Launch Date: June 25th, 2021

 Yet another morning of perfect flying weather prevailed in Castle Rock, Colorado.  The temperature stood at 58 degrees and average wind speed at 2.5 mph.  Plenty of clear blue sky and sunshine as well.  The only possible worry was the presence of operating sprinklers downrange on the launch field. I made sure to angle the launch rod a couple degrees in the other direction to minimize the chances of getting a model or two soaked.

Today, I went with a couple of simple birds that reside in the collection, but haven't seen a flight within the last couple of years.

The first model off the pad was the Bandit-3 from the Estes 3-pack. This model was built back in 2018 as a group project with my two oldest grand-kiddoes.  They have long since lost interest in model rocketry, but I'm still plugging along!

The Bandit flew nicely on a 1/2A3-4T motor, reaching a good altitude, ejecting its streamer, and landing nearby.  Nice thing about these beginners birds - they are actually well-engineered and usually perform very well. They are a great example of the ''Elegant Simplicity" concept in design!

Today, I made sure I photographed the models with the stone-topped butte in the background that gives the town of Castle Rock its name.

Next up was another simple bird - the Estes Viking.  After having flown this once before and having a fiber fin get mangled, I replaced all fins with basswood versions.  Hopefully I can get a lot of flights logged on this model

Today, it performed very well on A8-3 power and was recovered undamaged.

Thus ended another great flight session!

Other Stuff...

 For the past couple of weeks, the BlastFromThePast blog has been focused on the numerous launch sessions being conducted recently.

Today is different. Today is not the same.

This morning it is raining outside - the result of a cold front that moved into the Colorado front range overnight.  

So, no rocket launches this morning.  But I'm not complaining - this is much needed moisture that the lawn and gardens are loving about now.

So, instead, today's post is all about other goings-on in the BFTP shop.

Most of my rocketry time has been spent in prepping models for flight, and putting together the blog posts about their subsequent flights.

Little building has taken place lately, but here is the rundown:

I finally got the fin repaired on the Skeeter Eeter.  The gluing and gap filling is completed and I am only waiting on getting outside for primer and paint application.  Oops...just noticed that there is a ding on the leading edge of another fin....

Work is in progress on an Estes Interceptor.  All the fins are glued on and ready for CWF.  The fin pods and antennae are just dry fitted right now.  These parts will be finished and painted separately prior to attaching them to the model.  Even 'nekkid', this is still a really cool model rocket design.

Work is still in progress on the Protostar.  I'm at the fine detailing stage, i.e. modeling all the little Victorian-style 'steam-punkery' embellishments.  No pictures yet on this one.  I'm waiting to get the build finished, after which I will be bombarding this blog with the remainder of the long- running build 'thread'.

On another note, Father's Day was good for me. My kiddoes pitched in and bought me this interesting device:

This garden wagon is my new transport tote for getting rockets and launch gear between the parking lot and launch area at the regional and local parks in which I fly.  This was inspired by friend and fellow rocketeer Jim Gazur, who began using such a device a couple of years ago.

My wife attended one of our launches back in early 2020 and saw Jim using his transport vehicle, and noticed how much I was struggling with juggling and carrying my range boxes, model tote, and launchers onto the field, sometimes having to make two trips.  She floated the idea for this wagon to my daughters, and here it is!  I'm looking forward to using it.

Lastly, I looked through my rocket motor inventory and noticed how alarmingly depleted it had become.  So I sat down the other night and put in an order to AC Supply.  I was sorely tempted to pick up a couple of the newest Estes kit offerings, but I refrained.  I have over a dozen kits already in my build box, and at the rate I build rockets, I'm good for at least a couple of years with what I already have.

I shouldn't say that I totally refrained:  Part of the order was for some body tubes and nose cone assortment packs.  I've got a lot of custom builds, glider models, payload bays, booster stages, and old fleet clones on the build agenda that will require more parts than what I have in stock.

