I finished my Semroc Maple Seed back in March and flew it for the first (and only) time in June at the farm in Wisconsin. It was kind of windy that day so I had some tilt set to the launch pad so the rockets would go over the woods, deploy, and drift back into the empty bean field.

I launched the Maple Seed and two of the three fins did a beautiful helicopter recovery back into the field. The third fin I did not have balanced correctly and it dropped like a rock into the trees, never to be seen again (the same trees that ate my Estes Avatar but that is a different story).

When I got home I put the rocket and the two remaining fins into the retired rockets box, never to be flown again. But, I was surfing ERockets and Randy is selling replacement fins! So I ordered one and hopefully the Maple Seed will fly again at the Fall launch in Fairfax IA this October.

When you have the fins balanced correctly, it really is a cool sight to see them helicopter in.

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