Launch Date: July 28, 2021

 Today's early morning journey to Douglas County High School was for the sole purpose of trying out the Estes Quark on a 1/2A-2T motor.  The maiden flight two days ago on a 1/4A wasn't as successful as I would have liked, so today I am upping the power and decreasing the delay time.

The first flight ignited and boosted perfectly to maybe 200 feet. The model turned over and was headed downward when the ejection charge went off, visibly accelerating the bird.  It was high enough that the streamers slowed it down enough to land fairly gently close by the launch area.

I got the entire flight on video. Here are some stills:

Hey, that was so much fun, I figured I'd try it again, seeing as how I happen to have a second 1/2A motor all prepped and ready to go.

 A repeat performance ! Perfect flight.  

Seeing how closely the model lands to the launch pad, I'm confident enough to try the Quark on an A3 motor on my next outing.

As I was packing up, I noticed the phenomenon of fog lingering in the moist grass beneath the launcher, even several minutes after the flight.

Stay tuned...

Launch Date: July 26, 2021

 This morning's weather conditions were near perfect for yet another short rocket launch session at Douglas County High School.  Temperature was hanging around 60 degrees with minimal wind.

Even though there is still some atmospheric haze from all of the western wildfire smoke, it's not as bad this morning.  I can live with it for half an hour.

The first model off the pad was the Estes Super Shot flying on A8-3 power. 

It flew very straight to a low altitude, perhaps 200 feet.  

At ejection, there was no parachute, and the model plummeted to land within five feet of where I was standing.  No damage, though, because of the sturdy plastic construction.  I noted that the nose had ejected, but the parachute was hung up right at the end of the body tube.

Next up was the maiden launch of fleet #122, an Estes Quark. This model is not much larger than the Estes Mosquito, though it does have a longer, pointed nose.

I took the advice of some folks on The Rocketry Forum, and taped a 1/2"× 6" plastic streamer onto each of the model's fins.  This was to serve a four-fold purpose:  (1) limit the total altitude, (2) render the model easier to track throughout its flight, (3)  slow down the model's descent, and  (4) make it easier to locate on the ground.  The streamers are attached with strips of Kapton tape which is very light, thin, and strong.  No worries about separation at boost.

The streamers fulfilled all of these functions!  Boosted by a 1/4A-3T motor, the model leapt off the pad, streamers fluttering, and hit an altitude of maybe a little over a hundred feet.  It arced over and was headed down, with the ejection charge popping maybe 20 feet above the turf.  

It still stuck the landing, but it definitely was easy to find.

After this short and highly amusing flight, I determined that the streamer-laden Quark would fly much better with a 1/2A-2T motor.

And it shall....

Gosh...I Didn't Know They Cared !!

 I recently noticed this side entrance door to my favorite local Bar-B-Que restaurant:

Nice to know that they are thinking about us old model rocket guys!

Launch Date: July 12th, 2021 - Another Rocket Lost...Almost!

 This early morning launch session was given over to only one flight -the Canopus-2.  This model is a re-build of one of my old fleet custom designs.  The plans were submitted and published in a 1987 (?) issue of American Spacemodeling Magazine.  It is a three-motor cluster bird with a core 18mm and two 13mm outboard pods.

This flight was made with only the single motor.

The model boosted very nicely on a B6-4 motor, arced over and popped the parachute.

The descending model was very difficult to see against the prevailing light hazy sky.  We had a great deal of smoke blowing in from wildfires in California, Oregon, and western Colorado.  

I followed the model for a few seconds, then made a very big mistake...

I glanced down for just a second to pull the key from my launch controller.  When I looked back up, I couldn't relocate the bird against the very bright sky.  I never got a fix on its landing direction.  

Since the model had arced over to the east, it landed outside of the park perimeter - into an area full of tall weeds.  Oh, Joy!

I only had another fifteen minutes of time left, so that was spent  traipsing through the weeds looking for the downed bird.

No luck.

This would be my second consecutive lost model.  I really lamented losing this one, as it is one of my fleet favorites, and I haven't even flown it in cluster configuration yet.

Update: July 13, 2021:

Fast forward to this morning.

I had a chance to get back to the flying field and continue the search for the Canopus-2.  Luckily, it didn't rain in Castle Rock last night.

After searching for only ten minutes, I finally spotted the bird lying at the bottom of a dry drainage wash.

As seen in the photo, the model just barely missed striking one of two large rocks, and landed instead in soft sand.  Lucked out there.

So now, the Canopus-2 is safely back home in the model cabinet, none the worse for wear, ready to fly again!

Cheers.

Back In The Day, Part 46 - A Trail Of Mosquitos.

