BAR Fleet #142 - Mountaineer IV

Source: Scratch-built, Modified Omega

 Estes Industries # K-52 / 1252

Designed by Mike Dorffler

Type: Sport / Payload

Stages: Two

Engine Type: 24mm both stages

Recovery:  Parachute / Tumble

Booster Length:  12.8cm (5.0 in.)

Sustainer Length: 35.5cm (14.0 in.)

Payload/Nose Length: 30cm (11.8 in.)

Total Length:  78.3cm (30.8 in.)

Diameter:  42mm (1.64 in.)

Booster Weight:  41.6g (1.47 oz.)

Sustainer Weight 78.5g (2.77 oz.)

Total Weight Empty:  120.1g (4.24 oz.)

Nose Cone:  Tangent Ogive

Fin Type: Trapezoidal

Number of Fins: 4 each stage

Color Scheme:  Yellow, Red, Black

Date Completed:  April 25, 2023

 A Classic Estes Model Rocket

 The Mountaineer IV is a clone build of the famous Estes Astron Omega.  Introduced in 1970, the Omega was designed by Mike Dorffler as the recommended launch vehicle for the Cineroc 8mm movie camera, which was also his brainchild. The rocket was a mainstay of the Estes stable through 1981.  Flying on the ‘Mighty D Engines’, the two-stage work-horse was capable of lofting the Cineroc to quite a respectable altitude.

 Why do I call my model the ’Mountaineer’ instead of ‘Omega’?  The story goes back to the mid- 1970s.  There was a certain science teacher from Silver Spring Maryland named Herb Desind. Mr. Desind was an avid flier of the Cineroc.  So much so that he was known far and wide as “Mr. Cineroc”!  Over his model rocketry career he must have flown thousands of Cineroc flights all over the country and even around the world. Herb also would send his specially modified cameras and carrier rockets to other rocketeers around the country so that they could fly them in other scenic locales.

 I became acquainted with Herb through the Starlords International Association of Rocketry, a Hawaii-based organization of which we were both members.  One thing led to another and Herb ended up sending me two Cinerocs and two Omegas to fly for him here in Colorado.  I would send him the completed film packs for processing.

 Herb re-named both of those Omegas ‘Mountaineer’ I and II.  Later on I built another Omega for my own fleet with which I continued the tradition by naming it Mountaineer III.

 The Mountaineer IV has been on my build list of old-fleet re-makes for quite some time, so here in 2023 I finally got around to it.

The model is scratch-built according to the original plans.  There are a few differences from the original.  First, the rocket’s nose came from a current Mean Machine kit, meaning it won’t be an exact match to the original.  It’s close enough for me.

 The Mountaineer IV first stage booster has some modifications that were not on the original kit.  On my version the fins are papered and feature some 1/16” thick balsa ‘gussets’ along the root edges.  Both are measures for strengthening the booster fins to better withstand the rigors of tumble recovery while carrying a relatively heavy D motor casing.

The payload section utilizes a thin plywood plug and a piece of heavy duty paper clip epoxied into a stage coupler. The original Omega kits used a balsa nose block. Does anyone even still make an NB-60? I would probably have to turn one.

I also added some vent holes to the fore end of the booster airframe to aid with pressure release for gap staging.

 The overall color scheme is a near-exact duplication of the ones adorning Herb’s Mountaineers I and II from the old days. The Mountaineer IV was completely brush painted with hobby acrylics.  Most of the decals are home prints.

 The Mountaineer IV is slated to be my go-to fleet vehicle for higher altitude video camera and altimeter flights. 

I anticipate many great launches of this bird!

Launch Date: April 17th, 2023

Great weather conditions in Castle Rock this past Monday marked the first group launch of 2023 among members of our ever-growing Front Range rocketry 'gang'.

This day I was joined at Founders Park by three of the latest folks to become part of our group: David Frey, his son Xander, both from Denver, and Mike Perreault from Castle Rock.

Mike started off the festivities with a picture-perfect launch of a Bullpup on B4-4 power.

This was Mike's first ever rocket launch, and he was rewarded with a straight-up boost and perfect parachute deployment and recovery!

