flying Colors, which was recovered in excellent condition.
Unfortunately, due to other commitments, we were unable to stay for the entire day. The winds were calming as we left and it looked like a number of big rockets and motors were being prepped for flight.
Photo Album: 2011-10-08, Tripoli Idaho Rocketry
Video: 2011-10-08, Tripoli Idaho Rocketry Launch Montage
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Flying Colors, Flight #8, "A Date with Kate"
Yesterday was our final launch opportunity of the spring season. We had a very good turn out with many launches. I shot quite a lot of video, capturing 15 launches in 13 segments. There were many more launches than that, but I wasn't always in position to take video. I was there to fly my own rocket after all.
We got to the site early so we could set up our own equipment and help with the launch equipment. I was still working on setting up the weather station when other people, including the person towing the club trailer, showed up. With a number of people working on it, the range was set up well in time for the opening of the launch window at 10:00.
Vern Knowles, "parent" of the ever-popular "Kate", is working on making a version of her available for sale. Kate is an automated flight data reporting system that receives GPS data transmitted from a rocket and announces the details of the flight in near-real-time. Vern had prototype transmitters, pre-installed in various size nose cones, available for test flights at this launch. For various reasons I was the only person to take Vern up on the chance to give Kate a ride at this launch. Having Kate on-board meant I would not be able to include my Walston Tracker, which is installed in my usual nose cone. I was still able to fly my AltimeterOne, which meant I'd have two sources of data regarding my maximum altitude. The Kate nose cone is also heavier than my usual nose cone, so I anticipated a lower than estimated flight. Based on RockSim v9.0 my expected altitude was 6830' AGL. According to my AltimeterOne I reached an altitude of 6210', while Kate reported 6449'. Kate did lose GPS during the ascent, but reacquired a fix before apogee and reported data for the rest of the flight. It is a good thing she did, as I never saw Flying Colors after it left the pad. There were people that spotted it, but I think they were able to due to Kate's reporting. Since Flying Colors landed 1.33 miles from the launch site I probably would not have received a signal from the tracker if I'd been flying it, particularly after Flying Colors landed. With Kate having provided landing coordinates it was a simple matter of punching them into a hand-held GPS unit and walking right to my rocket. Thank you Vern for letting me fly your transmitter for you.
Photo Album: 2011-06-04, Tripoli Idaho Launch
Video: 2011-06-04, Tripoli Idaho Rocketry, Launch Montage
We got to the site early so we could set up our own equipment and help with the launch equipment. I was still working on setting up the weather station when other people, including the person towing the club trailer, showed up. With a number of people working on it, the range was set up well in time for the opening of the launch window at 10:00.
Vern Knowles, "parent" of the ever-popular "Kate", is working on making a version of her available for sale. Kate is an automated flight data reporting system that receives GPS data transmitted from a rocket and announces the details of the flight in near-real-time. Vern had prototype transmitters, pre-installed in various size nose cones, available for test flights at this launch. For various reasons I was the only person to take Vern up on the chance to give Kate a ride at this launch. Having Kate on-board meant I would not be able to include my Walston Tracker, which is installed in my usual nose cone. I was still able to fly my AltimeterOne, which meant I'd have two sources of data regarding my maximum altitude. The Kate nose cone is also heavier than my usual nose cone, so I anticipated a lower than estimated flight. Based on RockSim v9.0 my expected altitude was 6830' AGL. According to my AltimeterOne I reached an altitude of 6210', while Kate reported 6449'. Kate did lose GPS during the ascent, but reacquired a fix before apogee and reported data for the rest of the flight. It is a good thing she did, as I never saw Flying Colors after it left the pad. There were people that spotted it, but I think they were able to due to Kate's reporting. Since Flying Colors landed 1.33 miles from the launch site I probably would not have received a signal from the tracker if I'd been flying it, particularly after Flying Colors landed. With Kate having provided landing coordinates it was a simple matter of punching them into a hand-held GPS unit and walking right to my rocket. Thank you Vern for letting me fly your transmitter for you.