So, anyway, there is the run-down of what's happening in my little corner of the model rocketry world. 

I'm looking at the weather forecast for tomorrow morning.  Looks like I'd better get down to the shop and start preppin'. 

Cheers!

Launch Date: June 23rd, 2021

 Yet another morning of absolutely perfect flying weather prevailed as I turned my steps to Douglas County High School for a short launch session.

This time, I only had one model prepped for the outing:  the Astron Alpha.  For this flight the bird was equipped with my specially built payload section designed to carry both an Estes altimeter and the Flight Sketch Mini, for comparison purposes.

The model flew beautifully on a B6-4 motor, successfully deployed its parachute, and landed gently a mere 30 feet from the launch pad. 

Here are some images of the flight data provided by the FlightSketch:

The altitude recorded by the Estes altimeter read 487 feet, only a 5.9 foot difference from the Mini's reading.  A good sign...

More of these types of flights will take place in the future to ascertain consistency.

I am really enjoying these early morning summer launch sessions.  The weather is usually ideal.

It is my plan to get as many such flights in as possible before I start seeing the fire danger burn bans put in place by the local authorities.

Cheers!

Launch Date: June 22nd, 2021

 Today, I ventured out for yet another of my early morning rocket launch sessions at Douglas County High School.  Again I enjoyed nearly perfect flying weather featuring warm, calm , and clear conditions.

The two birds chosen for this outing hark back to the old days of model rocketry.  In fact, both designs are ones that G. Harry Stine himself had been involved with.  It's been at least two years since I've flown either one of these models, so I figured it was a good time to get some air under them.

First off the pad was my replica of the MPC Super Star.  Back in the day, it was one of the models in the company's 'Mini-Roc'" line, designed for use with the newly introduced MPC 13mm motors.

Today, the Super Star flew on an Estes 1/2A-4T motor.  It lifted off beautifully, flew straight and true to a fairly impressive altitude, deployed its streamer, and landed safely.  A picture-perfect flight.

I haven't yet dared to fly this model on an A motor - it goes plenty high enough for my poor eyes to track on a 1/2A.  I can only imagine how high this model would have gone on one of MPC's old 13mm B motors!

Next up was my scratch-built replica of the Mark II Rock-A-Chute.  Flown from the old school wood-dowel launcher and an A10-3T motor, the model turned in yet another solid flight.  Recovery was perfect on its red 12" square parachute.

I really enjoy these vintage rocket designs.  They truly are a kick to fly!

Launch Date: June 14, 2021

 Today, I once again made the short hop to Douglas County High School for another of my 7 a.m. 'shoe box' rocket launch sessions. This is my third such event over a span of four days.

This morning's weather was absolutely ideal - 75 degrees and virtually no wind.

Today, I left the EAC Viper flagship at home in favor of putting up another keychain video camera flight as well as another of my earlier models that hasn't been flown in awhile.

The carrier rocket for the camera was the Quest Big Rage.  This model seems to have become the workhorse for handling all of these video flights.

Powered by a B6-4 motor the model boosted very nicely to an estimated 300-350 foot altitude.  At ejection the parachute deployed fully and brought the model in to land about twenty feet from the launch pad. 

The second flight of the session went to the diminutive Star Seeker.  This was one of the three rockets in the long ago Estes Mini-Tri-Pac kit.  I built it a few years ago because I just like the design.

Flying on a 1/2A3-4T motor, the Seeker boosted surprisingly high.  Once again, I was elated to see its little 6 inch parachute deploy and bring it in for a safe landing, again quite close to the launch pad. I resorted to using a parachute because the model's previous flights relied on either break-apart or streamer recovery, and always ended up with one or both of the fragile fin assemblies breaking off.  This time the model landed intact.

After I got home, I connected the keychain cam to the ol' PC to check out the flight video.  It recorded successfully, but the video was quite unremarkable.  Apparently, the ejection charge went off just before apogee, so the model didn't arc over and get any images of the horizon, or any interesting features surrounding the flying field.  The entire video consisted of aerial shots of the launch field grass. 