 Having just recently lost a Mosquito to the model rocket gods, I thought it would be a good time to expound on my history of these little 'boyds'.

This latest Mosquito was the fourth in my model rocketry journey.

The first three were built and flown back in the old fleet days.

A Mosquito was one of the earliest of my builds, being assembled and flown in the summer of 1973.  I didn't ever take a photo of it, but I do have a full sized sketch showing its color scheme.

The little model did what most Mosquitos do on their maiden flight - Whoosh and disappear. 

I did get this one back, however, but not until the following day.  The little blue and green model had landed in the middle of a dirt bike trail adjacent to the flying field.

And it was crushed beyond recognition by...a dirt bike, of course! No parts salvageable.

The second Mosquito, fleet number 50, was built in 1975.  It flew once with the typical result - lost in the weeds. Again, no pictures of this one. I don't even recall how it was painted.

The third Mosquito was built in 1977 and was designated as fleet number 65.  It also flew one time, but was successfully recovered.  The model was eventually sold with the rest of the fleet when I exited the hobby in 1985. Here's a pic:

So that brings me back to today. Do I really want to build another Mosquito?

Probably not.

But, I do have this in my stash of spare nose cones:

...as well as some extra BT-5 tubing...

Cheers!

Return To The Scene Of The Crime !

 This morning, I stopped by the Douglas County High School field to see if I could find the lost Mosquito from yesterday's flight.

For half an hour, I conducted a thorough and methodical scan of the field where I knew the model had landed, even extending the search perimeter a bit wider.

Still no luck.

Even had the model been found, I noted that the park's sprinkler system had been on earlier in the morning.  The Mosquito was likely pretty well water-soaked at this point.  

Leaving the field empty-handed, I had to concede that BlastFromThePast Fleet #105 was now in the process of being integrated into the local ecology....

Launch Date: July 7th, 2021 - Mosquito Flying Day!

 Today's trip to The flying field was designated as 'small-bird' day.  Small meaning Estes Mosquito. 

I had recently purchased a few packages of 1/4A motors, so it's a good time to continue pursuing my quest for getting a record number of recovered flights on a single Mosquito.

The first launch of the bird was perfect - the model boosted straight up into the clear blue sky.  Shortly after ejection, I saw a brief glint of sunlight off of the model as it fell, so I was able to find it immediately.

Minutes later, the model was on the pad for another launch.  The beautiful thing about Mosquitos is their prep time - just insert a new motor and go.  No wadding to tamp in, no parachute to powder and fold, no shock cord to stuff in, and no monkeying with the nose cone.

Again, another perfect, straight-up boost.  For the second time, I caught the flash of sunlight on the silver Monokote band as the bird fell.

This time however, I could not find where it landed.  I spent the remaining 20 minutes of my launch session searching in vain for the downed model.  I surmise that it may have lawn darted into one of the areas of taller grass, with not enough of the bright fins sticking up to be easily detected.

This was flight number 13 on the model.  I am by no means a superstitious man, but 13??? 

So, I will have to be content with getting twelve successful launch/recovery cycles out of this bird.  Not too bad, really.

Here is a picture of the Mosquito prior to its ill-fated flight:

Back In The Day, Part 45 - A 1982 Demonstration Launch

 I found yet another photo print in my archives of the old days of ROMAR.

This was taken on October 23rd, 1982 at the United States Air Force Academy.

The club participated in a model hobby demo event sponsored by the Academy and the International Plastic Modeling Society.

We were given a 45 minute demonstration window, where we managed to launch around 20 rockets.

This photo shows a rack of models ready to go. The gentleman in the red shirt kneeling to prep a model is Dr. Warren Layfield, of ROMAR. I'm not sure of the identification of the other two rocketeers in the scene. 

Other featured demos were conducted by an RC airplane club and an RC car group. The local plastic model club also had a large display booth.

Another highlight of the afternoon was a demonstration jump by a precision parachute/skydiving team.

The event was well publicized and attended by significant crowds of onlookers.

Launch Date: June 29th, 2021 - BARs at Dove Valley

 Excellent weather prevailed as a small group of Colorado rocketeers converged on Dove Valley park in Centennial for another of our vaunted launch sessions.  Jim Gazur and Roy Houchin joined me at around ten a.m. to find we had the large, well-manicured grass field to ourselves.  A light south-west breeze and temperature in the low 70s was the order of the day.

I started things off with a launch of the EAC Viper clone on A10 power.  The flight was good, but suffered yet another 'parawad', resulting in one fin breaking loose on the hard landing.