Photo Album: 2011-06-04, Tripoli Idaho Launch
Video: 2011-06-04, Tripoli Idaho Rocketry, Launch Montage
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Another Successful Launch Day
Yesterday was our regularly scheduled launch day and the rocket gods smiled on us and gave us decent weather. We got stopped by a train across railroad tracks on the way to the launch site, so things were pretty much set up by the time we arrived. Our president had had to bring out the club trailer, meaning he didn't bring his personal trailer, which had his rocket tracker receiver in it. Since for now I'm borrowing his receiver when I fly my rocket, I was quite nervous about launching up over a mile and trying to find it. Given these considerations I decided to proceed with a flight, but use the I255 motor I had instead of the I303, since it was supposed to provide me a slightly lower flight. I armed my tracking transmitter and installed it in my nose cone as a precaution against my rocket going missing, the idea being that if I did lose my rocket I'd be able to go back out to the launch site with the receiver and locate it. I took my time prepping the rocket and ancillary gear so I didn't forget to do anything this time. I took my rocket out to the pad once I had it loaded up and inspected, but before I had everything else ready to go. I think I irritated some of the other rocketeers by tying up the pad for a while as I was getting everything else ready. I'll need to modify my preparations to make sure I don't do this again.
By the time I had video cameras ready to roll, GPS receiver up and running, and binoculars, camera, and FRS radio located and checked Coldfire was loaded up on the away pad and ready to fly. I re-situated my tripod mounted video camera so it could capture both Coldfire's and Flying Colors' flights. I asked Coldfire's owner if he would launch first so I could watch Coldfire fly without worrying about losing track of where Flying Colors landed. I don't think he understood my reasoning, but agreed and that is how things proceeded. It did prove to be a mistake in one regard in that I ran out of memory in my camera at the base of the launch pad prior to Flying Colors launching, so I have no video from it.
For this flight there was a high layer of thin clouds. This is exactly the kind of situation where I lose track of my rockets. I simply can't see them against the clouds. I think everyone lost it this time, so it may have actually gone above the clouds, but it is not clear. We watched and listened and for what seemed for an eternity there was no sign of Flying Colors. Finally somebody called out that they saw it and soon many people were tracking it. Eventually even I spotted my brilliant red parachute. In this case I think I would have been blind to not ultimately spot my descending rocket as it landed a mere 288.8' from the launch pad, per my GPS. I made the short walk out to it and did my usual post-flight inspection, including checking my AltimeterOne to see how high I actually flew. I was disappointed in this case to find that my altimeter had malfunctioned and was only reporting a peak altitude of 953' AGL. This was with the altimeter installed in my ported payload bay in the same configuration as the previous 5 flights.
I returned to base with my rocket and contemplated the skies. Soon we had a large patch of blue develop right over us and I decided to go for a second launch, this time on the I303 I had brought along as my primary motor. I reset my AltimeterOne and, hoping for better results, assembled my rocket. Since I already had my gear lined up from the first flight I was much quicker getting ready to fly when I took Flying Colors out to the pad. Soon the LCO gave the count and hit the launch button. Flying Colors flew beautifully up into the clear blue skies and I watched it from launch to landing. I walked straight out to it with no difficulty, though before I reached it I was really beginning to think I must have some how walked past it. It had landed beyond a small ridge and once I crested the ridge the parachute was easily spotted. I really didn't think it had landed as far out as it had, at 1244' from the launch site. I popped open the payload pay to see how my AltimeterOne had performed on this flight and found it reporting a perfectly normal looking reading of 6661' AGL.
So, with one small hiccup I had a really nice day of rocket flying with two successful flights of Flying Colors. In all there were 6 HPR launches, though I only managed to record 3 of them. There were a number of LPR rockets flown, at least one of which went AWOL. It was a rather detailed model, so I hope it can yet be found.
Photo Album: 2011-05-21, Tripoli Idaho Launch Day
Video: Montage of Tripoli Idaho Rocketry launches on 2011-05-21
Video Playlist: 2011-05-21, Tripoli Idaho Rocketry Launch
By the time I had video cameras ready to roll, GPS receiver up and running, and binoculars, camera, and FRS radio located and checked Coldfire was loaded up on the away pad and ready to fly. I re-situated my tripod mounted video camera so it could capture both Coldfire's and Flying Colors' flights. I asked Coldfire's owner if he would launch first so I could watch Coldfire fly without worrying about losing track of where Flying Colors landed. I don't think he understood my reasoning, but agreed and that is how things proceeded. It did prove to be a mistake in one regard in that I ran out of memory in my camera at the base of the launch pad prior to Flying Colors launching, so I have no video from it.
