| We travelled
to our Maryland launch site on a late November Saturday. It was very cold and wind
over 10mph. This launch was
postponed from November 15 due to weather. With this launch, we hoped
to develop launch experience for the new members by using old rockets
and the altimeters. We also planned to test a 3 inch diameter
Big Daddy rocket and egg protection. Things didn't work out quite
as well as we planned. Our Big
Daddy crashed into the ice covered pond. Weather cocking kept it
from reaching a decent height, and the ejection delay was too long
(should have used an E9-4). Recovery was difficult and we lost the
nose cone, so we don't know how the egg protection worked. We
launched a Patriot so we would have something to recover.
Lessons
- Always launch with a real egg.
- Weather cocking is a big issue and we
need to angle the launch tower.
- Estes E9 black powder motors should not
be used on a windy day.
- We watched some other TARC teams with
nice launches. (video)
- We saw some interesting launch towers.
Launches
|
Rocket |
Engine |
Cargo |
Chute |
Weight |
Results |
| Big Daddy |
E9-6 |
egg and altimeter weight |
18" X |
about 370g |
The
rocket cocked into the wind soon after launch, it landed in the center
of the pond. |
Patriot
(video) |
C6-5 |
no cargo |
12" |
about 100g |
Nice
launch and recovery |
Pictures
|
