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Eleven members traveled to the Maryland launch site on
Thursday, December 30, to flight test recently completed
rockets. The weather was warm (almost 40f) and light
wind (5mph to calm). We used the short launch rail for
all flights. We conducted
four
launches (one for each team) and they were all relatively
successful. We found the booster lost to a tree in
November, with the motor casing. It fell down due to
weather, but the chute is still in the tree. We found
other rocket parts in the "rocket grave yard". See
a video of our teams.
Objectives
- Initial flights of new boosters and cargo units.
- Confirm the E30-7T for rockets under 380g (teams
9213, 9214, 9215).
- Confirm the use of the hemispherical 15in
chutes.
- Get data on each rocket.
- See if we can find the black booster rocket lost
in a tree on November 20.
Lessons
- The initial flights were all successful. The
boosters flew nicely, although they all cocked into the wind except
team 9213 (White/Gold) rocket. Team 9214 may want to reduce the size
of their fins on the purple rocket.
- The E30-7T worked fine for the light weight
rockets. The teams will have to work to maintain their rocket weight
under 380g. Team 9212 will have to use the F24-7W.
- The hemispherical chutes worked fine.
- The spike in team 9212's flight was caused by
the ejection charge and some issue with the altimeter holder and the
connection to the chute.
- Some of the eggs experienced hairline cracks. We
need to work on packing the eggs better. Some of the cracks
may have been there before the fight. Teams need to review
their egg before they fly.
- We had some problems with the copper
igniters. We may want to look into better igniters.
- We recovered the rocket booster lost in
November, including the reusable motor casing.
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Launches (see video of
launch comparisons)
Team |
Rocket |
Engine |
Cargo |
Cargo Recovery |
Booster Recovery |
Weight |
Results |
Comments |
9214 |
Purple
test 1 |
E30-7T |
egg,
altimeter F |
15in hemi-chute |
attached |
385g |
724ft, 40sec
(video) |
Cocked into the wind a little, nice recovery |
9212 |
Red
test 1 |
E30-7T |
egg,
altimeter J |
15in hemi-chute |
7x70 streamer |
430g |
658ft, 48sec
(video) |
Nice flight, altimeter spike in data, interesting descent |
9215 |
Maroon
test 1 |
E30-7T |
egg,
altimeter H |
15in hemi-chute |
attached |
363g |
794ft, 46sec
(video) |
Nice flight, chute came out, but deployed late |
9213 |
White
test 1 |
E30-7T |
egg,
altimeter
I |
15in hemi-chute |
10' Xchute |
378g |
807ft, 56sec
(video) |
Nice straight flight |
Altimeter Data
(Excel format)
Pictures
Purple Rocket
Red/Silver Rocket
Maroon Rocket
White (Gold) Rocket
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Loading an Igniter
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The Bleachers
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Making an Angel
Setting Up a Camera
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