For this flight there was a high layer of thin clouds. This is exactly the kind of situation where I lose track of my rockets. I simply can't see them against the clouds. I think everyone lost it this time, so it may have actually gone above the clouds, but it is not clear. We watched and listened and for what seemed for an eternity there was no sign of Flying Colors. Finally somebody called out that they saw it and soon many people were tracking it. Eventually even I spotted my brilliant red parachute. In this case I think I would have been blind to not ultimately spot my descending rocket as it landed a mere 288.8' from the launch pad, per my GPS. I made the short walk out to it and did my usual post-flight inspection, including checking my AltimeterOne to see how high I actually flew. I was disappointed in this case to find that my altimeter had malfunctioned and was only reporting a peak altitude of 953' AGL. This was with the altimeter installed in my ported payload bay in the same configuration as the previous 5 flights.
I returned to base with my rocket and contemplated the skies. Soon we had a large patch of blue develop right over us and I decided to go for a second launch, this time on the I303 I had brought along as my primary motor. I reset my AltimeterOne and, hoping for better results, assembled my rocket. Since I already had my gear lined up from the first flight I was much quicker getting ready to fly when I took Flying Colors out to the pad. Soon the LCO gave the count and hit the launch button. Flying Colors flew beautifully up into the clear blue skies and I watched it from launch to landing. I walked straight out to it with no difficulty, though before I reached it I was really beginning to think I must have some how walked past it. It had landed beyond a small ridge and once I crested the ridge the parachute was easily spotted. I really didn't think it had landed as far out as it had, at 1244' from the launch site. I popped open the payload pay to see how my AltimeterOne had performed on this flight and found it reporting a perfectly normal looking reading of 6661' AGL.
So, with one small hiccup I had a really nice day of rocket flying with two successful flights of Flying Colors. In all there were 6 HPR launches, though I only managed to record 3 of them. There were a number of LPR rockets flown, at least one of which went AWOL. It was a rather detailed model, so I hope it can yet be found.
Photo Album: 2011-05-21, Tripoli Idaho Launch Day
Video: Montage of Tripoli Idaho Rocketry launches on 2011-05-21
Video Playlist: 2011-05-21, Tripoli Idaho Rocketry Launch
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Flying Weather Arrives
After scrubbing the last two weekends due to weather we finally got a "go" for launching today. Early in the day weather conditions were not very favorable for flying. Winds were coming from the north-northwest at approximately 15 mile per hour. Those rockets that were flown were targeting the 2000'-3000' range due to the winds and a low ceiling. I could have flown my Dragon Fly with the last of the G76 reloads I purchased last year, but with the cold temperatures I really didn't want to risk the non-ignition fiasco of our last outing. That meant I needed a much higher ceiling and preferably lower winds so I could fly my Flying Colors. The expected altitude for the smallest reload I had available, a Cesaroni 517I255-16A, was 6471'. After noon we started getting some blue patches of sky going over, so I prepared Flying Colors for flight with the I255 reload. When the next patch of blue rolled over us my rocket was launched atop a brilliant red flame and zoomed off into the sky. It weather-cocked a bit into the wind and deployed near apogee as expected. I had a long walk to recover it and discovered that my rocket had received new cosmetic damage, this time on both the payload bay and one of the fins. Due to paint transfer evidence it is obvious that the two parts collided, presumably during deployment of the recovery system. My altimeter recorded a maximum altitude of 6479'.
Video: Flying Colors, Flight 4
Video: Flying Colors, Flight 4 (1/20 normal speed)
Photo Album: 2011-04-09, Start of New Rocket Season
While waiting for a chance to fly my own rocket I shot video of a number of other launches. The videos will be posted to my YouTube playlist for the day as I get them processed.
