Sunday started off
much like Saturday with unfriendly winds and
reluctant fliers, but by midday, either the winds were getting calmer
or the fliers braver, or both. I flew my Thridget
on a cluster of three C6-0's staged to three C6-7's. My quickly
assembled support crew managed to find all three booster fins in the
tall grass.
The Midget-70,
with its new booster, put in a scary flight. The D12-0 and three
B6-0's in the booster got it into the air well enough, but with the
wind, it weathercocked quite a bit, and the E9-8 in the sustainer
ejected at high speed with the result that the chute was ripped free of
the bird, which came down in the trees southeast of the range head.
There were no remants of the chute still attached to the bird - the
locking snap swivel must have bent open. Perhaps I failed to
close
it. The nosecone sustained a couple dents. Two of the fins
got dings
in their leading edges, and the body tube opening received two quarter
inch deep dings next to each other.
The nosecone and fin dings likely came from the tree. The BT
dings may
have come from the tree or the high speed deployment, or both.
Fortunately, it will fly again with only minor repairs.
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The highlight of the day was the Uber
Tuber. This was its maiden flight with the new first stage
booster, which was loaded with three B6-0's and a D12-0. The
second stage had a C11-0, and the sustainer a D12-7. At safety
check, John Lyngdal just shook his head as he signed my card :)
While it's a long way from four M's staging to an N, the Uber Tuber is
pretty much pushing the envelope for currently available black powder
motors. I could install still more impulse, but I'll save that
for a calmer day.
As it was, the two boosters each fell a long way after staging.
Thanks to my great support crew, all the pieces were recovered.
The first stage sustained two broken fins, but will be repaired.
Not sure if it was a fluke, or if it needs to be re-designed to be
lighter and stronger, but the fins will be glued back together for now.
What was really spectacular about this flight was the rocket was still
pointing mostly up when the third stage lit. Not a lot of
weathercocking.
The second stage burn of the C11-0 was surprisingly short, but
otherwise good. The rocket came down by the away cell, an
amazingly short walk for a 3-stager on a windy day.
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Photo courtesy of Tim Sapp
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