Launch Date: July10th, 2023

 This post is very much after-the-fact. I had family staying at our home with the associated whirlwind of activity.  At the same time, I had a music gig with a newly formed band for which I only had three weeks of prep and rehearsal time.

So, very little time has been spent at the computer.  Better late than never, I guess.

A hastily planned launch at Founders Park was put together for the benefit of my five-year-old grandson who was visiting for the week.

Mike Perreault, our neighbor from across the street, also was invited to participate.

Arriving at the park at 10 a.m., we found one corner of the field occupied by youth soccer practice, but we had plenty of open space for our operation.

A sustained 5mph wind was blowing out of the west, more than what had showed up on the local weather models. Also it was blowing across the shorter dimension of the field, limiting downrange recovery area.

The first models off the pad consisted of a simultaneous launch of Mike's newly-built High Flier and my EAC Viper. 

Both birds flew very well and were recovered successfully.

This is a pic of my young grand-kiddo after running out on recovery and bringing in the Viper.  

It turns out that he pushed the launch button for one of Mike's birds and all of my own flights. He was also a very enthusiastic one-kid recovery crew.

Mike Perreault's Flights....

Mike kindly sent a written synopsis of all his flights, so rather than duplicate his efforts, I took the liberty to cut and paste them here.  Take it away, Mike...

"So … last week we got out to put some rockets into the air.   For me, it was my 3rd time flying, and a time to try a few things and learn a bit more.

I brought 3 rockets back for their third go round; Purple Haze, Patriot M-104 and the Bull Pup 12D.   I also had two new rockets making their debut, a Mini Honest John and the Hi-Flier.

Every time we fly, I take away a lot of knowledge, from what worked and what didn’t, and from the wealth of knowledge that the other flyers freely share.

This trip I was experimenting with spill holes in the recovery chutes.   I am using the standard Estes chutes, in 12” and one 15”.  I cut spill holes in a couple of the 12” and the 15”, each about the size of the center logo.   Was looking to see the impact on decent rate and the oscillation of the rocket in decent.

The wind was blowing a little more than the forecast lead us to believe, so we were going to try and fly low.

My first shot was the Bull Pup.  I tried it on an A8-3.  I know this was not a recommended engine, but we all agreed it was worth a try.  

 The Bull Pup ripped towards the sky from the launch site, gracefully arched over at, roughly 50’, and belly flopped in the grass.   After a moment, it successfully deployed its recovery chute.    A safe landing … and a motor combo that we will not repeat.   

I repacked it (same wadding ), popped in a B4-4 and sent it towards the clouds.   A perfect deploy and great landing, involving a very short walk.   This one had a chute with a spill hole, and I really did not see much difference in the return.   It was hard to gauge the effect on oscillation, as the breeze was a bit stiffer than the previous days of flying.

Next I flew Purple Haze, on a B4-4.   A perfect deploy and recovery. 

Next up in the queue was the Mini Honest John.  This would be the maiden flight.  This rocket is also the first that I finished airbrushing with the Createx Acrylic Paint.   I loaded this with an A10-3T and sent it skyward.   A perfect flight, with a perfect recovery.

Next up was the Hi-Flier, on a B4-4.   This would be my first flight with a streamer recovery.   It flew straight and deployed perfectly, landing about 50 feet from the pad.   I did notice that the streamer (fastened with packing tape) had slid on the shock cord (120 Kevlar), so a place to develop a better attachment method.   Stay tuned, as there is another streamer recovery rocket, under development, on the bench.

Last to the pad was my Patriot missile.   Have to say, my favorite.  Loaded it up with a B4-4 and sent it flying.  A great flight, with a perfect recovery.

Before we wrapped up, I promised Ed’s grand-son (our recovery team technician) a chance to launch one from my pad.   We picked the Mini Honest John.  Oliver called a perfect launch, and sent it high into the sky.   At apogee, I heard the pop of the ejection, and watched it lawn dart into the soft turf.   My first lawn dart.   And happy the turf was soft.

Not wanting to end on that note, I repacked the chute, stuffed another A10-3T into the engine bay and sent it off for a perfect flight and recovery.   A great end to the day.

So … will learn more about the spill hole impact on the next outing.  Should also have at least one new rocket, sporting some Candy Lemon paint ready to fly.  May be adapting it down from 24mm to 18mm to fit the field. 

Cheers"

Ed's Flights...

My second launch of the day went to an Astron Alpha on a B6-4.  Perfect boost, but the motor choice was a little too much for the wind conditions.  The model drifted out of the park and led to a merry chase and recovery.  More on that in a future post.

The next bird to leave my launch pad was an ESAM-58.  This time there would be no long recovery journey - the big model flew on a B6-4 - low and slow.  Perfect flight.

My final flight for the day was the Griffin-2, a custom designed bird.  This one also turned in a perfect flight on a B6-4 motor.

I had also brought along a Crossfire ISX to fly, but I only had B and C motors left in the range box.  Not wanting to go on another chase to the next county, I opted out on that one.

With this done, we packed up and left the field to the soccer folks...