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July 4th Quick Trip to the NTMLF
Even though it was literally hotter than the surface of the sun times infinity (my car was registering 101 when I left the house), I decided on a quick trip to the Newbomb Turk Memorial Launching Facility. You get there by driving right through the nice hibiscus. I took three with me but only got one in the air as the batteries in my launcher died. I got in a first launch of my Semroc Centaur.
Even though I enjoy staging I'd never tried Centuri's patented "pop-and-go" system, so I was really curious to see how it would work. B6-0 to B6-6 and it flew perfectly. Good altitude and a long tumble of the sustainer with the 6 second delay and an extra long shock cord. The booster landed about ten feet from the pad. Great flight.
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Just completed: Estes Cherokee-E, Estes Multi-Roc. Current project: Painting the roll pattern on my new Ventris build, gifted me by the estimable Dr. Houchin. |
#2
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My first Centaur launch would be its one and only flight. The booster landed in the ONLY puddle on the field at VOA that day. If I sat in it I'd have barely gotten my pants wet, but the **** booster found it. Swelled things enough that no amount of sanding would ever allow me to feel comfortable about trying to stage it again. Great flight, though.
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Bill Eichelberger NAR 79563 http://wallyum.blogspot.com/ I miss being SAM 0058 Build floor: Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2 |
#3
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Good times! Happy to see that someone else got a chance to do a little rocket flying on the 4th. Pesky batteries, anyway.
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Just remember...G. Harry Stine's first ever model rocket was an RTF ! Check out my wonderful model rocketry blog here: https://castlerocketeer.blogspot.com/ |
#4
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Through the nice Hibiscus? I thought that was re-landscaped for the Newbomb Turk Memorial Library?
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#5
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Quote:
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Bill Eichelberger NAR 79563 http://wallyum.blogspot.com/ I miss being SAM 0058 Build floor: Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2 |
#6
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I feel your pain. In the 80's when I was flying every weekend in the summer, water features were the bane of my exsistance. SV's, Atlases, MR's, etc,--all drowned. Arguably the worst loss was possibly the AstroCam 110 with 21 exposures on the cartridge: came down in a tiny, tiny pond at the edge of a 20 acre field. If I'd launched a rocket in the Sahara it would have somehow come down in water.
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Never trust an atom. They make up everything. 4 out of 3 people struggle with math. Chemically, alcohol IS a solution. NAR# 94042 SAM# 0078 |
#7
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You proved dark matter! .
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I love sanding. |
#8
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What's worse than that is an Astrocam with only one exposure left hanging from a 138kV transmission line. That happened to me in 1988. I was launching from over 2 miles away, but the wind direction changed as it was coming down. That thing taunted me for several weeks before it final fell off. |
#9
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I've never lost one to water, but more than my fair share have found trees.
And they're bulldozing the gardens tomorrow, so drive right over them.
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Just completed: Estes Cherokee-E, Estes Multi-Roc. Current project: Painting the roll pattern on my new Ventris build, gifted me by the estimable Dr. Houchin. |
#10
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Our group used to launch at a site with a narrow asphalt road running thru the middle of it. We set up on the road since we always used someone's car to power the launcher. Most people's flights landed in soft dirt. I had the unique talent of landing on the road quite often, requiring constant repairs. I can tell you, though, an Aerotech Initiator flies just fine with the fins sawed off even with the end of the tube.
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Lee Reep NAR 55948 Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold! Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp |
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