Next up, David launched a B4 powered 'Nuke Dukem, actually a Loc-Precision Mini-Nuke, carrying an altimeter. The model flew well, but lost its nose cone. Booster and electronics were successfully recovered. The bird hit a respectable 487 feet.

David and Xander Frey launch the Nuke Dukem !!

The model was later flown a second time. Here is David's description of that flight:

      “Cruise Missile mode activated and went horizontal just after leaving the launch rod.  We saw it go toward the parking lot where we heard the report of the ejection charge but it was not recovered.  Total loss.  RIP Duke!”

My first flight of the day was made with an altimeter-laden Generic E2X. A B6-4 took it to 411 feet and a successful recovery.

By this time Mike had his Bullpup ready to go again.  Carbon copy of the model's successful first flight!

My next flight went to the Estes Quark equipped with streamers attached to the fins.

The tiny bird turned in an amusing flight on A10-3T power.

Heads up, Mike...It's Right Behind You !!!!

Speaking of tiny birds, David and Xander had brought along a small fleet of 3D printed Estes 220 Sprint models.  All were flown on 1/2A mini motors.

The 'Der Little Red Maxine' 220 Sprint Lifts Off

Xander's 220 Sprint, the 'Lemon-Lime' caught at the moment of liftoff.

Mike Perreault and Xander Frey prepping the 220 Sprint 'Annoying Orange'.

Xander is new to the hobby, and off to a great start!

All set to go. 

This next bird is the first flight of Mike's 'Purple Haze', actually an Estes Patriot with an alternate paint scheme.

Flying on a B6-4 motor, the model turned in a great maiden flight.

The next bird out if my tote was the Satellite Interceptor clone. 

Flying on a B6-4, the bird turned in a nice flight, but suffered a para-wad recovery. No landing damage except for a missing dowel antenna from one of the fins. 

David and Xander Frey launched an experimental 3D print, scratch built Alpha III clone, dubbed the 'Banana Blast'.

Xander is shown here attaching the leads to the Banana Blast.

Liftoff on an A8-3 !!

This is Mike's third launch of the Bullpup. Another perfect run on a B6-4!

Mike launched his Purple Haze model on two more successful flights, both on C6-5 motors.

Here are pics of the liftoffs:

My final flight of the afternoon was made by a Big Bertha.

The model flew straight and high on a C6-5 motor. As it drifted down, I ran to try and catch it, but I lost visual of it against the sun and ended up sprinting way past its landing site!

Between this and Mike's previous successful Purple Haze launches, it has been firmly established that Founders Park is perfectly fine for C motor / BT- 60 sized birds.  On the next outing, I'm inclined to try out a Big Daddy on a D motor.

All in all, it was a fun afternoon of model rocket flying.  Between the four of us, we put up 16 flights. Not too shabby.

One final note:  I have to give kudos to Mike Perreault. This was his first ever foray into model rocketry. Not only are his first models well-built and attractively finished, but his flight prep and techniques are top-notch, as attested by six nearly flawless launches and recoveries.  His pre-flight range-safety check and countdown procedures rival the best of any Range Control Officer I've ever seen at any club launch. The man has definitely done his homework! If I didn't know better, I would swear that Mike is a long-time, well-seasoned veteran of the model rocketry hobby.

Cheers!

Mountaineer IV Update

I opted to brush-paint this model.

Yesterday the nose got its black finish, and the rest of the model received the yellow color coat.

Today, I will be masking off the fins and airframe bands for the application of red paint.

Check out this gorgeous Castle Rock sunrise at 6:24 this morning!

Fire in the sky....

Cheers!

Progress On The Workbench

This past Monday, after returning home from the launch session at Founders Park, I found that the afternoon weather was still calm enough to run the Mountaineer IV outside and apply some primer.

Yesterday, the model received the final  sanding and cleanup treatment.  It is now ready for paint.

I am quite on the fence regarding whether I wish to brush-paint this one with acrylic gloss or take it out and hit it with the rattle cans.

I will have to sleep on that.

Jeez! The basement shop still reeks of burnt black powder....

Launch Date: April 10th, 2023

 After over five months of chronic cold, snow, ice, and wind, this week's weather conditions along the Colorado Front Range have finally been suitable for flying model rockets.

A massive high pressure system has parked itself over the state, bringing warmer, calmer conditions.

