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.