 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion Groups General ModelsRailroadsRocketsRadio Controlled Air ModelsHelicoptersLand ModelsWater ModelsModelGeeks.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Model Forum / General / Rockets / August 2004Semi-bad day at Balduck Park...
Went out with the kids to launch today. Things were going ok for a while. Then I lost my Razor(on its 1st flight) to a rocket-eating tree. Man, that thing gets up in the air - even on a B6-4. A few launches later, my SnapShot broke the shock cord. We recovered both the booster and the nose cone, but it's got a broken fin. I couldn't find the broken piece - not sure how it will fly without it. We had a total of 13 launches, and I had two casualties. I *really* need to get those percentages of bad flights down... Eldred  Signaturehttp://www.umich.edu/~epickett Screamers League IICC League GPLRank -6.0 MoGPL rank +267.80 Ch.Rank +52.58 MoC +741.71 Hist. +82.34 MoH:na N2k3 rank:in progress Slayer Spektera lvl 79 assassin Slayer Spectral_K lvl 44 Necro US East > Then I lost my Razor(on its 1st flight) to a > rocket-eating tree. Man, that thing gets up > in the air - even on a B6-4. A B-motor is a lot of motor for the park and a small rocket. > A few launches later, my SnapShot broke the > shock cord. We recovered both the booster > and the nose cone, but it's got a broken fin. Was is a stock shock cord and mount? I don't know why, after all these years, Estes can't come up with a shock cord that's good for more than three flights. > We had a total of 13 launches, and I had > two casualties. I *really* need to get those > percentages of bad flights down... Actually, that's not bad with 11/13 successful. Obviously, this post mortem reveals the SnapShot coulda/shoulda had a better cord, and the Razor should have been on an A-motor, but eleven out of thirteen ain't bad. There's no joy of success when there's no risk of failure. Doug >> A few launches later, my SnapShot broke the >> shock cord. We recovered both the booster [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >come up with a shock cord that's good for more >than three flights. Yep, stock. This is the fifth shock core that's broken. Steve from Commonwealth lectured me about using longer/better shock cords when I stopped in. But, I went straight from there to pick up the kids, and didn't have time to change everything. I'll be work on that this week. As a matter of fact, when I built the Razor, I upgraded the cord. I just didn't expect a rocket-eating tree. >> We had a total of 13 launches, and I had >> two casualties. I *really* need to get those [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >thirteen ain't bad. There's no joy of success >when there's no risk of failure. Hehe...thanks for the encouragement. Yeah, I should have started with an A, and seen how that worked. I just didn't think a B engine would have gone that high. Previous A flights were really low, but on reflection they were larger rockets. And dammit, if it had come down just 5 feet earlier I could have retrieved it. *sigh* Eldred Signaturehttp://www.umich.edu/~epickett Screamers League IICC League GPLRank -6.0 MoGPL rank +267.80 Ch.Rank +52.58 MoC +741.71 Hist. +82.34 MoH:na N2k3 rank:in progress Slayer Spektera lvl 79 assassin Slayer Spectral_K lvl 44 Necro US East >Hehe...thanks for the encouragement. Yeah, I should have started with an A, >and seen how that worked. I just didn't think a B engine would have gone >that >high. Previous A flights were really low, but on reflection they were larger >rockets. And dammit, if it had come down just 5 feet earlier I could have >retrieved it. *sigh* Update - I got the Razor back! As I was reading Doug's message I was trying to think of ways to retrieve it. I came up with using a string tied to a socket from a wrench set. The object being to loop the string over the branch to pull it down to where I could reach it. It took a few tries, and the string broke a couple of times. Darn branches are TOUGH... I finally got the string tangled in the chute and was able to pull it down. The rocket itself isn't much worse for the wear, and I didn't even damage the chute much. A couple of dents in the body, but that's about it. WooHOO! :-) After that success, I tried retreving the rocket(someone else's) we had seen a couple weeks ago