This was the first launch of this years flying season for me. I took the opportunity of nice weather to set up the Canopy Tent I bought last year. It was a pain to set up, but I wanted to see if everything was present, and to learn how to build it before I went to Nerrf. It was great to see my friend Paul Robinson from AMW there, and Joel Rogers was also visiting from Texas. Of course, the other Zoo Keeper Robert DeHate was there testing a new altimeter, one which I had already purchased for my Level Three project.
Throughout the day, I made a total of three launches. Two of these three launches, I did an experiment. I tried using smoke balls as smoke generators. The balls purchased from Skylighter produced an ok amount of smoke, and I could only see it when the rocket was moving slow enough for the smoke to be thick. It was a cool experiment.
First flight was my Aerotech Sumo with a G77 Reload. It took several tries, and 5 igniters to get the motor lit. When it finally got going, the Redline motor provided a nice boost. One smoke ball provided a nice smoke trail, which was violently interrupted when the jection charge was on the enerjetic side. This caused a separation, resulting in fin damage on the booster.
Second was my Ladyrobin with an AMW I325WW. The rocket's apogee charge fired shortly after takeoff and did some skywriting. Paul examined the motor for any signs of a blow-by while I got out my laptop to check my altimeter. After thinking that I may of wired the altimeter wrong, I found out that the G-Wiz was messed up. There was major damage to the Ladyrobin, and my brand spanking new electronics bay I made for it the night before was destroyed.
My final flight of the day was my LOC Magnum with an AMW J480BB. Paul Robinson assembled the motor for me, and jokingly got on my case because I handed him a tub of Vaceline for grease (I left the Silicone grease on my workbench). Paul also helped me load the rocket on the pad, and assisted with taking pictures of its flight. The J480 is my favorite load to use in the Magnum. It lights easy and does not waste time lofting my Magnum to about 2000 feet. I could hear Paul say “Gone!” just after the motor burned out.
The two smoke balls I put in the outboard tubes provided plenty of smoke to see the magnum at apogee, and right away I could see a problem. There was no apogee deployment. However, the main deployed. The high speed deployment damaged the chute, shredded the nomex sheet, broke the connector on the nose, and caused nasty zippers that took out the drogue and parachute tubes. Fortunately, since my Magnum is built in sections, pretty much all I need to do is replace the two damaged tubes.
| Pictures :) | |||
| Paul Robinson (left) and Robert DeHate (right) pose with me and my Ladyrobin rocket. |
| Paul Robinson examines the closure of the AMW 38/640 motor used to loft my Ladyrobin to see if there was a blow-by. |
| Installing the ingiter in my Magnum. |
| This awesome photo taken by Bill Spadafora shows my Magnum just after its high speed deployment. |
 Jim Flis Photo. | At the end of the launch, I have a lot of rockets to repair. |
 | Joel Rogers Miss Riley on an AMW J440 Blue Baboon motor. |
| Jack Canyon's Level 2 certification attempt with a J330. |
| Jim Dixon gets his Crayon rocket ready to go on my Super Pad. |
| Dave Lindbergh's Level 1 Certification flight. The Aerotech H97 Blackjack does a nice job lifting this red and white rocket. |
| The Red and White rocket is back with a White Lightning motor. |
| Select Videos from April 21st, 2007 |
| Joel Rogers Launches his Miss Riley on an AMW J440 BB. 2.58MB Download. |
| Third time's the charm in getting this G77R in my Sumo started. 2.68MB Download. |
| My Ladyrobin does some skywriting on an AMW I325WW. 2.61MB Download. |
| The J480 is my favorite motor to use in my Magnum at CMASS launches. 6.5MB Download. |
Photos by Jim Flis, Bill Spadafora, Douglas Gardei. Used with Permission.
Videos by Douglas Gardei
1.) Liftoff.
2.) Seperation.
3.) Booster pushes parachute bay out of the way.
4.) Arching over.
5.) Delay Smoke starts coming out of booster.
6.) Chasing its own tail.
7.) Completed a loop.
8.) Tries to do another loop.
9.) Runs out of fuel.