It was
rather windy day with gusts close to 20mph, but we had some great flights.
The big problem was the rockets were landing almost 2000
feet away!We launched six times, two test launches, and two qualification launches for both teams. Both teams had successful qualification scores. Team 1, 4222, BT80, got one score of 9. Team 2, 4228, BT70, got scores of 71 and 272.
I suspect team 4222 will be invited to the national competition on May 20. Team 4228 is on the bubble, and may not get invited, but they can be proud of a successful qualification flight.
Congratulations to all the members who worked hard on this project. And thanks to all the parents for using up a Saturday and driving to the launch sites.
- No rain, no freezing hands.
- We recovered all altimeters and downloaded six altimeter data sets.
- Operations went very smoothly, the teams worked well together.
Lessons
- We compensated for the wind, even over compensated on the last flight. Two flights were over 800 feet in the 15mph wind.
- When we know the rockets will land far away, we need to get runners out there to speed the recovery. Sometimes our recovery took almost 15 minutes and that put a stress on the altimeter battery.
- The separate recovery mechanisms proved to be a good design. The eggs came down OK and we didn't need a shock cord.
- We used a coat over the computer and Bob's head -- solved the computer screen brightness issue.
Our TARC Rockets
| Rocket |
Engine/ Weight |
Cargo/ Chutes |
Recovery | Results |
|
BT80-1 Test Launch Video Score: 102 DQ |
E9-8 |
Egg, Altimeter, Chute1-14in w/spill, Chute2-18in engine Chute protector |
Chutes opened, egg broke, otherwise vertical flight |
Height: 706ft altimeter Time: 37sec altimeter Altimeter Data |
|
BT70-2 Test Launch Video Score: 89 |
E9-8 |
Egg, Altimeter, Chute-14in w/spill Streamer for engine |
Chute opened, good vertical flight |
Height: 879ft altimeter Time: 55sec altimeter Altimeter Data |
|
BT80-1 4222 Qualification 1 Video Score: 9 |
E9-6 |
Egg, Altimeter, Chute1-14in w/s, Chute2-18in engine Chute protector |
Chutes opened, good vertical flight |
Height: 794ft altimeter Time: 46sec altimeter 48sec timers Altimeter Data |
|
BT70-2 4228 Qualification 1 Video Score: 272 |
E9-4 |
Egg, Altimeter, Chute-14in w/spill Streamer for engine |
Chute opened, flight into wind, strange altimeter readings |
Height: 536ft altimeter Time: 49sec altimeter 53sec timers Altimeter Data |
|
BT70-1 4222 Qualification 2 Video Score: 83 DQ |
E9-6 |
Egg, Altimeter, Chute-12in |
Chute opened, but shock cord broke out of engine unit, lost engine unit, and the egg broke |
Height: 873ft altimeter Time: 55sec altimeter Altimeter Data |
|
BT80-2 4228 Qualification 2 Video Score: 71 |
E9-6 |
Egg, Altimeter, Chute-18in, Chute protector |
Chute opened, flight with the wind, otherwise good |
Height: 740ft altimeter Time: 54sec altimeter 56sec timers Altimeter Data |
Pictures
Checking in |
BT80-1 getting ready |
BT70-1 getting ready |
BT80-2 getting ready -
last flight |