Video: Flying Colors, Flight 4
Video: Flying Colors, Flight 4 (1/20 normal speed)
Photo Album: 2011-04-09, Start of New Rocket Season
While waiting for a chance to fly my own rocket I shot video of a number of other launches. The videos will be posted to my YouTube playlist for the day as I get them processed.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Last Day of the Season
Yesterday was the last launch opportunity for Tripoli Idaho for this year. Normally we don't launch on back-to-back weekends, but there were enough people interested in flying that we decided to take advantage of the last date we applied for in our FAA waiver.
We got out to the launch site and had overcast skies, though the clouds were higher than last week. Site set-up went well with many hands helping to get things done. Soon it was time to start thinking about flying rockets. I'd managed to acquire a reload for Flying Colors from one of the other TIR members who wasn't going to be at the launch. This was a Cesaroni 540I470-15A. As there was fog lurking in the Snake River canyon and obscuring some of the hills off to the North-West I was concerned that it was going to move down and sock us in, so I decided to get my flight off while I could, despite the grey skies. Once again assembly was very straightforward and I quickly had my rocket at the pad. I did have to borrow masking tape to secure the batteries in my tracker as my roll had been removed from my tool bag the previous week, Fail #1. In my haste to get the flight card to the LCO I forgot all about setting up my video camera, Fail #2. Consequently I have no video from this flight. Flying Colors made another brilliant flight, but once again I was unable to see the chute deploy. The winds carried it to the East, close to the same track as flight #2, but not as far out. I grabbed my GPS to get landing coordinates and couldn't get it to work as apparently the battery was dead, Fail #3. I recovered the rocket and found it to be in excellent condition, with no evidence of any damage from this flight.
After grabbing a bite to eat I started prepping Dragon Fly for a flight. In preparation for going out to the site I'd trimmed down what I would carry out and only grabbed one of the two G76-10G reloads I had available. In the process I'd failed to grab the grease for lubricating the O-rings and threads, Fail #4. I had to borrow grease to assemble this motor. Assembly was straight forward, but as I started to head to the pad I glanced at my work table and saw the container of black powder used to deploy the recovery system still sitting in the plastic bag the motor shipped in, Fail #5. I would have discovered this when I got to the pad and didn't have the cap to secure the igniter in the motor, but was glad I saw it when I did. I quickly rectified this situation and headed out to the pad. One of the other rocketeers was also flying an Arreaux on a G76G and had his at the pad ready to go. I asked if he'd like to fly his in a drag race with mine and he agreed. When it was time to launch his rocket launched while mine spit out the igniter, Fail #6. My competitor had already had 2 or 3 such failures on previous launches of his rocket that day.
Video: Dragon Fly, Flight #4, Attempt #1
After my failed launch we were treated to a flight of Coldfire with automated flight commentary provided by "Kate".
Video: Coldfire, Flight 20
Once Coldfire had flown I serviced Dragon Fly at the pad. I had to borrow a replacement Copperhead igniter, having left my spares at home along with my grease, Fail #7. I got the igniter installed and made another attempted launch. Again the motor failed to start and the spent igniter was spit out, Fail #8.
Video: Dragon Fly, Flight 4, Attempt 2
One of the other attendees expressed the opinion that the Mojave Green propellant used in the G76G motors is hard to light under the colder conditions we were experiencing yesterday. Based on the number of failed ignitions I'm inclined to believe him.
After this failed launch attempt one of the other participants launched his rocket, Thumper on it's second flight on a "K" class motor. In the video you can hear the motor come up to pressure, with a sound like a bottle being filled with water. Warning, if you turn up your volume to hear this effect the noise at launch will be very loud. This phenomenon is also audible in the Coldfire launch presented earlier.
Video: Thumper, Flight 2
As you can hear this flight ended horribly. The chute failed to deploy and the rocket descended ballistically and impacted disturbingly close to the launch site, landing just East of the North-South road to our East. The nose cone was buried about 1.5' to 2' into the ground.
