| On a perfect
day in October, we traveled to the launch site at Old National Pike
Park, east of New Market, Maryland (directions).
We made 12 launches on seven different rockets. Every rocket
worked fine -- no lost rockets or parts.
Lessons
- It is easier to get good launches
when there is little wind and the weather is warm.
- While there are some trees, they are
not as bad as the Middletown launch site and there is no lake or
stream.
- It seems the BT-80 body tube is a
good size for all our TARC rockets.
- The air brakes don't seem to hurt
aerodynamics.
- We need better batteries on our
cameras.
- The camcorder focus needs to be set
to distance, because it can't focus on an empty sky.
|
 |
Launches
 |
We launched a rocket made from parts of
last year to refresh our skills and understanding of the launch
process.
|
Flight |
Weight |
Engine |
Data |
Comment |
| 1 (Video) |
256g, included
simulated egg and altimeter |
D12-5 |
|
Nice flight, look at
the smoke tail |
| 2 |
260g, included
simulated egg and real altimeter |
D12-5 |
Altimeter |
Nice flight |
|
 |
 |
We launched a
new rocket to test a unique fin design and the effects of air brakes.
|
Flight |
Weight |
Engine |
Data |
Comment |
| 1 |
218g |
E9-8 |
|
Nice flight |
| 2 |
|
E9-6 |
Altimeter |
Nice flight with
altimeter |
| 3 |
|
E9-6 |
|
Nice flight with air
brakes |
|
 |
 |
We launched
two pencil rockets that we built earlier in the week.
|
Flight |
Weight |
Engine |
Comment |
| Red Tip, Flight 1 |
63g |
A8-3 |
Engine was too small
for this rocket (Video) |
| Orange Tip, Flight 1 |
64g |
A8-3 |
Engine was too small
for this rocket |
| Red Tip, Flight 2 |
65g |
B6-4 |
Better flight |
| Orange Tip, Flight 2 |
66g |
B6-4 |
Better flight |
|
 |
We launched three Alphas from last year.
|
Flight |
Engine |
Comment |
| Alpha 1 |
A8-3 |
Nice flight |
| Alpha 2 |
A8-3 |
Nice flight |
| Alpha 3 |
A8-3 |
Nice Flight |
|
Pictures
Using another launch
tower
 |
Safety Lesson: Don't
point rockets at others
 |
Loading the rocket
 |
We are ready
 |
Nice landing
 |
How is our rocket
doing?
 |
How is the
altimeter doing?
 |
Safety Lesson:
Don't stick launch rod through hand
 |
|
