DARS Father's Day Launch - June 18-19, 2005

DARS Father's Day Launch
Saturday and Sunday, June 18-19, 2005

June 18, 2005 - Two round trips from Plano to McGregor is 500 miles and two tanks of gas, and it's worth every penny.

DARS conducted its 2005 Father's Day launch in McGregor, Texas this past weekend, and I was there both days.

Saturday (June 18) was high power day for me. I had two high power rockets I was anxious to fly along with 10 low power rockets to fill out the weekend.

Travel plans fell victim to last day changes, so I had mixed emotions about going. I was afraid the wind would be too strong and/or the sun too hot, but I finally told myself that if I go, I MAY not be able to fly, but if I stay home, I DEFINITELY won't fly.

So off I headed toward Waco. The weather Saturday turned out awesome. While it was hot and windy, it wasn't too hot or too windy. I had a blast, and got some much needed rocketry therapy.

Yours truly with QL-Bertha (left) and Midget400 (right)

First up was my Betty-Sprint - a Sprint-like bird bashed from a Quest Big Betty kit - on a D12-7. Great flight.

The QL-Bertha has had two zippers, and now with some fliberglass and fresh paint, I was really hoping this flight would be a success.

With an Aerotech H210R loaded, it had a spectacular boost.

The 3.2" diameter bird was scratchbuilt using paper roll cores.

Jim Turner sold me the first two HPR motors I ever burned, and both of them were used with this rocket. I was thinking of Jim Saturday when I was flying. I really miss him.

Photo courtesy of Warren Benson

The Aerotech I357 rips! I struggled with a tight motor liner, and ended up destroying it trying to get it un-stuck. I then recalled the tip of peeling off a layer of paper and, using a liner from another reload, was able to finally get the motor assembled and loaded in this 4" Midget upscale.

It was my first I357 and my first 38mm reload. I was expecting a little slower climb, but with a 16:1 thrust to weight ratio, it had neck snapping acceleration.

Awesome flight!

Hopefully I can procure a replacement liner without too much trouble.

June 19, 2005 - When I got home from Saturday's rocket activities, I wasn't sure I'd be heading back to McGregor on Sunday. After all, it was Father's Day, and I had three kids at the house to father (#4 was in Chicago). After discussing it with the family, we agreed their gift to me would be another day of rocket flying. In turn, out of consideration for them, I wouldn't make them hang out with me all day

I headed toward Waco while they went to the water park.

First up Sunday was my Holverson Tangent on a D12-7. It picked up a ding on one fin, but that's part of the deal.

This began life as the Freebird from Squirrel Works. During the months in my build queue, Squirrel Works re-introduced it as the the Imp complete with a new paint scheme and decal.

Don (Magness, Squirrel Works proprietor) had given me an extra set of fins, so I was planning all along to do a 2-stage variation, but when the new paint scheme came out, I opted to paint the booster in the Freebird colors and the sustainer in the Imp colors.

It rocked Sunday. I lost sight of it right after staging, but thankfully there were some extra keen eyes helping me track it, and it came back with only a minor ding.

The Midget T-35 (1.4x upscale, Quest T-35 tubing) had been prepped to fly weeks earlier when rain scared us off Memorial Day weekend. The C11-0 to C11-7 combo send this rocket for a great ride. After booster burnout, the sustainer coasted for what seemed like forever before it finally lit. For a while there, I thought I'd be builduing another. The booster had one minor ding, entirely acceptable wear and tear.

The Midget T30 (1.2x upscale, Quest T-30 tubing) was built to be a regular flyer, something I could take to every launch. But it seems to be jinxed. I've had to glue broken fins back together at least once, and now it's ready for major re-work if not totally starting over.

After a good boost on a B6-0, the C6-7 sustainer never did light with the rocket lawndarting near the creek. As I approached and saw it in the bare dirt, I momentarily had hopes that the dirt might be soft, that the rocket might have escaped damage.

But it wasn't to be. The nosecone had been partially swallowed, and the airframe accordioned. If I can find a suitable coupler, the fin can might be salvageable. Otherwise, I'll be putting a whole new rocket under the nosecone.

Like the Midget T35, the Midget T40 (1.6x upscale, Quest T-40 tubing) was still prepped from Memorial Day weekend. After the T30 lawndart, I was feeling uneasy about all the stagers still left to fly. That made each remaining flight that much more enjoyable when everything went right. The C11-0 to D12-7 combo was perfect. The C11 got the T40 flying with authority, but staging still occurred at a viewable altitude. Everything came back fine with only a scratch on a sustainer fin.

Having now flown several APCP model rocket motors, I thought I knew what to expect, but this F24 really ripped. It climbed much faster than I expected. Lots of liftoff smoke, too. Great flight.

A booster is planned for the Midget 70 (2.2x upscale, BT-70). I need to get going on that. It will include electronics for staging and a recovery system for the booster.

If this photo seems a little dark, it's because I'm still learning my new camera. I set it to a fast shutter speed to reduce blurring (caused by the rocket's motion) but the film speed setting wasn't adjusted enough to compensate completely.

The Betty-Gee is a Quest Big Betty bashed into a two-stager with inspiration from the Astron Apogee II. The D12-0 to D12-7 combo performed perfectly. The only thing unusual was that the booster motor was missing after the flight even though there's an aft engine block in the booster.

The Tuber is a regular flyer, seeing action at most launches. This time out she had a new nosecone (Thanks, Don) and flew on a D12-0 to E9-8 combo. She weather cocked a little - even with the heaver motor combo and light nosecone - but still got some serious altitude. Great flight. Found a broken fin on the booster, but not sure if it was flight related, or if I maybe mis-handled it somehow (it happens). Regardless, broken fins are not uncommon on stagers, and this one will be easily repaired.

The big finale was the maiden flight of my new Comanche-3. I wimped out, forgoing a D12-C6-C6 full load and instead motoring down to a C11-B6-A8 combo, trying to keep it low enough to track and recover.

Great flight. And a great weekend. Thanks to eagle-eyed Royce Frankum and to his son, Jarrod, along with Bill Gee and Dave Schultz. They all helped me recover boosters and track sustainers at various times.

And thanks to DARS for a great launch.

June 21, 2005