I borrowed another igniter, this time a "home brew" one and prepared the motor yet again. I had gotten lucky on the previous igniter installation and managed to feed it through the nozzle without having to disassemble the motor. The new igniter wouldn't feed through the nozzle, so I had to remove the rear closure and nozzle. When I pulled out the nozzle it pulled up the fuel grains as well. I was a bit concerned by this, but decided the forward insulator and O-ring were undisturbed, so proceeded with reassembly. This time the Dragon Fly flew when the LCO pressed the launch button, unfortunately, due to a misconfiguration of the launch controller so did another rocket sitting on the next pad.
Video: Dragon Fly, Flight 4, Attempt 3
Video: Dragon Fly. Flight 4, Attempt 3 (Slow Motion)
The Dragon Fly won this unintentional drag race, leaving the pads first, going higher, and landing last. This result was predictable however since the other rocket was a Level 2 certification attempt flying on a "J" motor. Bigger motors take longer to come up to pressure, so my little "G" motor launched quicker. The thrust-to-weight ratio also favored my rocket, consequently my higher altitude (expected: 2724.57995', actual:2863).
As can be seen in the videos, the skies improved during the day until we got a nice big blue patch above us. This allowed a Level 3 certification flight to launch on an "M" motor. The flight was awesome and successful, going at least 14,000'. I attempted to record this launch, but due to technical difficulties at the launch pad I ran out of battery power about 2 seconds before it flew.
After this flight there was a test flight on an "L" motor of a rocket that will be
flown in the spring for another rocketeer's Level 3 certification attempt. This flight also was very nice.
Photo Album: 2010-11-06, Last Launch Day of 2010
We got out to the launch site and had overcast skies, though the clouds were higher than last week. Site set-up went well with many hands helping to get things done. Soon it was time to start thinking about flying rockets. I'd managed to acquire a reload for Flying Colors from one of the other TIR members who wasn't going to be at the launch. This was a Cesaroni 540I470-15A. As there was fog lurking in the Snake River canyon and obscuring some of the hills off to the North-West I was concerned that it was going to move down and sock us in, so I decided to get my flight off while I could, despite the grey skies. Once again assembly was very straightforward and I quickly had my rocket at the pad. I did have to borrow masking tape to secure the batteries in my tracker as my roll had been removed from my tool bag the previous week, Fail #1. In my haste to get the flight card to the LCO I forgot all about setting up my video camera, Fail #2. Consequently I have no video from this flight. Flying Colors made another brilliant flight, but once again I was unable to see the chute deploy. The winds carried it to the East, close to the same track as flight #2, but not as far out. I grabbed my GPS to get landing coordinates and couldn't get it to work as apparently the battery was dead, Fail #3. I recovered the rocket and found it to be in excellent condition, with no evidence of any damage from this flight.
After grabbing a bite to eat I started prepping Dragon Fly for a flight. In preparation for going out to the site I'd trimmed down what I would carry out and only grabbed one of the two G76-10G reloads I had available. In the process I'd failed to grab the grease for lubricating the O-rings and threads, Fail #4. I had to borrow grease to assemble this motor. Assembly was straight forward, but as I started to head to the pad I glanced at my work table and saw the container of black powder used to deploy the recovery system still sitting in the plastic bag the motor shipped in, Fail #5. I would have discovered this when I got to the pad and didn't have the cap to secure the igniter in the motor, but was glad I saw it when I did. I quickly rectified this situation and headed out to the pad. One of the other rocketeers was also flying an Arreaux on a G76G and had his at the pad ready to go. I asked if he'd like to fly his in a drag race with mine and he agreed. When it was time to launch his rocket launched while mine spit out the igniter, Fail #6. My competitor had already had 2 or 3 such failures on previous launches of his rocket that day.
Video: Dragon Fly, Flight #4, Attempt #1
After my failed launch we were treated to a flight of Coldfire with automated flight commentary provided by "Kate".
Video: Coldfire, Flight 20
Once Coldfire had flown I serviced Dragon Fly at the pad. I had to borrow a replacement Copperhead igniter, having left my spares at home along with my grease, Fail #7. I got the igniter installed and made another attempted launch. Again the motor failed to start and the spent igniter was spit out, Fail #8.
