Here’s how my 2014 rocketry goals went in the past two months, and a wrapup of the year. Sure, there’s another week to go, but I don’t expect that to change much. I didn’t launch anything these months, so the focus was on building. Yearly flight facts haven’t changed since my October summary.
- Fly some larger rockets
These months: Nope. Building a D-Region and (redshifted) Xarconian Cruiser though.
This year: Flew the Bad Cholesterol, Lunar Eclipse Jr., Mega Mosquito, Mustang, The Rocket Doctors Recommend Most, Ventris. - Fly more 24mm BP
These months: Nope. Blah blah DRT XC.
This year: Burned 2 D12 and 5 E9. (“Burned”. I flew only 3 E9, unless you count about 15 feet on a cato.) - Fly some composite motors
These months: Nope.
This year: 2 D10, 3 E15, and 1 each 41F36, 51F36, F42, and F50.
- Put an entry (however pathetic) into each club launch contest and theme
These months: Nope. There was no club launch.
This year: Entered contests: D Dual Eggloft Duration (June, rescheduled from May), Target Duration (June), 1/2A Glider Duration (July), TARC rules (August). Plastic Model Conversion (September) and A-Impulse Parachute Spot Landing (October) were canceled but I would have had entries. Entered themes: Gliders (July), Odd-Rocs (August), Scale models (September). Payloads (May) and Multi-stage rockets (October) were canceled but I would have had entries. Did not enter theme: Dual Deployment (June). - NARTREK Bronze
These months: Nope.
This year: Completed in July. - Build almost everything in my (current) build pile (see table below)
These months: Progress. Worked on DRT and XC, the last of the 2013 rockets.
This year: All rockets in progress and in build pile as of 1 Jan have been built except for 5 started but to be completed and 1 started but abandoned. What’s that? You want the final updated graph? Okay, here:
At the end of 2013 there were 10 rockets in the build pile and 7 in progress (mostly assembled and awaiting painting weather). You can see the build pile (or rather the part of the build pile that’s left over from 2013) is now empty, there are 5 in progress, 1 that had been in progress at the end of 2013 has been abandoned, and the remaining 11 are done of which 9 have flown. - Buy too many kits
These months: Nope. I just bought some body tubes for a couple of upcoming builds.
This year: I bought a lot fewer kits this year: Yankee, Jupiter C, Ventris, and Mega Mosquito/Mosquito were the only kits I paid money for; I got a Big Daddy as cato compensation, and I bought parts for some scratch builds. Possibly I was overcompensating for last year’s excesses, but I don’t feel I’m going to need to buy a lot in 2015. - Fly lots of stuff
These months: Nope.
This year: 60 flights, 751 N-s. Both well above last year’s totals. - Have fun
These months: Good. No launches, but an enjoyable event (Walt’s Secret Santa) in addition to a couple good meetings, and good times at the work table.
This year: Did that.
Victories for 2014 (in addition to the above):
- Found (or rather was handed) some new good information relating to my attempts to understand shock cords.
- Learned a lot.
- Attended and flew at NYPower and URRF.
- 7 for 7 recovery at NYPower, and 6 for 7 recovered undamaged.
- 2nd place in August contest (out of 3 entries).
- 8 flights with no rockets lost and no significant damage except a singed chute at August launch.
- First scratch odd-roc completed and flown successfully.
- Highest total impulse of any month so far (199.425 N s in August).
- First plastic model conversion built and flown.
- First launch of all three Patriots at the same event.
- 8 rockets prepped and launched in ~ 30 minutes at Barry Park.
2014 builds:
| Rocket | Status as of 31 December 2014 | Notes |
| — In progress as of 1 Jan 2014: | ||
| Estes Tornado | Flown and done and lost (in that order…) | |
| 3D Rocketry Lunar Eclipse Junior | Done and flown | |
| (scratch) Bohica’s Dead Ringer | Done and flown | |
| FlisKits Caution | Done and flown (and destroyed!) | |
| Bob Harrington Mini Satellite Interceptor | Done and flown | |
| Starlight Saber | In 1st primer | |
| Semroc V-2 | Abandoned | |
| — In build pile as of 1 Jan 2014: | ||
| Quest MLAS | Build in progress | |
| Estes D-Region Tomahawk | Build in progress | For NARTREK Silver? |
| Estes Mega Mosquito | Done and flown | |
| Estes Photon Disruptor | Done | |
| Shrockets SeaSting | In 1st primer | |
| Semroc Swift Boost Glider | Done and flown | For Gliders contest (July). |
| Estes Mosquito | Done and flown | |
| Hot Rod (Tail Burner) Habanero | Done | |
| Aerotech Mustang | Done and flown | |
| Estes Xarconian Cruiser | Build in progress | |
| — Acquired in 2014: | ||
| Estes Yankee | Flown and done | For NARTREK Bronze. |
| (scratch) Bad Cholesterol | Done and flown including payload section and 2nd egg capsule | For Dual D Eggloft Duration contest (June, rescheduled from May) and TARC Rules contest (August). |
| (scratch) The Rocket Doctors Recommend Most | Done and flown (LED electronics incomplete) | For Oddrocs theme and night launch (August). |
| Glencoe Jupiter-C | Done and flown | For Plastic Model Conversion contest (September). |
| (scratch) Micro Fat Boy | Build pile | Kitbash from Mosquito #2 kit; need fin stock, MMX mount parts. |
| Estes (clone) Fat Boy | Build pile | Kitbash from Mega Mosquito #2 kit. (24 mm motor mount, not 28 mm.) |
| Estes Ventris | Done and flown | |
| Estes Big Daddy | Build pile | Estes warranty replacement for cato damaged Lunar Eclipse Jr. |
| Estes (clone) Ranger | Build pile | For NARTREK Silver. |
| Excelsior Honest Goon | Build pile | Need motor mount |
Rich's Rockets 