Syracuse Rocket Club Launch: Damage report, Mister Sulu

I’ve had worse launches. I think.

But maybe none with as high a casualty count…

July 2016 Syracuse Rocket Club launch. I was double booked in the afternoon so I got right down to the flights I felt I had to do, starting with my first entry in the ½A glider duration contest: the Uff Da, on a ½A3-2T.

I’d say it was a rousingly successful flight, aside from two things.

Nice straight high boost. Good deployment of the flexwing glider. I’d never gotten around to building any additional gliders, so it was this or fail. It flew well, circling, but there was enough wind to send it east. And east. And east… For a long, long, long time. Past the tree line, out of sight behind it, undoubtedly into if not past the corn field on the other side. I didn’t have a prayer of finding it. No big loss — three sticks, a spring, and a grocery store produce bag; I can knock off another in half an hour. But a DQ for the contest which I would’ve won handily if I’d been able to recover the glider.

And the booster — I failed to watch it come down so spent a while looking for it, but I found it and it was in good shape exceptsomehow it lost its streamer. OK, glider lost and booster technically damaged. Next?

Next my second glider entry, the Nymph, also on a ½A3-2T. I did some hand tosses and decided to go ahead with it.In that picture it’s going straight up. About a microsecond later it turned over, crossed the flight line, and power pranged in the midst of the spectators. AWKWARD. I don’t know if it was the clay I added to the left wing tip at the last minute (too much, maybe) or a gust of wind on an overstable model or what, but definitely another DQ. The wing was split, the motor was spit and for completeness I note a touch of damage to the leading edge of the stab.

So much for that contest. One lost, two damaged,

So on to the next contest, the B streamer spot landing with the B3S2a on a B6-2. It went on a weird kinky trajectory, coming down too far to the left but a pretty good range. Distance to the pin was 30’6″, not so bad. But it came down a touch too hard.I suspect too much nose weight. One lost, three damaged.

I moved on to a just-for-fun flight, the first for the Scion, on a Ceseroni F32 White Lightning. And it was fine, except that the 7 second delay was too long. It did an interesting slow motion end-over-end tumble before the chute popped. But it came back fine, except for a slight paint chip on a fin edge that for all I know might have happened in transit. Doesn’t count. One intact, one lost, three damaged.

Finally another debut flight, the Au-198 for NARTREK Gold with altimeter aboard. Looked like a good flight, but not enough dog barf I guess: the streamer melted half through. And should have been a parachute, maybe, or at least a wider streamer?
Altitude was 543′, lower than expected.

It’s a good thing I was having fun. I was! And all the damage I think is easily repairable though I don’t know if I’ll have the nerve to fly the Nymph again… maybe on a dead calm day, with no clay. So final tally: One intact, one lost, four damaged, one good time had.