Yesterday, I packed up some of my smaller models and some launch gear to head to Founders park in Castle Rock.

As I noted in a previous post, our local group of rocketeers has lost the use of our favorite park for the next year, and we have yet to find a suitable replacement.

I wasn't able to pull the group together in time yesterday, so I had to go solo.

I arrived at Founders around noon to find fairly nice conditions: temperature around 70 degrees and a small amount of breeziness. Aside from a few people walking their dogs around the perimeter path, I had the entire place to myself.

The first model off the pad was the EAC Viper flagship. Powered by a B6-4, this would be its eleventh flight.

The bird boosted straight and high, deploying its parachute at ejection. Unfortunately, the chute tangled in its own shroud lines, and did not fully open. The Viper came in fast.

Despite all of the wide open turf on the field, the model 'chose' to head straight for the six foot wide strip of concrete perimeter sidewalk.

Two fins broken off....

My poor flagship! My aim is to get fifty flights out of the bird, but with all the recent mishaps and breakages, I fear that might not happen. It still needs to survive 39 more flights.  

All I can do is keep gluing it back together and hope for the best.

The second launch of the afternoon went to a Generic E2X carrying a Flight Sketch Mini altimeter.  The model turned in a very nice flight on B6-4 power.  The altimeter recorded 394 feet.

Next up, I broke out a little beginner's bird, a Bandit 3 that I had put together a few years back while building models with my grandkids.  It deserves some airtime, too....

An A3-4T motor took the bird on a very nice flight, which was easily recovered by streamer.

Because a little bit of wind was starting to pick up, I declined to launch the remaining two birds I had brought along.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Founders Park sits on top of a wide mesa.  Winds consistently change direction at any given moment, sometimes as much as 180 degrees!  During the course of this hour-long launch session I had to relocate my launch position on the field to compensate for sudden shifts of wind direction.   On the third such move, I just sat things up in the center of the field and hoped for the best, Somewhat irritating. 

I Did It Again...

After packing up my gear and trekking back to the car, I noticed that my launch rod was missing.

Yep, I had left it back at the launch site.  At least this time, I had soccer net landmarks to go by and was easily able to find the launch area.  I recovered the rod with no problem.

Another 'Senior Moment', perhaps ??

Cheers....

Some New Rocket Display Stands

 Mrs. BlastFromThePast and I frequently shop at Sam's Club.

Every so often we purchase these humongous rolls of plastic food service film. 

A roll lasts us for a very long time, but when it does finally run out, I am left with some interesting packaging parts.  These are the plastic supports found at each end of the box for holding the roll core for dispensing the wrap.

Of course, they have the appearance of fancy bases for rocket stands.  

A length of dowel, a wood screw, a spent motor casing or two and a little bit of epoxy quickly transforms them into the same.

I also have some similar small plastic pieces from aluminum foil rolls that serve just as well for smaller rockets.

It's quite a lot of fun to re-purpose this kind of stuff for use in our rocketry endeavors.

At Last.. Time To Get Some Rocket Work Done

 The BlastFomThePast shop has recently  seen a lot of idle time in respect to building rockets.

There were just way too many other unrelated projects and activities vying for my time.

This past week, I was able to concentrate on the Mountaineer IV build.

All construction, filleting, and grain filling is now complete, and the bird is ready for primer.

The good news is that we have a big, fat high pressure cell sitting over Colorado, warming things up and keeping the nasty cold weather systems far to the north.

Good painting days ahead.

On another note, I am planning the first launch of the year  for this upcoming week.

Sadly, we have lost use of Dove Valley Park for an entire year.  It's closed down for a massive renovation and expansion project, not scheduled to re-open until next March.

So, all of us are thrashing about looking for other area parks in which to practice our craft. Most of what we have found is in the B6-4 range.

Perhaps this might prompt me to get down to more S.C.O.R.E. launches in Pueblo this year to fly the bigger stuff and gliders.

Anyway, as I am writing this post, I am also prowling about the deep, dark, and dank subterranean depths of my home (the basement shop), rummaging through various boxes and totes in search of the next rocket project.

Aha!....Here it is.....the Deltie Airshow model I started a little while back.

Now where did my modeling tools end up after my last shop re-organization frenzy???

Cheers!