caheaton2
Member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2009
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 13
Headed out to the local park last night to get some quick flights in (had about an hour until sunset). Winds were very light but steady (a warning I guess...). I couldn't resist though as they were blowing along the length of my field rather than across.
First up was the Estes Chiller with a B6-4. The flight was flawless, but drifted a bit further than I expected...at least it confirmed that the winds were not only lengthwise to the field, but a bit diagonal as well (field is rectangular).
Next came my old Estes Vigilante, one of my vintage rockets still around from my youth....I built it sometime in the late 70's and it's survived since I rarely had a chance to fly a multi-stager in those days. It's also one of my nicer finishes
. It's been over 10 years since he last flew, so I figured I'd let him go again.
The rocket was prepped using a B6-0 / 1/2A3-4T (in an adapter...wish they still made the 1/2A6-4). The rocket launched straight as an arrow with the first stage coming down right next to the launch pad. When ejection occurred it was considerably higher than I'd anticipated (open rocket claimed 390', but it sure looked higher than that...the rocket was just a tiny smudge at ejection). As it drifted down I knew it was going to be close and my heart sank a bit as I saw it land in a tree near the edge of the field. As I approached the tree I realized it wasn't too bad...it was on the outer part of a limb maybe 15 feet off the ground. I have a long aluminum pole at home for such occasions (the remnant of a vertical ham radio antenna ), so I knew I should be able to retrieve it.
I figured I still had time for one more launch, so I prepped my Semroc Centurion with a B6-4 for its maiden flight. This rocket is perhaps my longest build...I began building it years ago (maybe 10 years?) and it made it as far as primer before I moved on to other things. It sat that way until this summer when the rocket bug bit again, so earlier this summer I finished painting and decaling and finally gave it it's maiden flight tonight. The B6-4 is a perfect motor for this rocket...high enough to be satisfying but low enough that the entire flight is easy to observe. The rocket rose perfectly straight, slowed and just as it went horizontal the chute ejected. The wind must have died by then as the rocket landed only about 20 feet from the pad.
By this time it was near sunset, so I packed up and headed home. I fetched my pole and headed back to the tree....I was able to poke the pole into the chute, lifted a bit and flung the rocket out onto the grass....success!
Next time I'll wait until I have a supply of A8-0's.....
(Has anyone tried an A10-0 in the Vigilante?)
First up was the Estes Chiller with a B6-4. The flight was flawless, but drifted a bit further than I expected...at least it confirmed that the winds were not only lengthwise to the field, but a bit diagonal as well (field is rectangular).
Next came my old Estes Vigilante, one of my vintage rockets still around from my youth....I built it sometime in the late 70's and it's survived since I rarely had a chance to fly a multi-stager in those days. It's also one of my nicer finishes
. It's been over 10 years since he last flew, so I figured I'd let him go again.The rocket was prepped using a B6-0 / 1/2A3-4T (in an adapter...wish they still made the 1/2A6-4). The rocket launched straight as an arrow with the first stage coming down right next to the launch pad. When ejection occurred it was considerably higher than I'd anticipated (open rocket claimed 390', but it sure looked higher than that...the rocket was just a tiny smudge at ejection). As it drifted down I knew it was going to be close and my heart sank a bit as I saw it land in a tree near the edge of the field. As I approached the tree I realized it wasn't too bad...it was on the outer part of a limb maybe 15 feet off the ground. I have a long aluminum pole at home for such occasions (the remnant of a vertical ham radio antenna
), so I knew I should be able to retrieve it.I figured I still had time for one more launch, so I prepped my Semroc Centurion with a B6-4 for its maiden flight. This rocket is perhaps my longest build...I began building it years ago (maybe 10 years?) and it made it as far as primer before I moved on to other things. It sat that way until this summer when the rocket bug bit again, so earlier this summer I finished painting and decaling and finally gave it it's maiden flight tonight. The B6-4 is a perfect motor for this rocket...high enough to be satisfying but low enough that the entire flight is easy to observe. The rocket rose perfectly straight, slowed and just as it went horizontal the chute ejected. The wind must have died by then as the rocket landed only about 20 feet from the pad.
By this time it was near sunset, so I packed up and headed home. I fetched my pole and headed back to the tree....I was able to poke the pole into the chute, lifted a bit and flung the rocket out onto the grass....success!
Next time I'll wait until I have a supply of A8-0's.....
(Has anyone tried an A10-0 in the Vigilante?)
