Larger motors... a good thing.

Finally got the photos for the March 20th shot. The Booster/Carrier model flew with an F20-4W and the Orbiter had an E15-WP. Booster delay was cut down to 3 seconds. The stack flew as designed with a nice stable boost. Altitude was estimated to be between 450 to 600 feet (based on observer polling). Separation was flawless with the improved "mouse trap" mechanism and parachute deployment was 90 percent flawless. The glider was brought in for a controlled, wings level landing (after loosing it for a split second watching the booster going straight in).

The other 10 percent... a 35 cent snap swivel connecting the shock cord to the Booster harness failed. Which ment that the motor mount / parachute piston came down just fine... but the booster augerd. Soft mud saved most of the model (about 9 inches of the forward body tube was crushed). Amazingly, the wing and all the other hard to build parts were undamaged. The nose cone is getting replaced with 8 lb/cuft pour foam, cast in vacuformed .020 in. thick PVC skins (more on that next post).

Regards,

DJ Miller


Photo credit: Lee Spinner NHRC

Attached Thumbnails