Video: Dragon Fly, Flight 4, Attempt 2
One of the other attendees expressed the opinion that the Mojave Green propellant used in the G76G motors is hard to light under the colder conditions we were experiencing yesterday. Based on the number of failed ignitions I'm inclined to believe him.
After this failed launch attempt one of the other participants launched his rocket, Thumper on it's second flight on a "K" class motor. In the video you can hear the motor come up to pressure, with a sound like a bottle being filled with water. Warning, if you turn up your volume to hear this effect the noise at launch will be very loud. This phenomenon is also audible in the Coldfire launch presented earlier.
Video: Thumper, Flight 2
As you can hear this flight ended horribly. The chute failed to deploy and the rocket descended ballistically and impacted disturbingly close to the launch site, landing just East of the North-South road to our East. The nose cone was buried about 1.5' to 2' into the ground.
I borrowed another igniter, this time a "home brew" one and prepared the motor yet again. I had gotten lucky on the previous igniter installation and managed to feed it through the nozzle without having to disassemble the motor. The new igniter wouldn't feed through the nozzle, so I had to remove the rear closure and nozzle. When I pulled out the nozzle it pulled up the fuel grains as well. I was a bit concerned by this, but decided the forward insulator and O-ring were undisturbed, so proceeded with reassembly. This time the Dragon Fly flew when the LCO pressed the launch button, unfortunately, due to a misconfiguration of the launch controller so did another rocket sitting on the next pad.
Video: Dragon Fly, Flight 4, Attempt 3
Video: Dragon Fly. Flight 4, Attempt 3 (Slow Motion)
The Dragon Fly won this unintentional drag race, leaving the pads first, going higher, and landing last. This result was predictable however since the other rocket was a Level 2 certification attempt flying on a "J" motor. Bigger motors take longer to come up to pressure, so my little "G" motor launched quicker. The thrust-to-weight ratio also favored my rocket, consequently my higher altitude (expected: 2724.57995', actual:2863).
As can be seen in the videos, the skies improved during the day until we got a nice big blue patch above us. This allowed a Level 3 certification flight to launch on an "M" motor. The flight was awesome and successful, going at least 14,000'. I attempted to record this launch, but due to technical difficulties at the launch pad I ran out of battery power about 2 seconds before it flew.
After this flight there was a test flight on an "L" motor of a rocket that will be
flown in the spring for another rocketeer's Level 3 certification attempt. This flight also was very nice.
Photo Album: 2010-11-06, Last Launch Day of 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
I passed with Flying Colors.
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:
View Rocket Flights in a larger map
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:
View Rocket Flights in a larger map
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Scorched Chute
During yesterday's recovery system deployment test I observed some scorching on the parachute. Today I got better pictures of the damage. Nothing that will keep me from using the parachute, but I definitely have to find a way to ensure it doesn't happen again. The last thing I need is for my rocket to come down with the parachute going up in flames.
Photo Album: 2010-10-23, Flying Colors
Photo Album: 2010-10-23, Flying Colors
Friday, October 22, 2010
Flying Colors - Ejection System Ground Test
Today I finally got the recovery system ejection charge tested. I'd been concerned about the system deploying correctly due to how tightly it seemed to fit inside the airframe.
The first challenge to performing this test was the fact that while I'd managed to obtain a spent rear closure for my CTI Pro-38 motor case, I didn't have a forward closure to properly simulate the burn-out condition of the motor. The forward closure in these motors is part of the reload kit. Looking around my garage for something to fabricate a closure from I saw the can I'd been using to mix epoxy in for fiberglassing the airframe and fins. Fiberglassing the fins had in particular resulted in quite a bit of unused epoxy. I cut the can off the epoxy and then used a hole saw to cut a blank from the cleaner portion of the material. I mounted the blank on my hand drill and used this arrangement as a lathe to turn the blank down to the final diameter I needed. I also turned a shoulder on the part to insert into the front of the motor case. The hole saw left too large a hole through the blank, so I epoxied a washer with a small hole on the forward end of my pseudo-closure. I placed tape on the back of the washer before mounting it so that I was able to fill the central hole with epoxy on a second pass. Once the epoxy cured I drilled a 1/16" hole through the epoxy to simulate the hole between the delay charge and the ejection charge in the real motor. I applied double-sided outdoor carpet tape to the shoulder to secure it to the motor case once I had the ejection charge prepared.
