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| My Aerotech Mustang thrusting into the sky with an E23T. |
My first flight of the day was my Aerotech Mustang. I used an aged E23-5T. The delay grain was very old and yellowed. Even with trimming the delay for hopes of a more normal delay time, the Mustang hit the deck long before the ejection charge went off. The Mustang was destroyed.
During the seasonal break, I painted my new Aerotech Sumo with the classic Yellow and Red paint scheme. I decided to fly it with another aged Blue Thunder reload. I replaced the delay with a newer RMS+ delay since I did not want my Sumo to have the same fate that my Mustang. It was a perfect fast flight with the H238’s characteristic violet flame trailing behind the rocket.
One of the big projects I did during the winter break was build an upscale version of the FlisKits Stingray. The project was a 318% upscale based off a LOC 3” body tube and 4” nosecone. The wings were made from 1/4” plywood, and the skirt was made from cardstock and coated with a layer of fiberglass. Its first flight was with an Aerotech G75-6J. After a very nice boost with a nice slow roll, things got tense because we all know how reliable Aerotech delays are. Fortunately, ejection finally occurred a few meters above the ground. One of the wing tabs broke off, but that’s what is designed to do.
The other big project I brought itching to get it off the ground was my LOC Phoenix. This is a bare bone kit offered by LOC is a stretched Phoenix based on LOC’s 5.5” airframe tubing, and features a 75mm motor mount. I decided to put it up on its first flight with an Animal Motor Works J357 White Wolf motor. After an initial chuff, which is common with this motor, the Phoenix rose off the pad with a pillar of white smoke and fire. Both apogee and main charges did their job but things got interesting when the chute did not come out of the deployment bag. The chute managed to free itself in time and fully deployed when the booster was only 15 ft from the ground.
I decided to fly my PML Bull Puppy with an Aerotech G79-7W LMS. This motor has a tendency to be difficult to light. It look a couple Magnelite igniters to get it going, but once the motor lit, the Bull Puppy had a beautiful flight to a couple thousand feet. I watched it all the way to where it touched down, but by the time I walked there I could not find it. I have a feeling it may of landed in the woods. Such a shame. That Bull Puppy was one of my favorite rockets.
The final flight I did for the day was with my LOC Hotel Express with an Aerotech G67-6R. The chunk of Blue Thunder propellant wedged between the igniter and the propellant did its job when the redline motor instantly ignited and gave my Hotel Express an awesome flight.
There was one cool flight that I remember which I deem to be worth mentioning. Boris Katan flew his upscale FlisKits US TOG that just kept growing in scale and complexity all winter. He flew the 7 lb 7 ft tall “TOGinator” with 26 Estes D11-P motors. All the motors and ejection charges were fired by prototype MFs from Rocketflite. The flight was awesome with lots of smoke and fury, however the rocket was damaged when there was deployment issues. Borris’s also flew his Ultimate FireBall which flew on four F40W plus three G77R. All engines and ejection charges will be fired by prototype MFs. From what I remember, I don’t think he got all motors to fire. One of the igniters split instead of burned. Other than that, it was a great flight.
| Pictures :) | |||
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I stand next to my LOC Phoenix which is ready to launch on its maiden flight. |
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After the initial chuff, the AMW J357 White Wolf motor comes to life and the Phoenix roars off the launch pad. |
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The J357 White Wolf motor continues to push my LOC Phoenix skyward. |
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The back view of my Phoenix after it landed. |
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People admire my Phoenix as it rests on the ground after a beautiful flight. |
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I believe this rocket launched with an Aerotech J350 motor. I could be wrong. |
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Liftoff of my Aerotech Mustang with an Aerotech E23-5(99)T reload. |
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My "Hotel Express" takes off with an RMS 38/120 loaded with a G67 Redline load. |
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My Upscale Stingray takes off with an Aerotech G75-6J Blackjack motor. |
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I love how well the Stingray flies with a nice thick black smoke trail behind it. |
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My newly painted Aerotech Sumo takes off with an Aerotech H238 Blue Thunder motor. |
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I love the blue "Pig Tail" flame of the H238 motor. |
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Liftoff of my PML Bull Puppy powered by an Aerotech G79-7W LMS motor. |
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Beautiful shot of my Bull Puppy climbing into the sky with the awesome white fireball and smoke trail underneath it. |
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Robert DeHates 4" rocket takes off with an AMW I271 Blue Baboon motor. |
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The I271 Blue Baboon is one of my favorite loads for the AMW 39/390 classic hardware. |
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Borris's Togniator lifts off with 26 Estes D11-P motors. |
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The TOGinator contunues its climb with the trust of over two dozen black powder motors. |
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An upscale of a classic powered by two Estes D12's (or D13's) flight gets cut short when the motors cato. |
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A nice stretched Onyx takes off with a G64 White Lightning motor. |
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A beautifully finished Sirius S.S. Cestris Interplanetary Transport Vehicle. | ||
| Select Videos :) | |||
| My Upscale Stingray takes off on its first flight with an Aerotech G75-6J. Boris looses the rocket as it comes down, but you can tell how close to the ground it was when the parachute finally was deployed. | |||
| My LOC Phoenix lifts off on its first mission with an AMW J357 White Wolf motor. This motor likes to chuff before igniting, but once it gets going, it is so beautiful. Also with this flight, the parachute did not deploy till the last possible moment. This is another video from Boris | |||