Here is one still frame showing the cement pad from which the model was launched:

I intend to improve this on future vid-cam flights by cobbling together a rigging system that will hold the camera at an angle under the parachute.  Lots to learn....

Launch Date: June 13th, 2021

 Today, I took advantage of some warm, windless weather conditions to slip out and fly a couple of model rockets at the Douglas County High School practice field.  My wife accompanied me on this venture, enjoying the benefit of setting up her lawn chair in the shade of a small tree right next to the launch pad. 

The first model on the launcher was the EAC Viper.  

After an initial launch failure - the igniter wires were crossed - the bird turned in a very nice flight on an A10-3T motor.  

At ejection, the parachute stuck together, but finally caught air and deployed fully when the model had fallen to about fifty feet above the turf.  The model landed twenty feet away from the launch pad and was recovered intact. 

Next up was the Griffin-2 custom rocket.  For this flight the model was equipped with a payload bay designed to carry dual altimeters for comparison test purposes:  the Estes version and a FlightSketch Mini.

The model launched nice and straight on a B6-4 motor.  Again, the model experienced a para-wad.  I seem to be plagued with these things recently, even though great care is taken in powdering and packing the devices. 

Despite this, the model landed nearby without sustaining any airframe damage. 

The Estes altimeter returned a reading of 396 feet, while the FlightSketch recorded 362.5 feet. That's a difference of 34 feet. There still may be issues with the Estes unit involving introducing a small amount of air pressure during the process of loading the device into the payload bay. 

This problem doesn't occur with the FlightSketch, because the device is armed remotely after the unit has already been packed into the payload bay.  More such tests are planned for the near future.

Anyway, I was delighted to obtain a good data download from the Mini.  

And, I was equally delighted to get another short flying session accomplished!

Launch Date: June 11, 2021

 Over the past few weeks in Castle Rock, there has been a considerable amount of constant windy conditions present on a daily basis.  I began observing that, on most days, it is fairly calm in the early morning hours. 

 I am now back in the habit of working out at the local recreation center early every weekday morning, and since the facility is right next door to the High School practice field from which I often like to launch rockets, I have made the determination to pack a couple of models along and stop by the field after my morning workouts for a mini-launch whenever the conditions are favorable.

 Today was such a session.  Winds were variable between 2 to 7 mph, temperature was around 55 degrees, and conditions were quite clear.

 The first bird to leave the pad was the EAC Viper flagship, flying on A10-3T power.  The model boosted nicely to around 200 feet, but the parachute failed to deploy fully, despite being well-powdered. The model sustained no damage and was recovered intact. 

The second flight of the session was made with the newly-built Quest Nike-K for its maiden launch.  Flying on a B6-4 motor, the model turned in a good performance.  Ejection occurred after the model had reached apogee and was headed downward.  Its next launch might benefit from a motor with a shorter delay.

The Nike’s parachute deployed nicely, and the model landed safely well within the bounds of the field.

 All in all, this short ‘shoe box’ launch session was very satisfying. I plan to be doing many more of these in the near future. It’s a great way to catch up on logging some flights on several models that were missed during the 2020 pandemic year.

Cheers!

Back In The Day, Part 44 - Another Newsletter - "The Rocket Mountain News"

 This is a small newsletter I began publishing shortly after I was appointed as NAR Mountain States Region Manager.

The newsletter was intended to be sent to all NAR members residing in those states as sort of a regular update of what was happening in the region.

This premier issue is the only one I recall printing up and distributing....

One item of note here is the small blurb about veteran  rocketeer Gary Price receiving the appointment of Utah's State Department Head.

Later on, Steve Sande of Denver was appointed Colorado's SDH.

Another item is the short article about the HOTROC-1 Open meet.  I erroneously typed ROMAR's section number as 103.  Should'a been Section 331 !