I prepared a 1g charge of FFFF black powder by containing it in the tip of the thumb from a nitrile glove. I chose the thumb because I was able to obtain a large opening to pour the pre-measured powder into. Once the powder was in the tip the excess material was cut off. An Estes igniter was placed into the powder. One leg of the igniter was insulated with masking tape in advance of the insertion. Masking tape was used to gather the end of the glove tip together and tightly compact the powder. A drop of CA glue was applied to the opening to help insure it remained closed. The leads of the igniter were threaded through the 1/16" hole in the front of the simulated closure. The leads were restrained on the back of the closure by attaching them with double-sided tape after twisting them with the wires I'd be using to trigger the charge. More tape was placed over these weak unions to help insure they didn't separate. The wires had previously been threaded through the retainer ring, aft motor closure, and the motor case itself. At this stage the protective film was removed from the carpet tape and the simulated closure was stuck to the front of the motor case. Excess wire was drawn back through the motor and the rear closure attached. The assembly was then inserted into the rocket and the retainer ring installed. All that remained was to start the video camera recording, back off to a safe distance, and remotely trigger the charge with a 9-volt battery.
The photos and video show the results.
Video: 2010-10-22, "Flying Colors", Ejection Charge Ground Test
Video: 2010-10-22,"Flying Colors" Ejection Charge Ground Test (Slow Motion)
Photo Album: 2010-10-22,"Flying Colors" Ejection Charge Ground Test
The first challenge to performing this test was the fact that while I'd managed to obtain a spent rear closure for my CTI Pro-38 motor case, I didn't have a forward closure to properly simulate the burn-out condition of the motor. The forward closure in these motors is part of the reload kit. Looking around my garage for something to fabricate a closure from I saw the can I'd been using to mix epoxy in for fiberglassing the airframe and fins. Fiberglassing the fins had in particular resulted in quite a bit of unused epoxy. I cut the can off the epoxy and then used a hole saw to cut a blank from the cleaner portion of the material. I mounted the blank on my hand drill and used this arrangement as a lathe to turn the blank down to the final diameter I needed. I also turned a shoulder on the part to insert into the front of the motor case. The hole saw left too large a hole through the blank, so I epoxied a washer with a small hole on the forward end of my pseudo-closure. I placed tape on the back of the washer before mounting it so that I was able to fill the central hole with epoxy on a second pass. Once the epoxy cured I drilled a 1/16" hole through the epoxy to simulate the hole between the delay charge and the ejection charge in the real motor. I applied double-sided outdoor carpet tape to the shoulder to secure it to the motor case once I had the ejection charge prepared.
I prepared a 1g charge of FFFF black powder by containing it in the tip of the thumb from a nitrile glove. I chose the thumb because I was able to obtain a large opening to pour the pre-measured powder into. Once the powder was in the tip the excess material was cut off. An Estes igniter was placed into the powder. One leg of the igniter was insulated with masking tape in advance of the insertion. Masking tape was used to gather the end of the glove tip together and tightly compact the powder. A drop of CA glue was applied to the opening to help insure it remained closed. The leads of the igniter were threaded through the 1/16" hole in the front of the simulated closure. The leads were restrained on the back of the closure by attaching them with double-sided tape after twisting them with the wires I'd be using to trigger the charge. More tape was placed over these weak unions to help insure they didn't separate. The wires had previously been threaded through the retainer ring, aft motor closure, and the motor case itself. At this stage the protective film was removed from the carpet tape and the simulated closure was stuck to the front of the motor case. Excess wire was drawn back through the motor and the rear closure attached. The assembly was then inserted into the rocket and the retainer ring installed. All that remained was to start the video camera recording, back off to a safe distance, and remotely trigger the charge with a 9-volt battery.
The photos and video show the results.
Video: 2010-10-22, "Flying Colors", Ejection Charge Ground Test
Video: 2010-10-22,"Flying Colors" Ejection Charge Ground Test (Slow Motion)
Photo Album: 2010-10-22,"Flying Colors" Ejection Charge Ground Test
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