while looking for Emily's Alpha III. Well, that one was a lot higher up. I could snag the branch, but kept getting OTHER branches with it. Oh well... I'll take the small victory. <g> Eldred Signaturehttp://www.umich.edu/~epickett Screamers League IICC League GPLRank -6.0 MoGPL rank +267.80 Ch.Rank +52.58 MoC +741.71 Hist. +82.34 MoH:na N2k3 rank:in progress Slayer Spektera lvl 79 assassin Slayer Spectral_K lvl 44 Necro US East >Well, that one was a lot >higher up. I could snag the branch, but kept getting OTHER branches with it. Get yourself a wrist rocket (slingshot) to shoot the socket into the chutes shroud lines. Works great even to 100 ft. and more. Good luck! Tim >>Well, that one was a lot >>higher up. I could snag the branch, but kept getting OTHER branches with [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >Good luck! Interesting - I don't think I've *ever* owned a slingshot... Wonder if I can borrow one from a local kid. Thanks for the tip! Eldred p.s. I forgot - I posted pics of the JMRC launch on 7/17/04, and also latest additions to the fleet: http://www.umich.edu/~epickett/rockets.html Signaturehttp://www.umich.edu/~epickett Screamers League IICC League GPLRank -6.0 MoGPL rank +267.80 Ch.Rank +52.58 MoC +741.71 Hist. +82.34 MoH:na N2k3 rank:in progress Slayer Spektera lvl 79 assassin Slayer Spectral_K lvl 44 Necro US East > Went out with the kids to launch today. Things were going ok for a while. > Then I lost my Razor(on its 1st flight) to a rocket-eating tree. Man, that [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > fly without it. We had a total of 13 launches, and I had two casualties. I > *really* need to get those percentages of bad flights down... Is this the Balduck Park on East Warren? Doc SignatureDrake "Doc" Damerau www.rocketmaterials.com NEPRA President NAR Section 614 NAR 79986 L3 www.nepra.com Remove "My Shorts" to reply > Eldred >Is this the Balduck Park on East Warren? Yes, it is. Do you live in the area? Eldred Signaturehttp://www.umich.edu/~epickett Screamers League IICC League GPLRank -6.0 MoGPL rank +267.80 Ch.Rank +52.58 MoC +741.71 Hist. +82.34 MoH:na N2k3 rank:in progress Slayer Spektera lvl 79 assassin Slayer Spectral_K lvl 44 Necro US East > >Is this the Balduck Park on East Warren? > > Yes, it is. Do you live in the area? No, but I used to. I owned The American Gold Exchange on E. Warren at Devonshire, and I lived on Audubon near E. Warren. Remember the robbery/homicide in the early 90's? That was my jewelry store. Me and the woman that worked for me use to launch rockets there all the time. We left a ton of rockets in those trees at Balduck Park. Doc SignatureDrake "Doc" Damerau www.rocketmaterials.com NEPRA President NAR Section 614 NAR 79986 L3 www.nepra.com Remove "My Shorts" to reply > > Eldred >We left a ton of rockets in those trees at Balduck Park< I haven't been there since the late sixties! Balduck was the scene of many parties way back when. Along with Angel Park at the foot of Alter Rd. Left the East side in '84. -- Bruce Kirchner TRA L2 #5888 Michigan Team 1 High Power Rocketry Proud Gun Owner! > >We left a ton of rockets in those trees at Balduck Park< > > I haven't been there since the late sixties! Balduck was the scene of many > parties way back when. Along with Angel Park at the foot of Alter Rd. > > Left the East side in '84. I left in 95. You wouldn't want to "hang" in Angel Park now. :-( I used to go by ther to launch my boat in the river. Doc SignatureDrake "Doc" Damerau www.rocketmaterials.com NEPRA President NAR Section 614 NAR 79986 L3 www.nepra.com Remove "My Shorts" to reply > -- > > Bruce Kirchner > TRA L2 #5888 > Michigan Team 1 High Power Rocketry > Proud Gun Owner! Warranty replacement is free. Call Estes. Tell them their shock cord is inadequate and broke. If enough consumers do this and their cost for shipping replacements becomes higher than the miniscule cost of longer/better shock cords, then they will improve their products (and their reputation). -Fred Shecter NAR 20117 Signature"""Remove "zorch" from address (2 places) to reply. > Went out with the kids to launch today. Things were going ok for a while. > Then I lost my Razor(on its 1st flight) to a rocket-eating tree. Man, that [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Eldred |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.