Roy soon had his first model of the day on the pad - a Moondog upscale three-stager flying on a C6-0, B6-0, A8-5 motor combination.  The model turned in a great performance, returning on a large streamer. First odd recovery of the day - the nose section stuck in the turf with the booster section beside it - a pseudo lawn dart! All parts were returned undamaged.

Today, I brought out my Orbital Transport for its maiden flight.  The bird flew very straight on a B6-4 motor.  The orbiter detached at ejection for a well-trimmed glide, while the booster came down safely on its 12" parachute. All was recovered intact. A textbook OT flight!

Around this time, Roy brought out an interesting model:

This is a Quest Planet Probe - scaled up and powered by an E16 -0 motor! The bird roared off the pad for an impressive straight-up boost and successful recovery!

My third flight of the day went to the newly-built Cherokee-E.  Not wanting to fly this bird on E power in this relatively small field, I chose to go with a D12-5 instead. Good call...

The model boosted much higher than expected, popped its 14" parachute, and began a very slow descent. With the presence of some slight wind and thermal activity aloft, I knew this one was going to be a chase. 

A quarter mile trek and a journey through waist-high weeds later, I found the Cherokee.

Unusual recovery case #2:

The model had landed on a stream! Not in- but on.  The waterway was about 2- 1/2 feet wide and flowing about a foot deep. The Cherokee's shock cord spanned the stream with the parachute and nose on one bank and the booster rocket on the other.  One fin was in the water. If the parachute had drifted another six inches, the rocket would have been submerged and likely ruined.

Phew! That was way too close.

I returned back to the launch area in time to see this model launched by Roy:

This is a Modified (i.e. "Frankenstein") Estes Flip Flier.  This one boosted on a C6-3 motor, weather-cocked, arced over, and pranged on the grass berm just south of the launch area.  Roy went on recovery and came back - beaming - holding the intact model.  No damage whatsoever!  Unusual recovery case #3!

So, what has Jim Gazur been doing this whole time?

Here's a hint....

This Estes 1/45 scale Little Joe II is equipped with a 7 motor cluster.  

Yep - 7.  A core C11-3 surrounded by six A10-0T motors populating the scale nozzles. To compensate for the additional weight in the tail, Jim had installed a tungsten nose weight.  The cluster was ignited using vintage Quest Q2G2s.

With all motors burning, the model lifted off very quickly (and majestically!). Flying straight up, the Little Joe exhibited a visible 'kick in the pants' when the six A10s burned out and exited.  

The model continued to altitude where the parachute blossomed out and brought it safely down to Terra Firma.

This was by far the most beautiful flight of the day. Kudos to Mr. Gazur for successfully pulling this one off!

Next up, I prepped my little custom boost/glider, the Mini-Maggot 3, for flight on a 1/2A motor.  I figured it would be fine to fly this small, low-powered bird on this big field.

Wrong!

I failed to remember the breeze and thermals that caused the Cherokee-E to sail away just a half hour earlier.  I also failed to recall my habit of losing gliders to Dove Valley...

Nevertheless, the MM3 flew, boosting straight up and separating perfectly.  The glider immediately settled into its signature tight-turned pattern...and caught a thermal!

Another chase was on as the bird headed north.

After reaching the top of the grass berm at the north end of the field, I spotted the downed glider - smack-dab in the middle of a six lane thoroughfare!

Unusual recovery case #4...

The glider had landed right on one of the lane lines, and to my horror I had to watch helplessly as half a dozen automobiles bore down on it.

The vehicles raced by on either side, just inches from the little glider. For some odd reason I was reminded of the old 'Frogger' video game.  

After the cars had passed, I had time to step out into the road, photograph the glider, and facilitate its rescue.  

I returned to the launch area in time to watch Roy's final flight of the day, an Estes Skywinder. Flying on C6-3 power, the model turned in a great flight.

My last flight of the day went to the Mark II Rock-A-Chute clone, again launched from a 5/16 wood dowel launcher.  The model flew nicely on A10 power.  I had decided to stick with a bird that wouldn't go too far this time.  The Mark II 'para-wadded', landing in the soft sand of a nearby volleyball court with no damage.

Jim Gazur launched the last rocket of the session, his Avionics Test Bed model, flying on a Quest Q-jet D20-4W.  

Topping out at a little over 200 feet, the model's dual deploy system worked perfectly. Jim wanted a low-altitude flight so he could get a better visual of the  recovery deployment system. The rocket also carried an Estes Astrocam video unit to get an on-board look at the process.

Unusual recovery case #5:

Jim's model wafted down on its parachute only to drape itself over one of the nearby volleyball nets! It took him several minutes to extract the bird from the clutches of the obstacle.

With that done, we packed up the gear and exited the field, vowing to meet here again in the near future.