Also first launch on new field located at corner of Madison Pike and Discovery Drive
Having gone over 2 months without launching a rocket, I managed to persuade Rob to launch his
newly-completed sport scale CLVCEV, which naturally meant I would get to put up a few birds of my own.
Accompanied by his daughter, we arrived at the field and set up a Porta-pad and an Estes Porta-pad E.
Wind was out of the west and the temp was in the mid-80's.
First up was the "Old Reliable" - Rob's Sputnik Too - on a C6-5. It put in a nice flight, but suffered the
misfortune of splashing down into a large pond located in the field to the west of our launch area. Not a
good way to begin. However, you can bet Rob will have another one built in no time.
My 1969-style Big Bertha was next up on a B6-4.
Beautiful flight and safe landing on the grass.
The Bertha was followed by my Quest UFO,
using a C6-0 on its maiden voyage. It reached
an altitude of about 100', and bounced
around a bit upon landing in the gravel.
The 4th flight of the day was that of Rob's new
pride and joy - his sport-scale CLV/CEV.
Here's the beauty shot on the pad.
Ignition and liftoff of the CLV/CEV, using an A8-5
motor. Click here to download a Quicktime movie.
Personal Launch - September 17, 2005: Rob's CLV/CEV takes flight
Bill Cooke's Virtual Space
The CLV/CEV descends on a 12" Semroc chute.
Unfortunately, one fin broke off upon landing in
the gravel near the pads.
Flight number 5 was the 1st one for my Estes
Rubicon. Here it is on the pad, loaded with a
D12-5.
Ignition and liftoff of the Rubicon... It was a nice
straight flight, with a good parachute deploy. It
too lost a fin when it landed in the gravel - Easily
repaired.
Next up was my Estes Oracle, also on a
D12-5. Here she is on the pad before launch.
I downloaded the Oracle's video into my laptop
after I got home. Here is a frame showing liftoff;
mouse over gives a unique perspective at
parachute ejection.
Flight number 7 was the maiden voyage of my
Centuri Thunder Bird clone. It Ieapt off the pad
on a B6-4 so fast that even my digital camera's
burst mode caught just smoke.
The last flight of the day was the first flight of
my EAC Viper clone on an A3-4T motor. Here
she is on the pad.
Liftoff of the Viper... Should have used a
parachute, as the streamer brought it down on
the gravel, where it lost a fin. Again, an easy fix.
Collage of frames from the Oracle video, which can be downloaded (1.5 mbytes, wmv format)
by clicking here.
